It’s now the peak season for home decoration consumption. In the first half of this year, the Chinese Business Daily received dozens of consumer complaints about decoration. Although they were all properly resolved in the end, they inevitably left a shadow on the owners’ minds and made them complain about the decoration. Home improvement consumption is fearful.
The decoration industry is a mixed market. Some home decoration companies focus on profit and do not take into account the rights and interests of consumers. This reminds us that when choosing a decoration company, we must listen more, read more, and understand more. Only Only by making sufficient preparations can you make your home decoration consumption more smooth.
Case 1
Decoration promises have changed again and again
Owners’ deposits have to be refunded
Mr. Wei’s mother went to the store for consultation after seeing the advertisement of a decoration company in the southeast corner of Xi’an. She was told that there were very generous gifts for ordering decoration, and at the same time, a washing machine, range hood and will be delivered for free when the decoration is ordered. I signed the decoration contract excitedly and introduced all my relatives who bought a house together. A total of 5 families paid deposits to this decoration company, and the amount ranged from 9,800 yuan to 12,000 yuan. wait. As a result, there was no design drawing, the house had not been measured, and I had not even been there. They said that there would be an extra charge to remove the original wall covering. In the end, they negotiated and asked the owner to find someone to remove the wall covering from outside. We have just finished shoveling the wall, and we need to pay 1,500 yuan for waterproofing renovation. Before even moving a brick or tile, or even entering the site, he asked for money twice. The owner was worried that the money would continue to be increased after the construction started. He wanted to terminate the contract with the decoration company and ask for the deposit back, but the decoration company did not agree.
After mediation by the reporter, the decoration company said that if the contract was terminated, part of the deposit paid would be refunded, that is, each company would deduct 2,000 yuan in liquidated damages and the remaining amount would be returned. The two parties basically reached an agreement.
Consumer Reminder: Before signing a decoration contract, be sure to read each clause carefully to see if there is any "low price inducement" behavior. It is best for all possible decoration projects to be reflected in the contract to prevent the decoration company from increasing prices later. Attracting customers with low prices and endless subsequent additions has always been a common tactic used by some decoration companies to attract consumers.
Decoration additions have always been a topic of criticism in the decoration industry. It is understandable that there are additions such as water and electricity renovations, but too many additions and unclear prices will cause consumers to fall into a trap and cause unwarranted losses. Therefore, when signing a contract, all projects must be clearly listed, and any projects that may occur later must be written down by the decoration company, including the cost range, so that the decoration can be carried out more clearly.
Case 2
The decoration quality is poor
The owner expressed his suffering
Mr. Li signed a new house decoration contract with a decoration company after being introduced by someone. The decoration project included floor paving, plaster line making, door installation, kitchen, and bathroom. The decoration costs were paid in three installments. , but requires some money to be paid first. When the construction started, they were asked to sign a new decoration contract. This time the price of the contract was 6,500 yuan more than before. The contract for the kitchen door and bathroom door stipulated that the kitchen door and bathroom door should be wooden doors plus glass, but the second contract changed to cheap glass doors.
Thinking that one thing is worse than one thing less, and the money has been paid, Mr. Li said he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue with the decoration. The quality of the project that took 4 months was very poor, the plaster line was a shoddy product, the latex paint cracked after three months, the bathroom sewer pipes were not soundproofed, one of the three door locks was broken, and the door frames were all cracked... ...The contract stated that a three-piece bed set would be provided, but they found various reasons not to give it.
Consumer reminder: Decoration companies dazzle consumers with all kinds of fancy promotions. Most of them use slogans such as "European standards", "German standards" and "leading international standards" to attract consumers to sign decoration contracts. However, there are always decoration companies in the market that disrupt the market, and the construction level is even less than the standard. Therefore, before choosing a decoration company, you must remain rational and do not sign a decoration contract impulsively because of the designer's clever recommendation. If possible, try to visit the decoration company's construction site first and then make a conclusion. Don't Being blinded by the slogans shouted by the decoration company, hearing is false and seeing is believing.
Case 3
failed to complete the work on time
but kept urging the owner to pay
Ms. Yang signed a 41,000 yuan decoration contract with a decoration company. The contract stipulated that the final payment of 10,000 yuan would be delivered after the decoration was completed and the completion acceptance was passed. However, the decoration company not only It failed to be completed as scheduled and continued to urge Ms. Yang to pay during the construction period. Ms. Yang asked the decoration company to write down the completion date in writing, but the decoration company was unwilling to write it down. It did not mention its responsibility for default and delayed delivery, and just asked the owner to pay, fearing that the owner would "default" after the completion of the project.
Consumer Reminder: The delivery time of decoration payment is an important topic. Regarding this point, there will be a clear time period indicated in the decoration contract, which is generally divided into prepayment for the start of construction, mid-term progress payment, late progress payment and final payment for completion. Before making payment in installments, consumers should pay attention to whether the construction progress has reached the payment progress agreed in the contract. There have been many cases in the past where decoration companies took away the money after consumers delivered a large proportion of decoration money. If the decoration company requires early payment, the decoration contract can be used to require the decoration company to complete the decoration progress as scheduled to avoid unnecessary financial losses. If necessary, you can also ask the media, Consumer Association , Decoration Association, Third parties such as the Home Decoration Committee intervened in the matter.
Case 4
"guerrillas" pretended to be regular decoration companies
Mr. Wang signed a decoration contract with a decoration company, paid a deposit of 6,700 yuan on the spot, and asked the decoration company to issue a design plan as soon as possible. A few months later, when Mr. Wang approached the decoration company and asked for a design plan, the decoration company required Mr. Wang to pay a 30% down payment before providing the design drawings. Otherwise, the early payment would not be refunded. After Mr. Wang paid 30% down payment totaling 21,000 yuan, the decoration company still did not issue a design drawing.
More than half a year has passed, and the decoration company has only provided simple design drawings, and the promise of modifications if not satisfied has become empty talk. In desperation, Mr. Wang insisted on terminating the contract with the decoration company and returning the 21,000 yuan down payment, but the decoration company refused. Later, under the mediation of the Consumer Association, the operator refunded the consumer Mr. Wang a one-time cash payment of 20,000 yuan.
Later, Mr. Wang found out that the decoration company he chose did not have decoration qualifications at all and was just a "guerrilla" who was just pretending to be a "guerrilla". The decoration time of the new house was delayed for more than a year.
Consumer Reminder: Due to the low market entry threshold in the decoration industry, a large number of operators who lack qualifications and even "guerrillas" undertake the home decoration business. Some operators lack integrity, solicit customers at low prices, or compete disorderly, with uneven service quality. , not only seriously affects the quality of consumer consumption, damages the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and triggers consumer complaints, but also affects the overall image of the industry, making consumers worried about decoration consumption, and the business volume of formally operating enterprises has also been passively reduced. Therefore, it is recommended that when consumers purchase decoration services and building materials, they should choose merchants with reliable reputation and good quality, and check whether their licenses and qualification certificates are complete. You can also use the national enterprise credit information publicity system to check whether it has participated in the company's annual report on time and whether it has administrative penalty records, or you can learn about its reputation, popularity and credibility through some home improvement websites. Huashang Daily reporter Guo Quanliang
