Budget Interiors

In March of 2014 I chose vinyl flooring and carpet for a small bathroom and dressing area in my home. The sales associate was very helpful in actually saving some money by helping me choose vinyl that came in a size where there would be minimal waste (which I would be paying for). I was informed that there would be a subfloor prep and minimum labor charge because of it being a small job. I was a bit taken aback by that, but I placed my order and gave them my credit card number over the phone for the agreed upon 65% down. A few days later I noticed that my credit card balance had gone up dramatically. On further checking, the amount for the 65% down had been charged twice on my credit card- each entry was for Budget Interiors (BI) but with different numbers attached with the store info (curious but never got an explanation from anyone- neither BI nor my credit card company- as to why that would be).I contacted BI as to why there were two charges- they only had record of one charge. My card company had no idea either, so I disputed one of the charges with my card company and thought (silly me) that that would be the end of any problem. In the meantime there was a problem getting the carpet from a supplier- but the sales associate was good about checking and returning my call to let me know what was the holdup. Finally the carpet came in. Again, since it was a small job (guess they don't believe in the "no job too small" philosophy which will bring satisfied return customers), there was a delay finding a schedule date. Finally, on the appointed installation day, 5/22/14, (9 weeks after order placed )the installers were supposed to be here between 9-9:30. 10:15 and no installers- I called and was informed that they were in the warehouse loading their truck. Installers finally arrive- 2 vehicles- 4 guys and without the underlayment and supplies they needed- back to the warehouse. They proceeded to lay the padding for the carpet and get a call from the owner telling them to stop working- that the payment from our credit card had been withdrawn from their bank account. Needless to say there were many, many phone calls to BI and our credit card company trying to sort out what happened. We spent several weeks going round and round and finally decided to dispute the remaining charge on our credit card and pay BI with a check. The money was refunded to us from our Card company. We agreed with BI that they would take a check for payment of the original 65% down and we would pay the balance on satisfactory completion of the job. I went to the BI store with the check and a document that the financial person signed saying they would do nothing further with our credit card. They had a hand written gobbledygook document which I (mistakenly) signed which must have been interpreted by BI and my credit card company that I would allow them to re- process the charge. This all resulted in BI being paid twice for the 65% down. A day or so after the charge reappears on my credit card I get a call from the sales person stating that when the floors are installed we would get a check for the overage of the entire balance. It gets better. Finally, on the rescheduled install day, 7/15/14 (18 wks=4.5months), (again difficult to schedule because it was a " small job"), the installers were supposed to be there between 9-9:30. 10:30 and still no installers. A guy answered the phone and was pleasant and personable at least, but he said essentially 'yeah, you were supposed to be first thing, but the installers have about an hour left on a job that they could not finish yesterday. They will be at your place late morning-- Oh, I guess it IS late morning now'. The installers arrive and proceed to SMASH A WINDOW at the foot of the steps. We were going to have the installer take care of replacing the window, but we wanted to be so far away from anything/ anyone having to do with Budget Interiors that we decided to fix it ourselves. And of course.... The installers did not have the check for the overage amount. And...no one at the office that day to authorize or cut the check for the overage. Then...on 7/16 the person who could authorize/cut the check was out having her hair done. FINALLY on 7/17 I personally went to the store AGAIN and picked up the check and immediately deposited it. I waited anxiously for a few days expecting the check to bounce (why not?). Thank goodness the check did not bounce. There is a good part- the installers did do a good job as far as I can tell, and they did use very good padding as they said they would. I will never use this company again. I have no way of knowing whether they were trying to do anything shady with the initial double charge- it could very well have been a "snafu", but with our personal thousands of flawless credit card transactions and the slippery way they had me sign a gobbledygook waiver that essentially paid them twice, it really makes me wonder.

