Delivery company damaged our hardwood floors during delivery and won't compensate us

[jwathas]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maine

Hi everyone,

I don't know if I am posting this in the correct place. If not, I apologize. Anyway, the reason for my post on this forum is that on Saturday, November 7, 2015, we had a treadmill delivered to our home by a freight delivery company. There were 2 delivery guys here. My husband and I wanted to be out of their way, so we waited out on our front deck while they brought the treadmill into the house. Once they brought it in, they came rushing outside quite quickly and thew a paper in front of me to sign. They said it was just to confirm that we received the delivery on that date. I signed it and they very quickly left. As they were driving off, my husband and I went inside and discovered that they had significantly scratched and gouged our hardwood floors. They even split the wood in some areas. We were FURIOUS (and still are, obviously). This flooring goes throughout our entire house and this particular flooring is no longer made, so it's not as simple are just replacing the damaged sections and ALL of our flooring would need to be replaced. We immediately contacted the delivery company to report this and we were contacted by someone from their claims department the following Monday, who had us send her photos of the damage, an estimate from a flooring contractor, and notarized claim forms, all of which we sent her. Today, they informed us that they are denying our claim because the damage was not reported at the time of the delivery, but the delivery guys didn't give us a chance to inspect for any damage since they were in such a hurry to get out of here (I think they knew about the damage) and we didn't notice the damage until we went back into the house after they had left. I have tried e-mailed the CEO of this company several times with no response and have threatened legal action, but they still will not do anything. In fact, I just spoke with a completely arrogant and rude guy on the phone at this company and I told him that I had already e-mailed the CEO and will again. He snapped at me and said, "Don't do that. He is busy." I said, "Too bad. You have no right to tell me who I can or cannot e-mail You people damaged our property and I will contact whomever I deem necessary to get this issue resolved." He did not like that and got an even bigger attitude towards me.

Can anyone offer any advice on what to do next in this situation? We are EXTREMELY furious and frustrated. We always took great pride in our hardwood floors and now they look terrible because of these morons. We have provided them an estimate from a contractor as well as several photos of the damage and the notarized claim form yet they are still refusing to approve our claim and compensate us for the damage they caused. The holiday season is quickly approaching and we have company coming to stay with us and we don't want them to see our floors like this

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maine

Hi everyone,

I don't know if I am posting this in the correct place. If not, I apologize. Anyway, the reason for my post on this forum is that on Saturday, November 7, 2015, we had a treadmill delivered to our home by a company called NVC Logistics. There were 2 delivery guys here. My husband and I wanted to be out of their way, so we waited out on our front deck while they brought the treadmill into the house. Once they brought it in, they came rushing outside quite quickly and thew a paper in front of me to sign. They said it was just to confirm that we received the delivery on that date. I signed it and they very quickly left. As they were driving off, my husband and I went inside and discovered that they had significantly scratched and gouged our hardwood floors. They even split the wood in some areas. We were FURIOUS (and still are, obviously). This flooring goes throughout our entire house and this particular flooring is no longer made, so it's not as simple are just replacing the damaged sections and ALL of our flooring would need to be replaced. We immediately contacted the delivery company to report this and we were contacted by someone from their claims department the following Monday, who had us send her photos of the damage, an estimate from a flooring contractor, and notarized claim forms, all of which we sent her. Today, they informed us that they are denying our claim because the damage was not reported at the time of the delivery, but the delivery guys didn't give us a chance to inspect for any damage since they were in such a hurry to get out of here (I think they knew about the damage) and we didn't notice the damage until we went back into the house after they had left. I have tried e-mailed the CEO of this company several times with no response and have threatened legal action, but they still will not do anything. In fact, I just spoke with a completely arrogant and rude guy on the phone at this company and I told him that I had already e-mailed the CEO and will again. He snapped at me and said, "Don't do that. He is busy." I said, "Too bad. You have no right to tell me who I can or cannot e-mail You people damaged our property and I will contact whomever I deem necessary to get this issue resolved." He did not like that and got an even bigger attitude towards me.

Can anyone offer any advice on what to do next in this situation? We are EXTREMELY furious and frustrated. We always took great pride in our hardwood floors and now they look terrible because of these morons. We have provided them an estimate from a contractor as well as several photos of the damage and the notarized claim form yet they are still refusing to approve our claim and compensate us for the damage they caused.

You may need to sue the bad guys (the delivery company AND the vendor who sold you the machine.)

