I called the company, heard the corporate greeting message, requested an estimate and left my contact information. After several missed/ unanswered calls, and number texty messages (initial red flag), I spoke to the owner and scheduled an estimate. He quoted a price and I decided to move forward with the job. When I received the quote, which was emailed to me as an invoice, the attached message asked that I pay for half the job upfront. This was never mentioned in my discussion with the owner (2nd red flag) so I decided to research on the business.
I discovered the reason I could not contact the business is that they use a phone app, which enables the user to hide their actual phone number and screen calls (3rd red flag). I subsequently searched for their physical business address and was only able to find a PO Box other than the home address in Browns Summit NC which is listed on the Sec of State filing (4th red flag). The business owner wrote the following review in YELP: Tay Carpet Installation has been in existence since 1995. Carpet, padding, hardwoods, vinyl, laminate, tile sales and Installation are just a few services that we offer. I accessed the search engine on the NC secretary of State website and found the company DBA paperwork initial filing date was 2019 (5th red flag).
During my conversation with the owner, Manuel T, he mentioned his company installed carpet at A&T State University during 2011. As a member of the financial community, I contacted a colleague in university purchasing and she was unable to find a vendor record for Tay Carpet Installation (6th red flag).
I've pointed out the numerous red flags I encountered during my company research and interactions with Manuel Tay Jr. I'm not here to bash the company or prove the business is a scam. I'm simply writing a review to inform users of the many red flags associated with this "business" and highlight the appearance of elevated risk around monetary loss. As consumers, we often operate and make decisions based on the best information available at that time. I hope my experience aids you in your decision making. read more