Home Depot, East Palo Alto, CA - faulty Pergo floor installation - Pergo not honoring warranty - floor installed improperly by Home Depot

Complaints.com received the following on March 31, 2003:

From: Kathi DiTommaso [Email User]

RE: Home Depot, East Palo Alto, CA - faulty Pergo floor installation - Pergo not honoring warranty - floor installed improperly by Home Depot Complaint: Improperly installed Pergo flooring discovered 12/30/02 and as of this writing still in limbo as to the repair of damages and replacement of the flooring.... On 12/30/02,water seeped under our Pergo floor from a broken ice line (refrigerator.)

We notified Home Depot (HD), our contracted installer, the same day (5:45pm) & we're told that the whole floor has to come up, a claim would be immediately sent the following day. Pergo informed us on 12/30/02 that if the floor had been properly sealed (visual told us it wasn't when my husband pulled off the molding), then the water would've accumulated on top of the floor & we would've seen it.

Further inspection by a "Pergo certified inspector" at our cost (in hopes of expediting repairs) confirmed a faulty install (flooring wasn't installed properly according to Pergo's installations instructions.) After an enormous amount of follow-up with HD, finally a Pergo inspector (1/7/03) came out & made his report (filed w/Peggy Flynn at HD Corp) on 1/22/03. Conclusion: expansion spaces were not sealed behind the refrigerator. 'Failure to seal ...expansion spaces in areas where water intrusion is possible does represent a basis for a complaint against the installation contractor.' Pergo cleared a P.O. to HD to replace all materials & to cover installation. After additional prolonged follow-up, the portion of our ruined floor wasn't pulled up until 2/15/03!

Further, HD East Palo Alto refused to make good on their Asst. Mgr's (Neil Newton) promise that if the floor was found to be a faulty install, that 'he will take care of everything' to include any residual damages to cabinets, walls, etc. Actual quote per Neil Newton when he interrupted my question asking about the damage to our kitchen cabintets: "...whatever the damage is, if it's the manufacturer's fault, Pergo will take care of everything.

If it's an installer's fault, of course, we're going to take care of everything." This was via a 2-way call w/HD Corporate (Steve Nugent/Neil Newton, 1/3/03 (1:22pm). To date, we have a partial bare concrete floor, material waiting at HD EPA, & we want to have HD repair (as promised) the damage done by the faulty install (pull up vinyl that was saturated, treat concrete floor, sheet rock, etc w/Kilz or 10% clorox solution and replace oak baseboards.)

Further, Pergo is covering not only all materials, installation (by a Pergo certified installer of our choice; which after reading stories on this site have me reconsidering this all together) but moving expenses as well. (moving cleared per Tom Schmidt, Pergo on 3/6/03.) The delay caused by HD given the clearance by Pergo back on 1/22/03, resulted in continued damage to our kitchen cabinets, existing sub floor & surrounding walls. I sent a demand letter via e-mail back on 3/11/03 and to date, nothing has been done other than more and more phone calls and looking into this (as per Brenda Parker of HD .) This is a miserable situation and would like any assistance/advise. I was very pleased with the Pergo floor until this happened...all that concerned me was popping by the entrance of our patio and front door. However, in 20/20 hindsight, I'd do it all quite differently now.

I was giving Pergo kudos up until recently for at least making good on their warranty part (matierals, re-installation & moving) even tho the install was HD's fault. However, since as a consumer I'm no further along than having just the damaged portion ripped on 2/15/03.....I'm hating the whole idea of doing Pergo at all! No consumer should have to go through such a horrible experience!!

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Kathi DiTommaso