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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Customers of a local flooring company have been contacting WBTV for several weeks, saying they paid deposits for flooring and carpet work that was never completed.
As of Tuesday evening, 16 people filed complaints with the North Carolina Attorney General’s office against Flowers Flooring, which has locations in Cornelius and Winston Salem.
Renovations are in full swing at Lauren Trapuzzano’s house in Davidson.
She and her husband had expected new carpeting to be part of the project.
“We decided to purchase the carpet for the home before we even closed on the house,” Trapuzzano said.
She says they purchased the carpet as part of a 50% deal in June, and it was supposed to be installed by July. It was later delayed to August.
“I noticed the store hours dwindling, and then last week it was by appointment only,” Trapuzzano said of the Cornelius showroom. “Monday morning [August 21st] I called first thing, and that’s when the phones were off and the website was down.”
She says she wants her almost $6,000 dollar deposit back, and she’s not alone.
Her husband is one of at least 16 customers to file a complaint against Flowers Flooring with the North Carolina Attorney General as of Tuesday, August 29th.
That number of complaints is up from 10 filed by Thursday, August 24th.
Tom Bartholomy, the President of Better Business Bureau of Southern Piedmont and Western North Carolina, told WBTV they have received 14 complaints about Flowers Flooring.
The complaints to the BBB and the Attorney General’s Office center around issues at both Cornelius and Winston-Salem locations.
“This company isn’t doing any work, and they’ve taken my deposit,” Pat Stein, another customer, told WBTV.
Stein says he paid an almost $2,000 dollar deposit and Flowers Flooring never did any work.
Stein filed a small claims suit against the company owner Jeremy Flowers.
WBTV’s Caroline Hicks tried calling and texting Jeremy Flowers over the course of several days, but he did not answer.
According to state records, his company is still active.
Hicks also stopped by his house in Mooresville, but it is empty and real estate records show it’s up for sale.
It’s not just customers who are concerned about the company.
Greg Mays, a contracted employee, says he managed online ads for Flowers Flooring for a year and a half.
“May was the first time I had a late payment and it was significantly late,” Mays said. “I found out at that time that the billing or the accounting person that would usually pay my payments had been fired.”
He says the company owes him roughly $12,000 dollars.
Andrew Gleaves, with Blue Ridge Trucking Solutions LLC., stopped by the Cornelius storefront after he says he noticed he was not being paid on time for his work as a vendor.
“We recycle their carpet and carpet padding,” Gleaves said.
He says he noticed his May payment was late, but there was no one at the storefront to speak with about it.
Gleaves noticed other people voicing their concerns on social media, so he decided to start this Facebook group called Flowers Flooring Owes Us Money.
“To not pay your employees, not pay your vendors, I just don’t know why someone would walk away from that,” he said.
If you believe you are a victim, you are encouraged to contact the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office by clicking here.
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