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Jay of Plano TX (06/10/08)
PUBLIC SAFETY ALERT We had closets installed in the Garage in Nov 2005. Two weeks ago, when I opened one of the closet doors the entire cabinet came crashing down to the floor. I barely missed getting seriously hurt. We had not even loaded the closets completely...it only had light weight party supplies.
I called the company and they sent the installation supervisor to inspect the damage and agreed to rebuild the cabinets for us. The installation supervisor said the failure was due to faulty design, where the original designer had exceeded the span limit for cabinets by over 30% (when the standard says the length should not exceed 36 inches the cabinets were 47 inches long).
We have a 19 month baby at home and we used to have her play in the garage all the time. The event has terrified us. We wanted to alert people who had closets installed by Closet Factory to have them come back and inspect the closets to make sure the safety standards have not been compromised. The impact of the fall can seriously injure people and pets. This is a very serious issue and needs to be addresses by the company immediately.
Jeanie of Inglewood CA (04/03/08)
Contracted for a closet in my laundry room. Install was unable to take place as drawing was incorrect and there was not a notation that I had a tile floor, and they would have to drill through the tile. I advised that this was not an option and immediately called, three times in fact before I spoke with Padilla. He informed me that he was not at liberty to provide a refund of my deposit without one of their senior level installers reviewing the site.
The installer came, gave me two options, (1) they could permanently cement tracks to my floor, (2) they would have to cover up plumbing that ran through my walls to install closet. I again advised that I was even more disturbed and simply wanted a refund. I was told that Padilla would be contacting me.
Two weeks went by, nothing. I contacted Padilla today, left a message with no return call. Called back again and he stated, Let's do this ma'am, I TOLD you you were not going to get a refund, with a great deal of hostility. I told him I thought I would in fact.
I am out of a deposit of $358.32, which is unacceptable.
Steven of Marysville WA (03/28/08)
I loved the whole experience. The designer was very experienced and spent quality time making sure I would happy with the final product. The installers were on time and professional. The whole system is very solid and very good quality. I would recommend this company to anyone
Betty of Round Rock TX (01/04/08)
On November 14, 2007 I signed a contract with the closet factory for a complete custom closet. The installation began on 12/11/07. It is not complete to this day even though on 12/11/07 my credit card was charged the balance. My shoe shelves allow the shoes to fall to the floor, my custom jewelry inserts do not fit the drawers they were designed for, the locks were never installed and there are large racks and the drawer inserts that need replacing need to be picked up and taken away. I have talked to the corporate office regarding my lifetime factory warranty. Basically the warranty is only good with the franchise you contracted with. Needless to say, I have contacted my credit card company to reverse the charges. The Austin Closet Factory has closed, although everything was handled very professionally until they closed, after dealing with June and Christine at the corporate level and their not my problem attitude, I can see why Carolyn closed her doors and ceased operating . You basically get no support from the corporate level whatsoever.
The sheer aggravation factor is my worst consequence. This has taken what should be a wonderful experience and transferred it to sheer agony because of a lot of inexpensive little things.
Miguel of Miami Beach FL (12/30/07)
I had a horrible experience with the Closet Factory. First I had to drive to a designer's apartment, who lived like a slob and extremely unprofessional, in order to design the closet. After they came to install the closet they installed parts in reverse, parts were missing, and they left stains over the wood. It took forever to get someone to return who did a half fast job. Worst of all they overcharged me and threatened to take me to collections because they had to return to finish the job which I had originally paid for. I would not recommend Closet Factory to anyone. Consumers beware.
N of Irvine CA (12/26/07)
We ordered a simple add-on (2 shelfs and glass door) to our existing built in. First, we agreed with the designer that we will be the first job site they will start with (since the carpet cleaners were coming in the afternoon). We waited 3 hours for them until I finally called. Of course the coordinator would point fingers to the designer and that it was never scheduled for the first job that day. They finally came but I had to coordinate with my carpet cleaners to work around each other.
Next, the shelfs I ordered were not the correct edges and the glass encasing was not the right size. I was suppose to get a call from the manager that day and never got one. So I left a message for them to call me first thing the following working day and that I had enough of their ordeal and want a refund back from the wrong shelfs and the glass encasing. Not to my surprise did I get that call so I called them and talked to the 'installation manager'.
They will refund me the difference for the wrong shelfs they sent out. BUT they will not reimburse me for glass encasing which I never got installed. I could of just bought two shelfs myself at half the cost and put them in than endure their mistakes on installation times, installation materials, and a nasty manager (Anthony) who could care less of my ordeal. What kind of customer service is that? This is a SIMPLE project that was complete nightmare.
