Horizon Cleaning Service ***BAIT AND SWITCH SCAM*** St. Petersburg, Florida

I contacted Horizon Cleaning Service, in the greater Tampa area, at (352) 563-9992, and requested an appt. to have my carpets cleaned, per their coupon, Any Size Room Only $6.95 Per Room, 2 Room Minimum. I explained to the very nice lady who answered the phone that I only wanted Basic Steam Cleaning for my living room carpet, but understood that I would have to pay the 2 Room minimum anyway. I was also told that there would be an additional fee of $2.95, for the technician to come to the door --- the first clue of a pending ruse. But, I figured that was no problem. The minimal fee seemed reasonable (although not mentioned with the coupon.) I scheduled the appt. for a Saturday afternoon, and I was given a courtesy call approx. 45 minutes before the technician arrived.

Then the ruse became more evident.

First the technician stated that he needed to fill his large container/machine with water from my bathtub. I then observed him to pour a clear liquid, from an unmarked container, into a measuring cup. The liquid in the measuring cup was then poured into the larger container/machine, and swirled around with gusto. I was then required to observe a presentation of the Deep Scrub Method --- which consisted of the technician squirting some of the mixture (water, with unknown added liquid), onto a section of my living room floor --- which was in full sunlight. He then used a rake-type device to rake back and forth over the dampened spot of carpet. The machine was turned on, and a vacuum-type nozzle was then dragged across the area.

In contrast, the technician then squirted some of the same unknown mix of water around a corner, in the shadowed-area of my living room. No rake was pulled, and the machine was turned on again.

The technician said, See how much brighter the first section is? Um, yeah, cause its in direct sunlight, while the other section is in the shade! I was then told that I could get the better Deep Scrub Method, for just $135!!!

I politely thanked the technician for his presentation, but insisted that I only wanted the Basic Steam Cleaning offered by the coupon. And, I told him that I was NOT going to pay $135, when the coupon listed the price as only $6.95 times 2!! Someone with better math skills can tell me the percentage increase, for an upgrade, on that!

At that point, the technician said that he would have to call his office to see if my coupon could be accepted since I only wanted the Basic Steam Cleaning. Excuse me?? You are going to find out if the coupon can be accepted?? I patiently listened to his spiel over the phone --- believing that he was continuing to give me a sales pitch, and was not really talking to anyone. But, while on the phone, he asked me again if I would consider the Deep Scrub Method stating that he had just been authorized to give me a much-reduced price of only $100!! Woohoo! I said No thank you! I told him I wanted the Basic Steam Cleaning only so that I would have a baseline --- before determining whether I needed any upgrades.

The technician mumbled something, said Okay, and hung up. He then agreed to do the Basic Steam Cleaning --- at which time he continued to dampen my living room floor with the unknown liquid, mixed in water. I watched him the entire time from the kitchen opening while he did so.

Now, the hose on his machine, which had signs of tape all over it, kept falling off! The technician would have to stop, turn off the machine, and reattach the hose, before resuming his work (4 times!) And, there was no visible steam coming out of the machine. At one point, I even reached down to the carpet and felt the dampness, but there was no heat?!

The technician could give me no explanation, just mumbled at me. I wrote him a check but did not sign the portion of the receipt asking if I was satisfied. After dampening my entire living room floor, the technician then rolled up his equipment, took the filled container/machine out to his car (without dumping any supposed dirty water), and left.

I later followed up with a telephone call, to the office, to complain.

The phone was answered by a very friendly female voice. However, when I complained that I believed the whole event had been a joke, and that I felt I had been the victim of a bait and switch, I was transferred to a man in the office. I started to repeat the same words I had told the first lady, at which time I was told it was your own fault because You refused the Deep Scrub Method! I asked for a refund. The man then promptly hung up on me.

I called back, and was transferred to this man again. I told the man that he should not have hung up on me. After a brief discussion, the man did tell me to have a nice day, but hung up on me again. I called back again, informing the first lady that I intended to file a complaint. She would not give me either an email address, a website, or the physical address to their location.

Now, I smelled my carpet immediately after the technician left my home. There was absolutely no scent/deodorizer as promised. The equipment was falling apart. And, I truly do not believe any detergent or steam was used during this process. That liquid from the unmarked smaller container, most likely, was just more water. The only thing I got out of this was a wet carpet, which I could not walk on for the rest of that evening. And, because the same spots were on my carpet, I needed to rent a portable steam cleaner, from my local grocery store, the very next day. I then cleaned the carpet my self --- with amazing results.

BEWARE! This is most definitely a BAIT AND SWITCH SCAM, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, to wit: A sales tactic in which a bargain-priced item is used to attract customers who are then encouraged to purchase a more expensive similar item.