The City of New York has filed a lawsuit against National Floors Direct, alleging the in-home flooring services retailer committed nearly 2,500 counts of violations of consumer protection laws. The legal action comes after an extensive investigation that uncovered repeated complaints alleging regular predatory and deceptive business practices.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that National Floors Direct preys on consumers by targeting them with false advertisements, routinely misleading them about when service will begin, providing poor quality work and refusing to offer refunds and cancellations in violation of the law. The lawsuit asserts that National Floors Direct falsely advertises “free next day flooring installations” only to routinely delay and reschedule appointments multiple times, and then refuse to provide refunds when consumers try to cancel their contract due to the delays, leaving consumers frustrated and without the products or services they paid for.
Worse, according to the lawsuit, the company regularly misrepresents the work needed to fulfill contracts, such as removing the existing flooring, adding on additional costs for the consumer to simply get what they thought they had already purchased. The lawsuit goes on to note that when National Floors Direct does fulfill a contract, the work is of such poor quality that consumers regularly pay additional costs just to repair the damage done to their homes. The suit further alleges that National Floors Direct offers discounts on basic installations, only to later inform consumers that removing existing flooring is not covered in a basic installation, adding costs to consumers.
As a remedy, The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) is seeking consumer restitution, civil penalties and the suspension or revocation of National Floors Direct’s home improvement contractor license. “The alleged conduct in this suit is unacceptable, and our administration’s action to hold them accountable is yet another example of our unwavering commitment to working-class New Yorkers and keeping money in their pockets,” said Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams concurred, adding in a statement: “Renovating a home is one of the biggest investments a New Yorker will ever make, and that’s why consumers deserve to do business with fair and honest home improvement companies that don’t stiff their customers of thousands of dollars and leave them with shoddy work. New York City has some of the strictest consumer protection laws in the nation, and we are going to enforce those laws against operators that try to take advantage of working-class New Yorkers. With this lawsuit, we are putting National Floors Direct and all others who think they are going to take advantage of New York’s consumers on notice.”
National Floors Direct, a family-owned operation that started in 2005, refutes the allegations, telling FCNews: “National Floors Direct is aware of an action filed by the City of New York in its administrative court. National Floors Direct has successfully serviced hundreds of thousands of customers for custom carpet and flooring installation projects since 2013, when National Floors Direct began operating in New York City. By contrast, the City of New York’s meritless action is based on roughly 30 customer complaints dating all the way back to 2019.”
But DCWP Commissioner, Vilda Vera Mayuga, said National Floors Direct’s “deceptive practices have left dozens of New Yorkers out of thousands of dollars because the company damaged their homes or simply refused to provide services.”
For its part, National Floors Direct said its track record speaks otherwise, telling FCNews: “Since its founding, National Floors Direct has prided itself on providing each of our customers with high-quality installation services, premium name-brand carpet and flooring products, and exceptional customer service at an incredible value. Our care for—and commitment to—our customers is reflected in our high customer satisfaction ratings, our almost 20 years in business, our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and the thousands of positive public customer reviews posted by our customers.”
Industry response
FCNews reached out to several independent floor covering retailers to get their take on the development. “Our customers frequently report these types of experiences with both NFD and Empire,” said Sam Locher, vice president of business development, AJ Rose Carpets & Flooring, Burlington, Mass. “We end up securing quite a bit of business because we pride ourselves on being the antithesis of the National Floors Direct model. Our focus on quality, low-pressure tactics and customer satisfaction sets us apart. We believe building long-term relationships with our customers is essential to our success. This is evident in our high rate of repeat business. NFD and Empire’s model seems to be more of slash-and-burn approach.”
Adam Joss, owner of The Vertical Connection Carpet One, Columbia, Md., said there is nothing wrong with the business model of home services retailers, provided they do the job the right way. “In-home sales offer a convenient shopping experience for homeowners. The question is how an organization treats its prospects and customers, not the process in which they purchase.”
Incidents such as these, specialty retailers say, illustrate the benefits of dealing with small businesses. “As we continually promote being a small, independent, family-owned business, I believe news of the lawsuits of the large flooring conglomerates actually make retailers like ourselves more appealing,” said John Bretzloff, president, Barefoot Flooring, Castle Hayne, N.C.
Still, lawsuits like the one presented can have a chilling effect. “These types of lawsuits, especially on such a large scale as NFD, are a black eye to our industry,” said Sam O’Krent, president of San Antonio-based O’Krent Floors and chairman of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA).