ETA: Perhaps you can get your homeowner's insurance company involved...they have much bigger muscles to flex when it comes to threatening legal action.

 

[justalayman]

Sure hope you aren't really as worried your friends will see it as you suggest. I cannot imagine it being done before the first of the year. Heck, wood should acclimate in the end environment for at least a week before even installing it. I suspect if you start before the holidays you are going to end up with a big mess during the holidays.


Anyway, the delivery guys not giving you time is a very poor explanation. Since they required your signature so what were they going to do if you said; I need to inspect....before signing?

You should always inspect, at least the merchandise delivered, before signing. Once you sign it can become extremely difficult, if not impossible to win a claim. Depending on what you signed you may have already lost.

Then, while I can see scratches and maybe even gouges but splitting the wood? I cannot imagine what they could have done to split the flooring. It sounds like your floor may have already been compromised in some way.

not sure what you have that isn't made anymore but I can think of any trees that have gone extinct in the last couple decades that would affect flooring choices. What is so unusual about your floor that it cannot be matched?

 

[jwathas]

You may need to sue the bad guys (the delivery company AND the vendor who sold you the machine.)

ETA: Perhaps you can get your homeowner's insurance company involved...they have much bigger muscles to flex when it comes to threatening legal action.

Wow, I didn't know that we could also go after the vendor. That's good to know! I thought it was strictly the delivery company's responsibility. The vendor who sent us the treadmill is ICON Fitness. They actually sent us this treadmill as a warranty replacement as our old one was having issues. I also never knew that we could get our homeowner's insurance company involved. I guess I'll have to give Allstate a call and see what they can do!

 

[jwathas]

Sure hope you aren't really as worried your friends will see it as you suggest. I cannot imagine it being done before the first of the year. Heck, wood should acclimate in the end environment for at least a week before even installing it. I suspect if you start before the holidays you are going to end up with a big mess during the holidays.


Anyway, the delivery guys not giving you time is a very poor explanation. Since they required your signature so what were they going to do if you said; I need to inspect....before signing?

You should always inspect, at least the merchandise delivered, before signing. Once you sign it can become extremely difficult, if not impossible to win a claim. Depending on what you signed you may have already lost.

Then, while I can see scratches and maybe even gouges but splitting the wood? I cannot imagine what they could have done to split the flooring. It sounds like your floor may have already been compromised in some way.

not sure what you have that isn't made anymore but I can think of any trees that have gone extinct in the last couple decades that would affect flooring choices. What is so unusual about your floor that it cannot be matched?

No, our floor was not compromised in any way. They are extremely high quality red oak floors. We have lived in his home for 8 years and have never had a single problem with our flooring. They are very solid, sturdy red oak floors. There are 2 planks where the wood is actually split. There is a box on our basement from the hardwood flooring that is in our home, which the previous owner had installed. There are literally only 3 pieces of flooring in that box, so that is not nearly enough. We called the manufacturer and they confirmed that they no longer make that particular flooring and it would be very difficult to find a floor that has the same exact locking system; therefore, the floors need to be replaced .

 

[Zigner]

As was pointed out above, you will have a very high hurdle to overcome if you expect to convince anybody that you didn't even GLANCE inside when they were delivering the treadmill. How could you even have known if it was in the right place?

 

[Just Blue]

As was pointed out above, you will have a very high hurdle to overcome if you expect to convince anybody that you didn't even GLANCE inside when they were delivering the treadmill. How could you even have known if it was in the right place?

Especially as it is easy enough to "stay out of the way" and yet be INSIDE the home to supervise delivery.

 

[justalayman]

No, our floor was not compromised in any way. They are extremely high quality red oak floors. We have lived in his home for 8 years and have never had a single problem with our flooring. They are very solid, sturdy red oak floors. There are 2 planks where the wood is actually split. There is a box on our basement from the hardwood flooring that is in our home, which the previous owner had installed. There are literally only 3 pieces of flooring in that box, so that is not nearly enough. We called the manufacturer and they confirmed that they no longer make that particular flooring and it would be very difficult to find a floor that has the same exact locking system; therefore, the floors need to be replaced .

Then you will likely be faced with the statement; how did the delivery guys actually split the floor?

while I can't see what damage you have, given they were delivering a treadmill (not an extremely heavy object) using probably a dolly or removable wheels, proving something they did could have caused the damage may be problematic.

