Prizant's closing serves as lesson

Pat Molyneaux guessed that about 100 customers were left with unfilled carpet and flooring orders when competitor Prizant's Carpet stores shut down suddenly in December.

Yet 100 people have contacted his six Molyneaux Tile & Carpet stores since Christmas, when he offered to credit deposits paid with Prizant's orders toward new orders with Molyneaux.

"Now, we think closer to 200 were affected," he said.

Dozens of Prizant's customers are reaching out to the state Attorney General's office and Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania with complaints about Prizant's, which closed its 10 stores in two phases last month. The company still hasn't said where customers should turn with questions about orders, warranties or other matters.

The Prizant's situation is a sore reminder that even trusted, established businesses sometimes drop from view, leaving customers uncertain whether they'll ever see the products they ordered or recover the money they paid down.

Rick Hvizdak, an investor in Prizant's flooring business, said Thursday he hadn't been running the company but, "We are trying to fix the situation. My crew is working day and night on it."

Customers say looking back, there were signs something was amiss. Erica Loop said she paid Prizant's up front for $1,200 in carpeting for two rooms of a house she's selling in Dormont and one room in her family's new home in Mt. Lebanon.

A salesman at the Pleasant Hills store told her that morning, Dec. 13, that he couldn't fax the order in immediately, but would try later that day or the next. She thought that was strange but was told she would get her carpet around New Year's.

Prizant's cashed her check Dec. 17, she said, but she never received the carpet. When she learned the stores closed, "That pretty much ruined Christmas," she said, though Molyneaux gave her a $450 credit toward carpet installed yesterday.

Loop also filed a complaint with the attorney general, which is investigating Prizant's dealings.

So far, 36 consumers from Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Indiana and Washington counties and East Liverpool, Ohio, have contacted the agency, spokesman Nils Frederiksen said, adding the office doesn't discuss investigations unless criminal complaints are filed.

The Better Business Bureau, meanwhile, has logged 37 complaints in the last 10 days or so against the chain, President Warren T. King Jr. said. The bureau, which listed an "unsatisfactory" rating for Prizant's, now notes on its Web site that mail sent to Prizant's is being returned, and the bureau can't reach the company by phone.

King said the bureau shares complaints it receives with the attorney general and other regulatory agencies.

As to what else consumers can do, "If the company really has gone out of business, it will be difficult for consumers to get any action," he said. "In many instances, the company ends up filing for bankruptcy, and consumers are way down the list of creditors." U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh showed no filing for Prizant's as of late yesterday.

The main phone at Prizant's headquarters in Penn Hills is disconnected and attempts to reach Rob Lang and Mark Scioscia, who bought the business in mid-2006 from founder Sam Prizant, were unsuccessful.

Hvizdak, who opened the Artifacts antiques store in the West End in 2006, said yesterday he made an investment in Prizant's and "a terrible mess was thrown in our laps." He referred questions to his attorney, Matt Fearing, who declined to comment.

Sam Prizant, who lives in Boca Raton, Fla., said he's still owed money from the sale, plus unpaid rent. He owns buildings where some of the stores were located. Prizant's had stores in Beaver, Butler, Cranberry, Greensburg, Lower Burrell, McCandless, Penn Hills, Peters, Pleasant Hills and Robinson.

Around early November, Prizant's started pushing its sales staff to secure 75 percent down on orders, some former employees said. "That is kind of unheard of," said Rebecca Ann Sherry, who worked in the Beaver store.

Still, managers had discretion to OK down payments of 50 percent, and most did, said Dave Belanger, who was manager at the Robinson store.

Former Prizant's workers also said deliveries of flooring slowed in recent months -- to three to four weeks after an order, instead of the typical 10 days to two weeks.

The company also cut staff. Sherry, along with Belanger and former Beaver store manager Kevin Duffy, said they lost their jobs about a month ago and still are owed past commission.

Molyneaux said he covered a few of his early orders from former Prizant's customers in full, but now he has to limit the credit to one third of the total. The offer runs through Jan. 15.

"It isn't good for the industry when a company does something like this," he said.

Stephen Pociask, chief economist with the American Consumer Institute, said financially troubled companies often function fairly well until closing, giving customers little warning.

Prizant said the demise of the business he built for 45 years "has destroyed me. Many nights, I didn't sleep," though he realizes he can do little.

Penny Shacreaw of Blairsville, who paid Prizant's the full $3,600 on Nov. 11 for her order, said she's feeling better after finally getting her carpet -- from Molyneaux, at no charge.

"What started as a pretty dismal Christmas turned into the highlight of the year," she said.

Additional Information:

How to file a complaint

Prizant's customers with unfilled orders or other concerns should contact the state Attorney General's office, spokesman Nils Frederiksen said. Here's how:

• Call the office's Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555 with questions, or to file a complaint.

• Go to this website , click on 'complaints' and then 'consumer complaint' to file online.

• Or print the form from the Web site, complete and mail it along with copies of order forms, sales receipts and other documents. Keep the originals.

By phoning first, customers may get advice on stopping a credit card payment for products they never received, for example.

Frederiksen said the third option is preferred because records are vital. 'The more recent transactions become very important -- what were consumers being told in the days or weeks prior to the closing?' he said.