Carlisle C.
Terrible customer service
Bought through Houzz. f I could give negative stars, I would. This whole experience has been really awful. I ordered two rugs from the company, one runner and one large area rug. When they arrived, the packaging for the area rug was opened at the end, because the company only shrink wraps the length of the rug, and then puts an inefficient sticker on the end to enclose it. The ends of the area rug were exposed and filthy. I let the company know that I would like to return the rug, and before I heard anything back from them, FEDEX was at my home, saying that they were here for a pick up. I asked if they were here for the rug, and they said that they had no information about what they were picking up. As I had no idea if my husband had planned for a package pick up of another item I was unaware of, or if this was for the rug, I declined pick up until I actually heard back from the company. The FEDEX employee said he'd they'd return for pickup the following day (Saturday) or Monday. When I did get a response, they said that the pick up was for the rug, but that I had to package the rug (which I never opened), and label the rug with extensive return information, which they neglected to actually provide the specifics of. This meant that I had to go out and buy packing tape and get material to do this, and then figure out the details they left out. I waited all day Saturday for pickup and wasn't able to leave my house, but there was no pick up. On Monday, I didn't work because I had to be present for pick up. The rug was picked then, and we awaited a replacement rug. I was also told that Fedex would try 3 times to pickup the rugs, and if I missed all 3, the return would be void. The replacement rug arrived, in exactly the same type of shoddy packaging with even more damage to the rug. I contacted the company again and let them know what was happening, and explained that I was losing time and money dealing wit this situation. I expressed that I'd like to work out some sort of refund, and perhaps just personally pay to have the rug cleaned, so that I could have the rug in my home sooner, as I had already waited so many weeks. They offered me $23.00, and before they received a response from me (which was less than 24 hours) and I could discuss the terms and negotiate something that felt fair, they began the shipping process for a new rug, and said that I was expected to once again return the damaged rug. Once again, I had to miss work and wait for a pick up. I was told that I could put the rug on my porch for pick up, which I was uncomfortable doing, as packages are often stolen in my neighborhood, and I would ultimately be at fault and lose even more money if a theft occurred. The replacement rug arrived properly shrink wrapped in good condition. I asked that the company give me a full refund, given the fact that I've monetarily lost money on this whole exchange, and they offered me $66.00. I spent approximately nine dollars on packing tape alone, and fourteen to use the mandated plastic for them to accept the returns.
Response from RugPalMar 28, 2019
All of our rugs are packaged and shipped the same way for each order therefore the damages incurred on both the original and the first replacement shipment on this order were rare occurrences with the carrier that we had no control of. We regret that the customer was inconvenienced in this situation. With all claims we work as quickly as possible to rectify the issues. The customer was notified with instructions for the pick up of the original rug that the carrier would make up to 3 attempts to pick up and to be sure to repackage the rug in the original material if they have it. The photos the customer provided showed that they had not unwrapped the rugs therefore they only needed to tape the packaging on the end that was damaged. At times a customer might have to purchase packing tape to do this however it can be found at low prices at retailers such as Walmart. The instructions specifically say that the customer does not need to be home for the pick up as long as they leave the item in a location that is easily accessible to the carrier driver. We can not control if your neighborhood is not safe for an item to be left on the doorstep and therefore if the customer has to be home for the pick up this is not our fault. We attempt to make the return process as fast and easy for the customer as possible. We will only ship a replacement for damaged or defective items received if the customer requests that it be done so all replacements for this order were requested by the customer at the time the damaged item was reported. We did provide the customer with a 50% discount for the rug that was damaged in the first 2 shipments and she accepted the discount however according to her review expected us to give her the rug for free. We always try to accommodate the customer for these situations to the best of our ability however it is not feasible for us to give our products away for free.