Posted on 02/20/2003 10:32:53 PM PST by GalvestonBeachcomber
After winning a judgment of more than $5,000 but seeing Home Depot balk at paying, Virgil Zoth finally found a way to get the giant retailer's attention.
Flanked by constable's deputies, the Deer Park resident walked into his local Home Depot earlier this month and seized nine John Deere riding lawnmowers.
Now the Atlanta-based corporation is ready to write him a check.
Zoth says he'll believe it when the money's in his hands.
"They lied before," he said Thursday.
His long struggle with the company, which offers itself as a do-it-yourselfers Mecca, began last summer when he bought wall-to-wall carpet to replace what had been ruined by Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001. Zoth and his family had been living on concrete floors since pulling up their soaked carpet.
He said he paid for the carpet in full and was promised delivery in 10 days, give or take a few days.
Nine weeks later, it arrived and Home Depot sent workers to install it. Only after they had hammered tack strips into the concrete floor did they discover the carpet was defective, Zoth said.
"They had to go ahead and finish the installation because they put tack strips down," he said. "The strips are pieces of wood with tacks in them sticking up, which is used to catch the rug on."
Removing them, he said, would have caused more damage.
The manager at the Pasadena Home Depot, 5455 Fairmont, agreed in writing to install another carpet, Zoth said, but nothing happened. Eventually, he went to small claims court.
Harris County Justice of the Peace Molly Maness-Barnes said Home Depot never bothered to come to court, which isn't unusual in small claims cases. She issued a default judgment in Zoth's favor in early December.
After waiting the required 30 days, Zoth said, deputies from the Precinct 8 Constable's Office took the court order to the store in early January. He said the manager called a company attorney in Georgia, who requested two weeks to respond.
Zoth, a 60-year-old mathematician, agreed to wait.
But after waiting almost three weeks and getting no response, the deputies returned to the store early this month. The manager called an attorney in Dallas, who said Home Depot would appeal the ruling rather than pay, Zoth said.
The deputies told the manager to either pay up or point out merchandise to be sold in a public auction to satisfy the judgment, but he refused, Zoth said.
"So I got to choose what to take."
He chose the nine John Deeres, which many consumer advocates consider the Cadillac of riding mowers. The ones he chose retail for about $1,800 each.
The Home Depot later got a state district judge to issue a restraining order blocking the sale and instructing the constable to return the mowers to the store.
Judge Maness-Barnes said such an order is very unusual.
"I've been in office 15 years and I've only received one or maybe two," she said. "They didn't come to court. And then I get this (order) and I figure someone must have woken up."
Home Depot spokesman Don Harrison said the company is now willing to pay the judgment.
The legal department "directed the attorneys representing us in Houston to pay the judgment tomorrow," Harrison said Thursday.
"I believe that is $5,000 in full," he said. "Home Depot fully plans to reach an amicable resolution with Mr. Zoth."
Zoth is skeptical, noting that broken promises are what prompted him to sue in the first place.
He also is concerned that Home Depot won't pay the estimated $2,000 storage cost and other fees associated with the seizure of the John Deeres.
Despite the latest developments, however, Deputy Constable W.M. Bristow said he has not received any notice to stop plans to auction the riding mowers today.
Bristow said the sale is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Eady Salvage Co., 3206 Pansy in Pasadena.
With all the adiitional breath they waste in PR claiming to "do the right thing," they should've just paid up.
Next, they should stop hiring illegal aliens.
Thanks for the post GB.
Regards,
L
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Despite the latest developments, however, Deputy Constable W.M. Bristow said he has not received any notice to stop plans to auction the riding mowers today.
???
Did I mention the average 60 to 90 days to pay their bills?
If you have a choice, shop at Lowe's, trust me.
Home Depot dressed in blue. The senior guy on the floor is the one with two weeks seniority and he forgot what the guy that quit told him. LOL
If you are not a do-it-yourself kind of person, they offer NO help.
My post was referring only to the fact that their corporate philosophy (more than most) is to treat their vendors somewhat like partners. Trust me, it was meant to suggest nothing about shopping there..LOL!
They probably paid the carpet mill (a LARGE supplier), because applying for materials credit is a big-money proposition. In addition, they have sweetheart exclusivity deals with the mills/manufacturers that are difficult for smaller business to compete with. One good selling point for us was the QUALITY OF OUR WORK vs theirs. You wouldn't BELIEVE who they hired as staff here.
I didn't deal with the home centers on a day-to-day basis. I worked with distributors and major (non-home center) retailers, so you know where my loyalties lie!
I loved it SO MUCH! (I was recently "paroled" after serving 16 years, LOL.) And talk about the profit margins!(/sarcasm). This is the first year I didn't have to work on year-end inventory, which is why I'm not insane!
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