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"OK - not really what I was expecting. That is my issue, I guess."

"This is a story about a carpet cleaning company that needs to clean up its act. If my experience is any measure of how they do business, my advice would be to look elsewhere for rug and carpet cleaning services. To make a long story short, they charged me for services I never authorized, and then held my rug hostage until I paid to get it back from them. They also wasted a lot of my time. Longer version: I spoke twice with a woman named Vanessa about how much it would cost to clean an 8.5 x 12 oriental rug which appeared in excellent shape, had no noticeable odors, and seemed only to need a basic refresh/cleaning. She gave me a base estimate of around $350-450, but said it would cost more if their analysis detected pet stains or other issues. In both of the phone calls I had with Vanessa before the rug was picked up, not once did she disclose that I would be charged for anything associated with ABC Carpet’s “analysis” process. When I was then given an outrageous estimate of $1,098 to clean an 8.5 x 12 rug with no evident problems, I rejected their services and asked for the rug to be returned. I was then told I would be responsible for paying $173 for a disinfectant process they used on the rug upon its arrival, allegedly due to it showing “beetle damage.” No issues were visible to the naked eye before it was sent in, but Vanessa said beetle damage was becoming a more common problem in our area, possibly due to climate change, and that this could only be seen under their special black lights. She claimed that disinfecting our rug had been necessary in order to protect other rugs in their care. This raises a couple questions. First, why is it the customer’s responsibility to pay major charges because ABC Carpet does not have adequate measures in place to keep one rug’s issues from affecting others they have on hand for cleaning? Second, if this growing problem of beetle damage is a real thing, as Vanessa claims it is, why wasn’t it disclosed ahead of time that I would be charged a hefty fee for disinfection if beetle damage were discovered during the analysis process? After a time-consuming back and forth that did nothing but increase my misgivings about this company, it became clear that I was not going to get my rug back unless I paid ABC Carpet’s ransom. Now that I have the rug back, and I am out $173, I am sharing this story so that others can make a more informed decision about dealing with this company."