Susan of Beverly Hills CA (12/04/07)
We signed a contract with Closet Factory for the installation of closets in our house and the redesign of our garage for $4,993,000. They charged our credit card for half the job and said they will begin installation on December 4, 2007. We got a phone call at 9 am on December 4th from the manager of the Closet Factory stating that they had underbid our job, and they would not be showing up to do any work; and they will refund us our deposit. The manager was rude and refused to discuss the issue. The representative who took our money, Lisa Harrison, is now not returning any calls
We had planned on finishing this project prior to the end of the year. We moved everything out of our garage and prepared everything for installation today. We now have to seek other bids and try to get the job completed. We signed a contract, and they took our money 3 weeks ago.
M of Baltimore MD (10/26/07)
- Designer came out to do sketches and gave us a broad range of prices. We told her to keep prices on the low end of the range, but of course, she gave us a price at the very top of the range.
I felt pushed to approve the sketches the designer faxed over (she kept calling) and to get an installation date.
I swapped out shelves for rods on the sketch, and the price only went down $50 (which was ridiculous). The designer later told me she charged me for things when I took out the shelves that she had not charged me for before, leaving me feeling totally taken advantage of.
The installation went well, but the design was terrible -- completely unbalanced. I had one tiny section in the corner which no one could reach. The designer came out, agreed, but then couldn't be reached for days since she never told me she was going on vacation.
Designer passed me off to management but never told me. Management was very slow in responding and didn't seem to have any information I had emailed/faxed the designer.
Closet design was eventually partially fixed -- after SIX weeks of my clothes sitting on the floor.
-Fortunately, we did not have any economic or physical damage. Just a disappointing experience and a warning to others.
Clark of Westfield IN (09/27/07)
The closet has many problems - poor design, shelving is bowing, drawers do not slide well, drawers hit wall when opening, rods for hanging clothes are sagging, shelves are not level, corners are not rounded, edging is coming unglued. Not a functioning closet, product is do it yourself quality, installer was an electrician, 4 different installers come to complete work at least 20 times. They stayed for short periods of time and unable to correct installation and complete work - not plumbed or squared, nylon and not ball bearing drawer guides.
Diane of Chicago IL (08/29/07)
Our bookcases and entertainment center was to be installed on July 30. One month and several mistakes later, the project is still not completed. Lost time and great aggrevation due to the errors without an end in sight.
Millie of San Pedro CA (08/27/07)
It all started with wanting a small cabinet (for shoes and misc stuff) in the open area next to the the spare room closet. We tried to find a carpenter who would build such cabinet, but no one seem interested in the small job. So, we decided to call closet factory. A designer came to our home right away. After a couple of hours and a few sketches we were sold. We entered into an agreement for a brand new wall to wall closet. The price was high, but the bill of goods we were sold sounded great and look great in paper and fotos from previous jobs. And what was great, the job would be completed before Thanksgiving (Nov 2005).
When the workers showed up to install the closet, the pieces were one foot too short from floor to ceiling and the entertainment section of the closet was not what we had been promised. We asked them to stop the installation and immediately contacted the designer. She adviced us that she had had many problems with the workshop not following specifications. As it turned out it was the designer's measurements that were off. Her attempt at a fix was for my husband and I to purchase molding from Home Depot to cover the 12 inch gap and to leave the entertainment area the way it was. We refused so advised her to rework all the pieces or to return our down payment. After numerous calls our closet was finally installed on Dec. 24 5pm. We had one hour to clean, move furniture and organize the room befoe company showed up for Christmas Eve celebrations. The following day we noticed that some of the pieces had not been re-worked, the doors on the entertainment center were not flushed, the cabinet doors were coming undone, deep black marks were all over the desk area and the ceiling, you could see the marks where previous holes had been drilled and were not covered, workers ran out of time so the new molding to cover a 6in gap was not installed. We couldn't get anyone to return our calls, it was always one excuse or another. One day my husband took time off work and went to the Closet Factory Office, he spoke to the President or Vice-President of that office. Her, I can care less attitude, was no different than her employees'.
But Closet Factory wasted no time in calling to collect the balance. When I explained that the job was unfunished I was informed that their records indicated the job was completed to our satisfaction on Dec 24. Since I refused to pay, I kept receiving calls at my job demanding immediate payment and my credit card number for quick processing. We spent so much of our time and energy that we finally gave in, paid the balance and a worker was sent to fix some of the problems.
The veneer on the shelves keeps coming apart, we keep glueing it together. My husband had to fix the doors to the entertainment center. We've had no choice but to put up with the previous drilled and poorly covered holes within the desk area because in order to replace that specific section of the closet the entire structure had to be pulled apart. We were told it was lifetime guarantee. But when I called to have the shelfs repaired/replaced was advised that first I have to pay $150 for the visit.
