Flooring Depot Breach of contract Fort Lauderdale, Florida

I contracted with this vendor for tile and installation in mid November, 2012. Contract terms were 50 percent down and balance due C.O.D. Upon completion of the job. I was told the job would begin the following week and take two days. The job was to tile only140 square feet of foyer space.

The job did not begin when I was told and even before the job did eventually commence I was charged on my credit card the full balance due which wasn't supposed to be paid until the contract was completed as clearly stated in the contract and discussed with the owner before signing. I eventually got a copy of the charge slip from the credit card issuer noting that it wasnt my signature.

The quality of the work is very poor. About one third of the tiles laid are not level. Throughout the installation the installer complained that the owner of the business, Joe Prizzi, was pressuring him to get it done quickly so he could get on another job. This probably caused the poor workmanship.

When confronting Mr. Prizzi with the premature charge to my credit card he would not admit that he inappropriately took my money before the job completed, let alone before it had even begun. He even stated at one point that he thought it was done even though he had no sign off of acceptance by me. Although he did offer to replace 11 tiles I was reluctant to have his installer do the work because i dont believe he had the proper skills to do the job. I did not have any trust with him that he would make good on the promise to fix the poor workmanship as he argued that my floor was not level, an untrue statement as the tile that was removed was perfectly level as are all the foyers in my building. And, even if it weren't level wouldn't you expect to be told that fact before laying an entire floor so you have a chance to make the needed fixes.

The bottom line is that this guy doesn't appear to have any business ethics and is willing to bang your credit card for full payment in contradiction to his own written contract that says "COD upon completion...". In this fashion yiu have no recourse for poor workmanship and no negotiating room. If you are looking for a tile installation job then beware that this might happen to you if you choose this company.