And since it is the "locking system" you say is no longer made, a replacement floor is not going to have the same locking system so as long as the flooring (you see) can be matched, there is no reason to replace the entire floor in the home. Not saying there is no way you can get what you want, realistically and especially due to the reason you believe the entire floor must be replaced, there is a very good likelihood you won't get what you want.

 

[jwathas]

As was pointed out above, you will have a very high hurdle to overcome if you expect to convince anybody that you didn't even GLANCE inside when they were delivering the treadmill. How could you even have known if it was in the right place?

We showed them the room that the treadmill was to be put in and showed them exactly where to place it prior to them bringing it into the house as we had another guy coming after them to assemble it. The treadmill itself was still in its packaging. We then stepped outside so that we would be out of their way. We also had our 2 golden retrievers outside with us so that they would be out of the way as well. Yes, we glanced in for a second or two, but we were looking at them, NOT at the floors. They then came right back outside, handed us the form to sign and their exact words were "this is just to confirm that you received the delivery." We had absolutely no idea that they caused this damage. It never even occurred to us that they would have done this. As soon as they started to walk away, we went back inside and that is when we saw the damage to the flooring. However, they had already left, so it was too late to approach the delivery crew about it.

 

[justalayman]

And my statement to delivery guys when they hand me the shipper/bill of lading is;

Hold on a minute while I check the shipment for damage.

I hope you do not recieve merchandise often like this. Generally the release you sign is binding.

 

[jwathas]

And my statement to delivery guys when they hand me the shipper/bill of lading is;

Hold on a minute while I check the shipment for damage.

I hope you do not recieve merchandise often like this. Generally the release you sign is binding.

Yes, I understand that and we realize that we probably should have inspected for damage prior to them leaving; however, that ship has sailed and it's impossible to go back in time, so there is no use in continuing to beat a dead horse. We now have to figure out a way to get this situation rectified.

To answer your question, no, we do not usually receive shipments like this and we especially do not typically receive shipments as large as this treadmill. Actually, this was the very first time. The last treadmill that we ordered was just delivered to our front deck and we brought it in ourselves.

 

[Zigner]

Yes, I understand that and we realize that we probably should have inspected for damage prior to them leaving; however, that ship has sailed and it's impossible to go back in time, so there is no use in continuing to beat a dead horse. We now have to figure out a way to get this situation rectified.

To answer your question, no, we do not usually receive shipments like this and we especially do not typically receive shipments as large as this treadmill. Actually, this was the very first time. The last treadmill that we ordered was just delivered to our front deck and we brought it in ourselves.

You want to gloss over the fact that you have a huge hurdle. Your ship sailed with your horse on it.

 

[xylene]

You are going to nee a lot more than a phone call to establish

therefore, the floors need to be replaced .

You have so many problems with your claim.

You signed for the delivery.

You didn't have a new floor ruined, you had an older floor (old enough to be discontinued) damaged.

Call some flooring experts, this floor can be repaired perfectly and beautifully, restoring it to the pre-damage condition. Get these quotes in writing and negotiate.

You know that the locking tabs could come off a suitable peice, even the wood that is being removed right? So you can drop that obstacle.

While I realize you are extremely upset, understand the is possible to be righly upset and still do nothing but set up an adversarial situation. Righteous indignation is not going to pay your floor repair bill.

 

[jwathas]

You are going to nee a lot more than a phone call to establish




You have so many problems with your claim.

You signed for the delivery.

You didn't have a new floor ruined, you had an older floor (old enough to be discontinued) damaged.

Call some flooring experts, this floor can be repaired perfectly and beautifully, restoring it to the pre-damage condition. Get these quotes in writing and negotiate.

You know that the locking tabs could come off a suitable peice, even the wood that is being removed right? So you can drop that obstacle.

While I realize you are extremely upset, understand the is possible to be righly upset and still do nothing but set up an adversarial situation. Righteous indignation is not going to pay your floor repair bill.

Wrong. Just spoke with someone in claims management and they just agreed to compensate us in full to have all of our flooring replaced and the check is being overnighted to us first thing tomorrow morning via FedEx.

Righteous indignation??? Really??? That made me literally LOL.

 

[TheGeekess]

Wrong. Just spoke with someone in claims management and they just agreed to compensate us in full to have all of our flooring replaced and the check is being overnighted to us first thing tomorrow morning via FedEx.

Righteous indignation??? Really??? That made me literally LOL.

The OG Effect works across the board.