Markus of Chino Hills CA (05/14/07)
Closet Factory of Riverside (CA). We signed the Sales Agreement on March 23, 2007. They promised to install home office funiture on May 2nd and finish on May 5th. After 3 delays of instalation date; Closet Factory still can not give a definite date. On May 12th, the installers came and bring the woodworks to be installed. Upon my inspection, the stain job is bad and not even close to the sample they gave to us.
We now want to cancel the job and obtain our $4,000 deposit back since we do not have any confidence of their promise of time and quality. We wasted a lot of time and lost appointments. We will seek damages for time lost and will seek legal action to obtain our $4,000 deposit back.
Jennifer of San Rafael CA (01/31/07)
We spent in the neighborhood of $50,000 on 3 closets in a house we're building. For the master closet we ordered Closet Factory's highest-end finishes and my husband spent hours and hours on the design (he actually built a 3-D model, which would, you'd think, tip off the installers that we have high standards). The closet we have is not nearly as nice as the display one in the showroom, and my husband's design was largely ignored.
The closet is very shoddily constructed, with very wide and uneven gaps between drawers, drawers that stick, uneven sanding, peeling veneers, gaping backing, etc. The installers essentially ignored some electrical plates, and our contractor had to come in after the fact and create access. We'll probably end up having much of the closet rebuilt or replaced by the person who is making our kitchen cabinets.
I have not tried to have the Closet Factory come back and repair their work because, frankly, I don't want them touching anything else. I am absolutely sick about what we spent, though, and I want other people to know what they could be getting themselves into. I did a lot of research beforehand, and this product seemed like the best out there, short of having completely custom work. I guess I was wrong.
Hannah of Dallas TN (01/14/07)
I spent $4675.16 to have Closet Factory construct a desk, shelves, and lighting unit in my living romm in 11/02. I had a number of complaints about the misalignments and the poor construction at the time but they refused to return to fix the problems. I decided to live with the poor workmanship. Well, that was a mistake because the poor construction appears to be causing the collapse of the book case over the desk.
I called yesterday, 1/13/07, to ask Closet Factory to come and fix the toppling bookcase. I began removing books and found that the one little clasp anchoring the bookcase to the wall had pulled loose taking a chunk of the plaster board shelving with it. I called Mary, Closet Factory representative, twice yesterday telling her I couldn't keep books in the bookshelf because I was afraid it would collapse. I asked her to call me to arrange for repair or replacement. I was prepared to negotiate payment since the bookcase held for the past 3 years but no one has even contacted me.
The company design of the installation is one only they know well enough to take down if I move and repair now that it seems to be falling apart. But, now that there are problems, they don't want to hear from me. I'll never have another Closet Factory job done for me again because they don't respond when there are problems. I don't have a clue what to do to get the bookcase repaired!
I don't have the use of the bookshelf, I'm afraid that the unit may collapse on the computers sitting on my desk, and at a lost of how to correct the problem. My books and magazines are stacked in my spare room -- and for how long!
Charles of Naples FL (09/13/06)
The Closet Factory installed two cabinets in our master bedroom and the installation was botched. They did return to fix most of the problems but now refuse to correct the remaining ones.
Mary of Atlantic Beach NY (01/15/04)
I ordered $8,000.00 worth of custom closets one year ago and the job is still not completed and is crooked too. They cancelled over 6 different appointments they made for installations that I sat around for and wated my valuable time. They had 4 different installers as their employees keep quitting. They keep taking new jobs with the hope of starting them and then stringing people along while they know they won't complete them. What they did to me was how they do business. I am not an isolated case.
Additionally, in the contract you sign they have a clause of no chargebacks to your credit card because they know the nightmare they will put you through. When I complained to my credit card company about the numerous cancellations and unfinished work, Ms. Bensen actually replied with a letter full of lies about how many times they called me! Yeah sure, like I did not want the work completed.
A $8,000.00 closet that is crooked and incomplete. Six cancelled appointments that resulted in missed work and appointments for me. They damaged a wall in my brand new home carrying the wood in to the house.
Jim of Wellington FL (04/11/02)
I have just recently moved to a brand new house in Fl from NJ and am in the process of decorating it. Using an ad for EXPO in Boyton Beach I went to Expo to have someone come out and give me an estimate for designing my office for me. No one being there that could help me, I filled out a form to have someone call me. After two weeks of no response I called the Expo store and within a day someone from the Closet Factory called and made an appointment to come out.
On Friday, March 22, Mike D came out, measured the room, offered suggestions and told me that he would fax a plan to me not before the following Wednesday. I waited for two weeks after that Wednesday and called the Closet Factory. I was told he was in a meeting and would call me back as soon as he got out. It is now April 11 and I still haven't heard anything. The customer service is abominable. Obviously I am no longer interested in having Expo do ANY work for me but it may help other customers if something is done to improve its image. I now am buying all my home improvement supplies from Lowes.
I plan to go back up north for the summer months. I wanted the office completed before I left for the summer now it will have to wait until September.
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