I had inherited my childhood home. It was in need of some updates and flooring was one of them. I did not know which company in the Valley to use. I happened upon the Budget Interiors website. Nice professionally built site. It had a lot of answers to my questions. I was so impressed with the website that I phoned and made an appointment to go in and look at flooring samples. As I have 3 small dogs, I was interested in vinyl flooring. There are a lot of nice ecofriendly vinyl products on the market today. Nice showroom. Nice salesman. I selected a kind of pricey vinyl - but chose it on its' reputation for quality. I paid my deposit and was scheduled for installation in the middle of September, 2012. I paid additional to have the appliances moved and my sons and I moved all the furniture and decorations out of the areas to receive flooring. I was told this would be complete in one day. They sent 2 guys. One middle age - and a helper. They showed up around 10:30 in the morning and put down the subfloor. They left at 3:00. So much for one day installation. We couldn't access the rooms involved - so we had to eat out. The next day - they showed up around the same time with the vinyl and proceeded to install it. They argued amongst themselves while doing it. After about 4 hours it was done and we moved our furniture back. It looked great! In October I started noticing a few bubbles here and there. No big deal - I thought it was a normal process and that they would seal flat again. Boy was I wrong! The bubbles spread and spread to big giant gaps that are about 2 to 3 FEET of flooring that is not attached to the subfloor. It look absolutely horrible! I was working retail at the time this started happening. It got really bad around the holidays of 2012. To the point that I was afraid that our shoes would catch on it and rip the vinyl. So here we go - trying to resolve the situation with Budget who by the way has a recording when they put you on hold that states "We stand on our reputation and so can you". Once the holidays were over - in January I started to call. Phoned 3 times before I got a call back. They sent out the original salesman to look at the flooring. Came and looked at it - great. But then they never called back! I called again. And again. And again. Finally I got a call back and they stated they were sending someone to fix it. I scheduled the day off and waited. They were a no show. I got a call around 10:00 and they said the installer had called in sick. Mind you this took over a month and a half of making the first phone call to have them schedule someone. I was told the delay was that they wanted to have the original man fix it as it was probably his fault and they wouldn't have to pay him to fix his own work. Then this "original man" was scheduled on what I was told was a "big commercial project" and wouldn't be available for another month or so. This was simply not acceptable. I had paid $2000 and the flooring has bubbled and rippled EVERYWHERE! I started calling every single week. I would like to say that the ONLY person at Budget Interiors I have EVER spoke to is a gentleman by the name of Pete. He is a nice guy. He tries hard. But he isn't in a position to make any decisions without checking with the owners. The owners have never ONCE bothered to call me and rectify this situation in any way be it ripping it out and reinstalling something different, fixing the product, or just plainly refunding my money! One day when I was there one of the owners pulled up in an expensive SUV and came into the store laughing. She talked to the receptionist - obviously related - for a few minutes and then left. After dealing with me for once a week for a couple of months - they (Pete) told me they were sending in an independent flooring inspector to figure out what went wrong. He told me it could be that the vinyl was manufactured incorrectly or that the glue had simply failed. So I waited. Scheduled another day off. The indepent inspector came on time and as scheduled. His mouth dropped open when he saw the floors. He ran test after test on the vinyl. He tested the moisture in the house. He asked me how I cleaned it. He went into the basement and did tests there. I was getting scared. Was it something that I had done? He wouldn't give me any details. He left. I waited. After a few more weeks had passed I started to call again to see if the results were in. They were. This whole nightmare happened - according to the expeert - because the vinyl was cut TOO LONG all around the edges and doesn't have enough room to expand or contract. During this time of waiting I had decided to stop at Budget to select an alternative flooring. I selected a laminate wood flooring. I was willing to pay the difference between the $2000 I had already paid them and whatever the cost would be to replace it with something different. Another couple of weeks passed. It is now May of 2013. They (Pete) had told me that their solution would be to once again send someone out to fix it. I told him I am ready to call an attorney. This is ridiculous already! He stated they would be here on May 23rd and I wrote it on the calendar. Today is May 23. I called at 9:00 to see why they were not here. Pete put me on hold and then said he had it scheduled for tomorrow the 24th. We shall see if they show up tomorrow or not. If they can fix it or not. I am not moving ANY furniture or accessories from these 2 rooms until I see the whites of their eyes! I wonder if they are still sending the same guys that did it wrong the first time so they won't have to pay them?? I am having a high school graduation party in my home this weekend for my youngest son. My relatives that haven't been here since my Mother died will be in my home. I would like it to look nice! It is truly a shame that 9 MONTHS later I am still dealing with this vinyl flooring installation. I think today I will contact an attorney and get some legal advice. If this situation is corrected to my satisfaction I will gladly get back on Angie's List and tell the end of this story. I too - own and operate my own business. It is built one sale at a time through mostly word of mouth. If ANY of my clients had a problem - I would be there for them and I would rectify the situation. That's the right thing to do!!!

Worst experience ive ever had doing business with a company.

i was looking for a certin laminate else where and it was discontinued but budget gave me hope. and said they would search up and down to try to find what i wanted. well, they did. and i got my laminate and all the special attention which really made me feel special. the installers were also so very nice. i would/ will be going back for sure. thanks guys for all your wonderful help.