Complaint Review: Empire Today

May 2014 we purchased & had carpet installed in our entire new reckroom. Got a 50/50/50 sale for Memorial Day. The salesman ( Mr.Chubly) came showed us samples. Said he was giving us a free carpet pad upgrade with our 25 year warranted carpet that is waterproof and stain resistant. We were excited!! ( Until we Weren't) The installers were to arrive the next morning & didn't show. I called Empire and the installers were being rescheduled.( Not very Professional!) When they did come, the men went about their install. I tried asking a couple questions but quickly found out that this crew speaks little to no English. To their credit?, the job was done quickly and they vaccumed upon completion. BUT, The installers left a pile of carpet & padding in our basement & the only one that spoke just Broken English said they'd be back. We asked about the smell and he said it was fumes from the carpet and it would go away in a couple days.

By June, I called about the garbage left behind & the smell. I was told someone would call back. NOTHING! By July & August, the smell is getting worse. I called and was told that we need to hire a professional carpet cleaner to clean odor. $129 and Still it stinks! I realize that the smell was coming from the ENTIRE perimeter having what appears to be male cat spray which is drawing my cats to the spots. Believing my carpet was waterproof & stain resistant, and because its not recommended, we did not have the carpet cleaners ( Stanley Steamers) saturate the carpet. We have spent Months on Carpet cleaning, enzymes to destroy, even had other carpet installers pull up areas, for Viewing ONLY!) To find entire perimeter as well as Enclosed Closet ALL had/have Urine/Spray & also that they used Cheap wood tack strips as well. I have spoken with numerous people at Empire Today who have either said someone would return our call or finally, that we can PAY THEM $400.00 for Labor to have this Toxic Carpet removed and replaced. ( We aren't sure seeing as we were told carpet was waterproof). I argued with Helen, after Numerous calls, that why only remove carpet when the pad may have been the issue & that BOTH need to be removed Immediately from my home. Helen at Empire became the contact person after Vickey; and it Appears that there is Nobody above Helen?? She has held our home hostage by lying.

First insisting on the $400.00 labor fee, then saying I need to sign an agreement form that only is consent to replace.The form turned out to be a Full and Final agreement stating all releases to/from everything and everybody including that I can't post reviews, comments etc. I called Helen and disputed the Hold HARMLESS CONTRACT after filing my complaint. It is now January 2015 and they have not removed their Stinky carpet & pad from my home. We have not been able to finish our "New" Reckroom, our drywall has been damaged, I have spent close to $600 on carpet cleaning and enzymes and countless hours of my life cleaning, waiting for cleaning, on the phone with them talking about the damage & cleaning, arguing, have had LUNA Carpet come to give quotes, all the time spent writing back and forth and have even had 2 hospital visits because of illness that was triggered by the stress of dealing with Empires Today LLC.s Poor quality Products,Service & lack of Warranty care. I requested they remove these products, pay for the costs I have incured for caroet cleaners, cleaning solutions, drywall damage, trim, and at one point, I was going to trust them to replace. They have offered NOTHING but the Cost we paid minus the deposit. This business sells you a product using salesmen full of lies, in hopes that you'll be so excited by the price that you won't notice the lack of quality, the fact you've been lied to, that you actually have overpaid and that once they have installed your flooring, that Empires Warranty and Customer Service is pretty much Absent!

Almost 8 months and I am still being held hostage by Helen at Empire! I have NEVER, in my Life, done business with such a Shady Company! And the Fact that they have SO Many BBB listings and are ALL the Same company Nationwide... Over 1100 complaints on just one Listings in Northern IL.; and they have an A? Really? You'd be better off doing it yourself from a Big Box store, at least their would be a Real human that Cares and is Local instead of trying to find a Lawyer from Whatever State You're in that is Licensed to Practice in Illinois. Good Luck! This is how Empire gets away with ALL of this! You think they're local and they Don't even have their own Instalation crews! Everybody is Subbed out so you don't even know what type if person will show up at your home. Had I known ANY of this I would NEVER have Allowed EMPIRE TODAY into my home for ANY reason! I want this Crap out of my home and I want my money back!! I am literally So Sick from dealing with this company of Scammers! I NEED this Crap OUT so I can finish my reckroom & make my home Safe for myself, my family, my pets. I am Afraid what damage this could cause, regarding health, mold & even what this damage is doing to my property value. And before anyone says " Just pull it out yourself", IF I do,( I am Disabled) I lose our money; it's a large area which I will also have to pay for deposal. Although, I do Believe the reason they are doing this is to keep MY money. It is an expense that wasn't cheap and Continues to cost both money & time. BUYER BEWARE!! This Company not only Bait & Switches, they Lie, Scam & they dont care because NOBODY can stop them. They deserve an F on their rating!! Company moto should be " See You in Our Review Mirror"