Patsy G.
04/10/2018 12:00:00 SA
Continuing from 12/07/17...The first time my husband and I met with Darren he was very helpful in educating us about the difference between rectified and unrectified wood plank tile. Derren made it known he preferred to work with unrectified tile, but would still take on a job and complete quality work using rectified tile. Derren did say he would charge 50 cents more per square foot if we chose rectified tile. Derren provided us with vendors he uses for the tile and even suggested a tile he had previously installed. After a couple of weeks of tile hunting we chose a Marazzi porcelain RECTIFIED tile. I called Derren and told him we were okay with paying the extra cost for the rectified tile. Derren assured us the Marazzi tile was a good quality tile and we would be happy with the results.
Well, the tile comes in, Derren goes to pick up the tile, but returns to our home saying the tile is defective. Derren believes the tile is "bowed" and encourages us to choose new tile. Derren again suggests the tile he previously installed for another customer. We told Derren we would go look for new tile if the tile we selected was defective. I ask Derren about the return and refund on the tile and if we will have any issues. Derren advised he would speak with the vendor and call me. I never heard from Derren, although I left him at least one message. I would have thought this was a priority being the flooring in our home had already been removed and the amount of money we paid for the tile. No call.
My husband and I go see the vendor and explain to a very helpful gal we needed to find out about returning the defective tile. The vendor tells us there will be a restocking fee of $700-750. I questioned the fee, as Derren said the tile was defective. The gal immediately said, "it's not defective." Long story short, the vendor had contacted the manufacturer's local representative who came out, looked at the tile and said the tile was better than specs. The gal also said they have sold over 80,000sqft of the tile we selected and they have not had any returned! I have a flashback to checking Derren's Registar of Contractor record (for Harper Stone and Tile) and realize this should have been my first light bulb moment and clue NOT to hire Derren! His license had previously been expired or suspended for various reasons. Anyway, my husband calls Derren from the vendor. No answer. Message left for Derren to call.
On our way home Derren calls. He seems bewildered as to why the tile couldn't be returned without a restocking fee and offers to pay $400. Obviousy, he never attempted to call the vendor about the return or he would have already been aware of the fee or maybe he just thought we were stupid, would pay the fee and find another tile. With that being said, we offered Derren an out and told him we would understand if he didn't want to do the job. No hard feelings. Well, Derren's response was that he needed the job. Or, was it he needed to pick up his saw that was still at our home? ( Light bulb moment number two)!!
The next day, Derren shows up late and meets with my husband. My husband gives Derren a second opportunity to opt out of the job with no hard feelings and addresses our expectations of a quality installation, rectified tile or otherwise. Derren advised he was still willing to complete the job. (Mind you, Derren's tile saw had been set up in our garage for the past couple of days while the job was on hold). Derren continues his work, throws float on the floor in our bedroom and does not smooth out the edges so there is an obvious lip when it drys. Derren mentioned his grinder was broke. Derren sits in the bedroom and purposely works vigorously on chipping the tile and then shows my husband how it chips. Derren quietly walks outside, packs his saw and equipment. My husband confronts Derren asking him if he was leaving. Derren says yes. I don't believe Derren had any intentions of completing the job. I'm pretty sure he just wanted to get his saw back!! Derren is told we wanted a refund for work not performed, a reasonable request. An agreement was made on the amount to be returned. We received partial payment that night, but as previously stated in original review, we waited for the balance to be paid after Christmas because Derren said he did not have the money. (But yet, it was okay for us to have our home in shambles at Christmas time! I wouldn't call us difficult people, would you? Derren believes we are)!
So, this was the gist of it! There were a couple of other shenanigans, but I was out of typing space, so had to shorten up the horrible experience!
In the end, no thanks to Derren (Harper Stone and Tile), but we did end up with beautiful floors and a quality installation! Should anyone need an honest and reputable contractor who completes quality work, please feel free to message me! Oh, and we saved money too!!
