Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  05/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Hello, We went to Val-********** on 29th April 2023 since we wanted to replace the laminate flooring in our basement with vinyl flooring. After selecting the vinyl flooring, we were given an estimate of approx. $1,800 based on my measure of the floor area of approx. 200 sq. ft. (works out to $9 per sq ft.)The owner came in to measure the floor area on May 3rd , and on May 4th, he called to say that it measured 246 sq ft and the cost would be $2475 + GST. (works out to $10.06 per sq ft). He increased the cost per sq. ft. and the square footage. I gave him the benefit of doubt and accepted it since I thought I may have made an error in calculating the square footage and just wanted the work to get done and also since I had engaged him for doing the carpeting at my place (before moving in) when we purchased our home in 2012.As requested, I paid the full amount before the work started. He charged me $2,500 + GST (not $2,475 + GST) vide Invoice # ***** dt May 8, 2023.Val-********** sent 2 installers to do the flooring replacement on May 25, 2023. They did the job though they did not do the caulking after replacing the old baseboards.The basement area was empty when the installers came except for a sofa and desk. They took the sofa out and turned the desk on its side. On one basement wall there is a 65 ** wall mounted around 5 ft from the ground. The ** was covered in a cloth to protect it from dust since they would be working beneath it. The next evening (May 26) , I reset all the computer and **/home theatre connections in the basement and after putting on the **, noted that there was a band of vertical rainbow color lines across the screen and at the bottom of that band, it clearly showed the point of impact.It was clear that one of the installers had accidentally hit the screen with some object (very likely a piece of baseboard when moving it around or some tool in their hand). I texted the owner and emailed him the picture. He called me the next morning (May 27) . Without even speaking to his installers, he blamed me and said that I also cleared things from the basement so I might have damaged it. He asked me if I have proof and any camera recording. I told him no one puts cameras in their house and if he expected me to be around them - no tradesperson wants you near them when working. I told him that I am not cheap to make a false claim and that the ** is in one corner of the room so there is nothing in that area that needed to be moved across it that could cause damage. I told him to come and prove to me what I could have possibly done to cause damage. About an hour or so later, one of the installers called me. He said that he didnt even know there was a ** in the room. He said he saw something big and covered with a cloth but didnt know what it was. Could someone please explain to me how come a person cannot see a 65 ** which almost measures 5 ft x 3 ft mounted on a wall in an almost empty room and especially when you are working right beneath it? And he said his colleague who was there with him when speaking and who was the other ******* assisting him that day told him that he swears ** *** **** ****** **** ** *** *** *** *** **** *** ****** ****** **** * **** *** (incidentally the day he was at my place). ** ******** ** **** ****** *** *** ******* ****** ** ********** ********** ** ******* ***** **** * ****** *** ***** ******. ** ***** **** **** ****** ***** ****** ******** ** **** ****** *** ****** **** ** ** *** ******** *****.I sent the owner an email with the above info the same night (May 27) and asked him to take a note of what the installer said and that it is adequate proof that something went wrong. It is human nature to deny when you are faced with a loss claim. I informed him that if I could spend $2,600 on basement flooring, I wouldnt care to spend $2,000 for a 65 ** (including mounting costs). Since I have not yet received any reply after waiting for a week, I am now filing this complaint for reimbursement.I measured the area of my basement again. The basement including a small extension in the storage area which also had the flooring replaced totalled to 210 sq ft - not 246 sq ft. This is proof that the owner ****** the numbers and speaks of his integrity. I purchased the ** in March 2021 from Best Buy for a total of $1,539.98 and the mounting costs were $391.99. I have the Invoices for this. I need the owner to reimburse me a total of ********. Have attached images of the Invoice, Receipts, ** set up area and the damaged screen showing the impacted area and the resulting screen display impact and the drag scratch across the screen at the bottom.Thank you *************************** ************ *******************

  

  Business response

  07/06/2023

  Dear Mr. *****

  Were sorry that you feel our service didnt satisfy your expectations, and with all due respect we would like to clarify few things.

  You were charged $2500 + GST for the flooring job which included: Flooring LVP, Base boards, Removal &disposal of old floor & installation of LVP & baseboards.
  ** Furniture moving, caulking and painting base boards are not included.

  As for the flooring square footage of the area , it is 210sq.ft + 10% cuts & waste = 231sq.ft Which is 9 boxes LVP x 27.33sq.ft in box = 246 sf.

  As for the ** damage, we do take these matters seriously.

  We did actually talk to our crew and we are confident that the damage to your tv was not done by them, they were as usual very careful not to touch any of the room surrounding during the floor installation, your tv was covered and it is approx. 5 feet from the ground which is more than enough space to do the installation underneath it.
  Your tv damage was not done by our company and unfortunately for that reason we are declining to reimburse you.

