Frustrated customers of a major flooring store are calling the company on the carpet about what they say is poor service and communication. Some Jack's Carpet customers asked consumer expert Amy Davis for help getting refunds and fixes to their new floors.
"I don't know if it's a financial issue," customer Stephanie Gutierrez told Davis. "I don't know if it's a managerial issue. I have no idea what's going on."
Gutierrez said the treatment she's received from Jack's Carpet stinks; and it's not just because she hasn't been able to use her toilet for a week. The contractor the company sent to tile her home left a big gap between the toilet and the new floor, with bolts sticking up more than an inch of both sides.
"I was told they would come back on Tuesday to fix and that never happened," Gutierrez explained.
This was all after a month of delays to even start the job Gutierrez paid nearly $3,000 for in December.
"I just want them to know this is not okay," Gutierrez said. "And I really don't want other people to have to go through this either."
But other customers are going through it, according to Denisha Maxey, of the Houston Better Business Bureau.
"Consumers are just complaining," Maxey said." They are not getting their money, They're not getting payments. They are just basically being left high and dry with no contact form the company."
Maxey said she noticed an uptick in complaints against the company this year. There were six in just two months. Customers claim they are due refunds from $1,500 to more than $11,000.
The complaints are very similar to stories we told you in 2012. Jack's Carpet filed for bankruptcy in 2013 owing more than $5.5 million dollars to creditors, customers and the IRS. That bankruptcy is still pending.
"We've downsized the company all together," owner Jack Fitzpatrick, Junior said. "At one time we had 21 locations; and now we have six."
Fitzpatrick told Channel 2 sales have been down since November. That, coupled with several long-time employees who retired recently, has contributed to the issues frustrating so many.
"We're sorry for any inconvenience that we caused anybody," said Fitzpatrick. "We've had hundreds of thousands of customers in Houston who are pleased with our work."
Fitzpatrick personally went to Gutierrez' home with a contractor to fix her toilet the day after Davis spoke with him.
He refunded another customer $7,800 within two days of Davis' call, after they had been waiting at least three weeks.
If you have an issue that you have been unable to resolve, ask for Jack directly or email him at jackjr@jackscarpet.com. If you can't reach him, email consumer expert Amy Davis at adavis@kprc.com.
