Floored by tile turmoil

“We have had an ongoing battle over one thing or another with our flooring company since July,” Sally and Rob Roy recently told Action Line. “When our salesman came to our home in Binbrook to measure our foyer, he estimated the job at 196 square feet and said we’d require 18 boxes of ceramic tile. I thought this was too much tile, but didn’t challenge him because he said he would take back any unopened cartons.”

The homeowners were quoted a price and placed a deposit on their credit card.

They were told an installer would be in touch.

On Aug. 4, the installer provided a possible start date of Aug. 12. But the day before, the Roys say he called again to say he’d sprained his ankle and was not available.

The following week, they called their retailer, but say they still couldn’t get any definitive answers.

“At that point, we said we would buy the tile from the store and find our own installer. They gave us a $1/square foot discount for our troubles and I picked up the tile on Aug. 30.”

The couple’s installer finished the job by Sept. 12, but there were two boxes of tile left over.

“I took the boxes back to the store expecting the salesmen to refund $176.30,” Roy told us. “He said they wouldn’t take them back, showing me the sales slip I signed when I picked up the tile on Aug. 30. It states: ‘All sales final.’”

Roy left the tiles at the store.

“This has been bizarre to say the least,” he said. “What are we supposed to do? What options do we have?”

Well, you can always write Action Line.

We contacted Alexanian Carpet and Flooring and the manager of their Upper James store immediately apologized, offered to refund the $176.30 and return the two boxes of tile to them.

“I was not aware of this situation until I received your email,” Garo Magakian told Action Line.

“I would never have allowed this complaint to go on this long. I just spoke to Mrs. Roy and apologized on behalf of Alexanian’s. I decided to refund the cost of the two boxes, but also suggested she keep them in case she ever needs to repair a section of her new floor. I have been a very proud member of the Alexanian team for 28 years. At this time I thank Mr. Roy and yourself for making myself aware of this situation.”

All the firm’s installers are subcontractors.

The Roys originally agreed to pay Alexanian’s $3,378.16 for the tiles and installation.

“We placed a $1,778.16 deposit,” Roy said. “The final payment of $1,600 was to be due when the job was completed, but was never paid. They did give us a discount of $191.44 when I cancelled the installation. We paid our own installer about $1,900.”

Deduct the $176.30 and it’s pretty much a wash.

Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act governs “future performance” contracts such as these. When ordering goods and services, it’s often best if you have a delivery or installation date inserted in your contract. If you don’t receive the goods and services within 30 days of that date, you can ask that the deal be cancelled and your money refunded.