By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga on Tuesday announced a lawsuit against National Floors Direct, a nationwide company that sells and installs flooring, alleging nearly 2,500 counts of violations of the city’s consumer protection laws.
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. DCWP is seeking consumer restitution, civil penalties, and the suspension or revocation of National Floors Direct’s Home Improvement Contractor license. DCWP encourages consumers who were deceived or harmed by the company to file a consumer complaint at nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page?utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery.
National Floors Direct has regularly been one of the most complained about home improvement contractors in New York City over the last five years. Since 2019, DCWP has received 30 consumer complains about the company’s detailing predatory and deceptive practices, leading to the investigation.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, argues that National Floors Direct falsely advertises “free next day flooring installations” only to routinely delay and reschedule appointments multiple times, and then has refused 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, the company regularly misrepresents the work needed to fulfill contracts, like removing the existing flooring, adding on additional costs for the consumer to simply get what they thought they had already purchased. Consumers are left in the terrible position of either losing the money they have already paid or having to pay hundreds of dollars more than agreed upon to complete the installation. The suit highlights two consumers who were forced to pay nearly $1,000 in additional costs because National Floors Direct failed to disclose additional costs at the time of contract.
The lawsuit goes on to note that when National Floors Direct does fulfil a contract, the work is of such poor quality that consumers regularly pay additional costs just to repair the damage done to their homes. One consumer had to sew together the carpet she paid National Floors Direct to install because it began unraveling shortly after installation. Another had to replace the flooring National Floors Direct installed after just six months because portions were peeling off and uneven. National Floors Direct has refused to provide these consumers with refunds or fix their situation.
National Floors Direct routinely fails to disclose conditions or limitations on its “free” services and fails to disclose additional installation charges in its advertisements. The company offers discounts on basic installations, only to later inform consumers that removing existing flooring is not covered in a basic installation, adding additional costs to consumers.
Finally, the lawsuit claims that National Floors Direct interferes with and violates consumers’ rights to cancel contracts within the legally permitted three-day cancellation period. One consumer was told they were not allowed to cancel after just 24 hours and lost a $5,000 deposit. Another consumer was unable to reach anyone at National Floors Direct during the three-day period. The company illegally pocketed the money that these consumers had every right to get refunded.
