HomeStars

Nomater,

I work with HomeStars and we have never, ever deleted a review for a paying customer. Doesn't happen, period.
We do, however, crosscheck reviews to verify authenticity, as people are known for writing on the wrong company. A trail of those are always left on the site so reviews never actually disappear.
We have a number of systems in place to cross check for companies writing their own reviews on their own companies and we can out those companies if we do catch them. See this post: http://blog.homestars.com/archives/2011/03/10/transparency-to-review-approval-process/
As for companies paying customers to review them, I won't say it doesn't happen, but it's something we can't really police. When we talk to companies on our site we suggest that it's not a good idea to buy reviews, because there's always the chance you get the review that says 'X company paid me to write this review.. they did a good job' - which is a pretty bad review to have.

You can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. A complaint can be filed online.

You can also file a complaint with [redacted]. A complaint can be filed online.

Continue to advocate for yourself. Stay focused on your goals.

Nelson Diaz Real Estate is a BIG SCAM! Beware! We LOST our MONEY!

I totally disagree, Nelson Diaz (Homestar) was awesome, up front, professional and accommodating. He was the only Realtor who stuck by us and was willing to put in the work necessary to get us through our tough time. Eventually, our home sold and he got us into one that we could afford. He's our Realtor for life (hopefully not going to need him for a while).

Thank you Homestar.

homestars.com & homestars.ca

Well, MOST reviews are written by service providers themselves for themselves. What would you expect?

Could anyone at Google or Yahoo analyze that?

Total right about homestars. I had been a regular visitor of their website and i have seen review taken off once the company has paid them and they are their in their sponsored listing. How long they can fool people like this. you won't see a bad review for any of their sponsored member. Isn't that say it all?

www.hdbsucks.com

If you are looking for more information on HDB Interiors or Tony Hellman feel free to contact us on our blog at www.hdbsucks.com. We have also posted pictures of the quality of flooring he feels is "superior".

There are three truths to every story,
Your truth, my truth and the truth,
In this story we have a client that wants new floors and is willing to say ANYTHING to get them.

The following is my truth, but please do not believe a word I say because it is only based on my interpretation of what really happened.

Yet if you do find that this posting is resonating some truth please email me and I will provide factual evidence on both my company’s credibility, the alleged accusations and the many happy clients that we have happily serviced over the last 4 years.

I stand by my companies experience, service, suppliers, installers and products.

I have been in the flooring and home décor industry for over 21 years, working with some of the largest and best recognized home décor stores in North America. The one and only thing that clients have ever said about me as a person is that I am very dedicated and professional when it come to helping them make choices that they will live with for years to come. In my 21 years I have recognized that you can not please everyone as much as you give advice and guidance, when someone has a preset idea they will proceed and no matter how much advice is given they will purchase that product and feel buyer’s remorse after a year or two.

I am not saying that this is the case at hand.

In the case at hand Lucie and Brett Gagnon are determined to get a new floor no matter what. They will say and do what ever it takes to get this floor replaced at anyone’s expense except their own.

Please understand I do not blame them or hold any bad feelings towards them. It is human nature to make a choice feel bad about the choice and give your power away by blaming others. “This is a proven fact brought forth by many of the great emotional healers today.”

I agreed to mediation with the BBB and Lucie and Brett said no.

I have all the emails Lucie and Brett have sent me over the past year. If the floor was a problem in six weeks why did they wait a year to contact me?

I have reports and documents from the supplier that confirm:
(a) Cumuru also known as Brazilian Teak is much harder than Jatoba also known as Brazilian Cherry.
(b) The Product is grown cut and formed in BRAZIL AND FINISHED IN CANADA

I am truly sorry that the Gagnon’s feel that water damage caused by a leek in the laundry room, and over dryness in the condo have caused damage to this floor. The water damage is an insurance claim.

I contact my supplier on the Gagnon’s behalf before Lucie decided to contact them directly, and had as an act of good faith to my company they had agreed to replace the damaged boards and supply at a charge to the Gagnon’s the boxes needed to replace the water damage on the second floor.

This was not acceptable. They want a new floor free of charge.

HDB Interiors is a small company in a tough economical time and down sized last year because we had to. For over 21 years I have based my reputation on excellent customer relations and superior service.

As I said in the beginning of my rebuttal please do not take my word for it, I have clients that will gladly tell you about HDB, I also have all the documents to prove my truth in this alleged “RIP OFF”

tony@hdbfloors.com

Re a mass emailing, being a small company I rely on customer referrals we do not have an advertising budget and are working on growing the business. So I email all my clients asking for referrals and yes I am human and not technical so I do send the email addresses of all my clients to my other clients. I have since learned how not to do that anymore.

“please remember that in this great country people can write what ever they want and without limits, no matter how much damage it can possibly do to another human being, and all based on hear say. Why not live in love of all things and everyone.”

Namaste
Anthony Hellman

I look forward to your calls and emails and also to The Gagnon’s response…we all have something to say.

Sincerely,

Anthony Hellman
President and Founder HDB Interiors Inc.

I had the same issue with HDB Interiors Inc. Flooring Brokers. They have an excellent homestars rating but it's because the company uses customer's email addresses to post their own ratings (and then replies to them!). I had homestars remove the fake rating which they quickly did but when I try to post an honest review they allow the company to reply with threats to me and my personal info.