FIIf I purchased faulty flooring, whose responsibility is it to remedy the situation?
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FIIf I purchased faulty flooring, whose responsibility is it to remedy the situation?
I  brought hard wood flooring from a national home improvement chain for my entire house; it also installed it. The flooring began to separate immediately. I contacted  the store it sent out the installer he advised them that it was the wood as the temperature in our home was fine. The manufacturer agreed to replace the floors and labor but not the material that was bought to install the floors.  The store advised us that it is negotiating with the manufacturer on our behalf. However, we brought the floors from the store it is treating this like it is simply the middle man between us and the manufacture and it had nothing to do with our purchase. We are purchasing new floors from the store that are more expensive. Aren’t we only responsible for the additional amount for the new flooring? Is the stor responsible for anything?
Asked on May 19, 2012 under General Practice, Delaware
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If the store sold you bad or defective flooring, they are potentially responsible for it, too--a vendor may not sell customers defective merchandise and keep their money. You could hold the store responsible for the cost of the defective flooring; they would be obligated to refund your money or to replace the defective batch. (Obviously, they could negotiate or settle with you to apply the cost of the defective batch as a credit against some other purchase). You could also hold the manufacturer liable in addition or instead, if the flooring was design, manufacturered, or labeled (i.e. as to what conditions it would work under) incorrectly or inappropriately.
The problem, from your perspective, is that if the seller or manufacturer will not voluntarily honor its obligations, you would need to sue them to enforce your rights. One option is to sue the store (which is presumably local) in small claims court, representing yourself.
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