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Empire Carpet - Working for Empire
failure to follow up on agreed terms of retainer and tax info - Complaint
Review by face it on 2013-01-26
Rating: 
MORAINE, OHIO -- As a flooring contractor during the economic recession, when work was hard to find, I signed up as an installer for Empire Today (Carpet workshop LLC) At the date of hire I was asked to sign multiple forms repeatedly and was never given explanation as to what they relate too. Only after quitting and posting a complaint on My3cents did I receive a "packet" in the mail outlining policies set forth by Empire Today/Carpet Workshop LLC.
As a sub contractor you are asked to pay into what is called a retainer, 10% of your gross check to cover supposed replacement liabilities. A legitimate company keeps records of who did what and those records are cross referenced in the event there is ever an issue, as well as a disclosure law that states the original contractor has 30 days to return to the project sight to correct any issues. I moved since I worked for Empire and they refuse to take calls from me to inform them of my new address to send 1099 tax info as well as where to send retainer monies. No information regarding any issues was ever disclosed to me, and seeing as I got hung up on twice when calling to inform them of my address change, I can only guess there was never any intention to return my money to me. Not only was signing up with Empire the worst business decision I had ever made, being sent to peoples homes with the lowest quality material I had ever seen in my 24 + years in the flooring industry and being told to tell paying customers "that is just the nature of the product" I was also dispatched to a job that had serious asbestos issues and I was told to remove the asbestos (which I refused to do) because as a sub contractor the liability falls directly on me, not Empire. And I would have put the homeowners as well as my self in a dangerous health risk and could have faced huge fines and penalties. Had I been an hourly employee that would have put liability on Empire, and they know these things. They have been corrupting the market place for years and they know how to get around accepting any liabilities.
Any one considering to work for, or hire, Empire Today should think twice. If you take pride in your work and wish to do the best job possible Empire is not the place to be. As a customer you may not know that you are allowing the lowest pay scale installers in your home (usually non English speaking) which as a direct result, you the customer, wind up with poor quality materials as well as the possibility of very poor installation.
Hiring a lawyer to collect the retainer is cost prohibitive, and Empire knows this. The forms you must sign simply state the conditions regarding Empire's receiving your money as a retainer, and make no mention of any sort of legal premise in regards to returning said monies to the contractor. In other words they protect themselves but do not provide any sort of legitimate recourse for the contractor to regain monies that rightfully are owed.
If someone is desperate enough to work for such a place (as I was at one point in time) then every cent counts, BEWARE of Empire Today as their organization is set up to take advantage of everyone they do business with, either customer or contractor.
As a sub contractor you are asked to pay into what is called a retainer, 10% of your gross check to cover supposed replacement liabilities. A legitimate company keeps records of who did what and those records are cross referenced in the event there is ever an issue, as well as a disclosure law that states the original contractor has 30 days to return to the project sight to correct any issues. I moved since I worked for Empire and they refuse to take calls from me to inform them of my new address to send 1099 tax info as well as where to send retainer monies. No information regarding any issues was ever disclosed to me, and seeing as I got hung up on twice when calling to inform them of my address change, I can only guess there was never any intention to return my money to me. Not only was signing up with Empire the worst business decision I had ever made, being sent to peoples homes with the lowest quality material I had ever seen in my 24 + years in the flooring industry and being told to tell paying customers "that is just the nature of the product" I was also dispatched to a job that had serious asbestos issues and I was told to remove the asbestos (which I refused to do) because as a sub contractor the liability falls directly on me, not Empire. And I would have put the homeowners as well as my self in a dangerous health risk and could have faced huge fines and penalties. Had I been an hourly employee that would have put liability on Empire, and they know these things. They have been corrupting the market place for years and they know how to get around accepting any liabilities.
Any one considering to work for, or hire, Empire Today should think twice. If you take pride in your work and wish to do the best job possible Empire is not the place to be. As a customer you may not know that you are allowing the lowest pay scale installers in your home (usually non English speaking) which as a direct result, you the customer, wind up with poor quality materials as well as the possibility of very poor installation.
Hiring a lawyer to collect the retainer is cost prohibitive, and Empire knows this. The forms you must sign simply state the conditions regarding Empire's receiving your money as a retainer, and make no mention of any sort of legal premise in regards to returning said monies to the contractor. In other words they protect themselves but do not provide any sort of legitimate recourse for the contractor to regain monies that rightfully are owed.
If someone is desperate enough to work for such a place (as I was at one point in time) then every cent counts, BEWARE of Empire Today as their organization is set up to take advantage of everyone they do business with, either customer or contractor.
Company Response:
Jim, we regret that you were not satisfied with your experience while working as an independent contractor, as we always strive to provide a positive work environment. We would be glad to discuss the concerns you have expressed, and we will be contacting you soon. Please also feel free to contact Steven Jedras in our Human Resources Department at 888-588-2315 ext. 4345
Comments:
Posted by face it on 2013-02-17:
Following up: I was never contacted by anyone at Empire (as the response above states I would be) but I did receive a 1099 in the mail about a week after posting this. It was for the wrong amount, The last pay stub I got from Empire and the numbers on the 1099 do not match. Anyone surprised by this? Not me !! And as far a returning my retainer monies to me, as I said above I have not had anyone from Empire contact me, and they have the audacity to suggest I spend time to try to contact them? I tried 2 separate time on 2 separate days to contact them, being put on hold and eventually just disconnected, I find it not worth my time to once again meet their terms and go through the aggravation of dealing with their call center to get what they owe me. It should be that they know they owe something (either to me or anyone else) and they make a substantial effort to do the right thing. But then again if they where that reputable and honest there would not be THOUSANDS of complaints against them.
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