Rug Cleaner Cited in County Fraud Action
A Santa Fe Springs carpet-cleaning company doing business in Orange County has been accused of fraudulent business practices and deceptive advertising in a complaint filed by the Orange County district attorney’s office.
Shubin’s Carpet and Upholstery Steam Cleaning Corp. has been “unethical and unscrupulous” in misleading its customers about prices, services and extra fees, according to the action, filed in Orange County Superior Court on April 10. Among other charges, the civil suit claims the company has placed unauthorized charges on customers’ credit cards, and has damaged or failed to return draperies that were removed for cleaning.
“I just know it’s the tip of the iceberg,” said Wendy Brough, the deputy district attorney who filed the case against Shubin’s. Brough said hundreds of customers apparently lost thousands of dollars in their dealings with the company, which operates in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.
The district attorney’s office is seeking an injunction to prohibit the company from continuing the alleged unfair business practices and misleading advertising. A hearing has been scheduled for May 8.
Company President Arthur Shubin called the complaint “totally false and ridiculous” and vowed to fight the case in court.
“It’s a really touchy business,” said Shubin in a phone interview. “We run into apartments where the carpet is 15 to 20 years old, and the people want us to be miracle workers.”
Shubin said the company requires its contractors to go back to customers’ homes to rectify any problems. He said his company has completed hundreds of thousands of cleaning jobs since he opened the business eight years ago. The work is done by about 150 independent contractors trained in carpet care, he said.
Shubin said the contractors belong to an organization called the Society of Cleaning Technicians. He said a company cannot belong to that association if it sends out “a bunch of bozos” to do its work.
The privately owned company has annual sales between $1 million and $2 million, Shubin said.
High Pressure Alleged
Brough said Shubin attracts customers by advertising low prices, but when the carpet cleaners arrive at a customer’s home, high-pressure sales techniques are used to sell costly additional services.
In one case, Brough said, a dry-cleaning job estimated at $72 wound up costing the customer $639. In another, a woman sent out her draperies and they were never returned. Brough said she has about 40 complaints from Shubin customers, and is seeking additional information from others who may have had problems with the company.
She said Shubin representatives apparently “never cleaned (the carpets) at the price given” in company advertisements.
American Flag on Ads
Most of the advertisements attached to the complaint were published in free-distribution weekly papers. The ads featured American flags and the Christian fish symbol. They read: “At Shubin’s, being best isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
The ads also say “no hidden charges,” and that the company is bonded, licensed and insured--a claim the complaint alleges is untrue.
According to court records, customers complained about their draperies and furniture being ruined by Shubin representatives and, in one case, “the carpet was still filled with dirt--like dog kibble, kitty litter, leaves and animal fur” after the cleaning.