  Please feel free to contact us for any further comments, concerns, or suggestions you wish to share
  Best regards.
  Abee

  Customer response

  09/06/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I accept the explanation given about the square footage calculation.

  I do not accept about the non acceptance of damage responsibility and the refusal to reimburse. The owner is twisting my words to say that the ** is 5 foot from the ground. I have sent in my email complaint a picture of the ** area showing the mounted **. The ** is a rectangular shape for anyone who has not seen a **. The top horizontal line of the ** is 5ft 6"  from the ground. The bottom horizontal line of the ** is only 34" from the ground. As seen in the picture I sent showing the damaged screen view, the point of impact is  at the bottom of the ** near the bottom line. Does it take a person with an IQ of 100 to realise that even a person of average height stands next to that ** with their hands by their side, the palm of their hand is just on par with the bottom horizontal  line of the **. The owner has visited my basement and he knows this for a fact. The ** is right above the area where the baseboards and tile replacement was done. So if someone is working below the ** and moves something like a baseboard piece or a tool piece around, it's obviously going to impact the **. 

  I had narrated my conversation with the 2 workmen in my complaint for a reason. It is very clear that the impact was caused by the ******* named ***. He is the tall guy and he was the one who told me that he never even realised there was a ** in the room and only saw something big covered with a cloth (this was done to protect it from any dust). And this is a 65" ** in a 200 sq ft. empty room. He inadvertently revealed himself as the culprit by making the most ridiculous excuse. Even a 10 year old entering that room would have been able to tell you that there is a mounted **. If the owner thinks that he can ignore this fact, then maybe a ghost came into the room *** damaged it. 

  When I initially complained to the owner after the incident, he had told me he has been working with these 2 workmen for 18 years and he knows their work. This was to imply that there is no way they could have damaged anything. That is akin to someone saying that they have been driving for 18 years and there is no way they can ever have an accident. There is a word in the dictionary called "mistake". I request the owner to look it up and check the definition if he thinks his workmen are god like supermen.

  It is time for the owner to accept there was a mistake and reimburse me the amount claimed.

  Thank you
  

  ***************************
  

   

   

  
  

   

   

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  

  Business response

  21/06/2023

   

  With all due respect Mr ***** is accusing us of something we didnt do and we would like him to stop.
  With all due respect he keeps on accusing us of cheating and of damaging his tv. We strongly refuse these accusations, as it seems that he is analyzing and assuming how things happened.
  I am not twisting his words or making assumptions, I am just telling facts and if it was our fault we will take responsibility and compensate, but we are confident that the damage to the tv was not done by our installers, and I believe I have the right to ask if he has any proof to his accusations.
  Simply the job was done and completed and our installers did not touch the tv during the floor installation,
  The damage was not done by our company and unfortunately for that reason we are declining to reimburse him.
  Please feel free to contact us for any further comments, concerns, or suggestions
  Best regards.
  Abee
  
  
  
  

  Customer response

  23/06/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: all the facts as presented are proof of my claim. Yes, I don't have eyewitness or video surveillance because I live in a home, not a military facility which has closed circuit cameras in every room. If the ** screen was in perfect condition the day before the work started and then revealed this problem after the work was completed and his 2 workmen were the only people who were in that rroom working right below the ** between those 2 points of time, then a rational and logical person can only conclude the obvious.

  Abee may state that he takes customer complaints seriously. If that was the case, when he was informed about it, he should have come here to see for himself what could have likely happened. He didn't. Instead he had the nerve to accuse me that I must have damaged it when moving things around. That is the behavioral response of a person who is trying to wriggle out of a guilty situation.  That's why I sent the picture of the ** area setup so an independent person can take a look and conclude for themselves.

  In my last communication, I accepted his explanation about the room measurement not beacuse it was correct but because it was not the focus of my complaint. It was the most convoluded explanation anyone could give.  

  His worker has damaged my ** (accidentally) . I am unable to use my ** to view any programs. It's been about a month now. If someone causes a loss, they have the responsibility to own it and make good that loss. 

  Since there is no point of going back and forth, I would like to settle this matter through arbitration.

  Sincerely,
  

  
  ***************************

  

  Business response

  07/07/2023

  07 July 2023
  With all due respect, the accusations of Mr.***** are false and we strongly refuse his accusations.
  The flooring job was done and completed without damaging anything in his place. If it was then we will take responsibility and compensate him even before he complains.        
  Please feel free to contact us for any further comments, concerns, or suggestions
  Best regards.
  Abee

  Customer response

  11/07/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because

  I have already asked previously for Arbitration process because this is going nowhere. I cannot use my TV for over a month now. I need a 3rd independent party to look at the facts and bring the owner and me to the table and arrive at the conclusion.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

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