Andy Wise advocates for 1st official Mid-South complaint against Lumber Liquidators

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) -

It's time to put the test -- to the test.

The WMC Action News 5 Investigators have located the first Mid-South consumer to file an official complaint with state regulators against Lumber Liquidators. The embattled discount flooring retailer, reeling from a 60 Minutes investigation that aired March 1, is offering free air quality testing kits to customers who bought the company's Chinese-made CARB Phase 2 laminate flooring.

"I really don't want it," said Donald Declue of Cordova, TN.

According to the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, Declue is the first West Tennessee consumer to file a complaint with the agency about the flooring in the wake of the 60 Minutes story. The national news magazine's undercover investigation and lab testing revealed the flooring contained levels of the carcinogen formaldehyde that may not meet American health and safety standards.

According to an invoice, Declue bought the flooring from the company's Memphis store, 6949 Appling Farms Parkway, and had it installed in his Cordova home last August. The invoice indicated he paid $2,305.03 for the product, although he claimed that does not include labor costs. Its labeling indicates it is the same Chinese-made laminate that was the focus of the 60 Minutes probe.

He said after he saw the 60 Minutes segment, he talked to a customer service agent at Lumber Liquidators' corporate office in Virginia. "She said it's perfectly safe...that there's formaldehyde in your cabinets and all that," he said.

Even so, Lumber Liquidators decided to offer customers a free testing kit to assuage their concerns about what 60 Minutes uncovered.

"The company is indeed offering an air testing kit to those with the specific flooring that has been questioned," said a statement issued by the company's public relations firm, attributable to Lumber Liquidators. "Mr. Declue can either visit http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/testkit or call 800-366-4204 to request the kit."

We asked Declue if the customer service agent offered him the testing kit. "Nope," he answered. "They didn't offer anything. They said it was a good, safe product. (But) there's people tearing it up to get it out of here."

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Andy Wise advocates for 1st official Mid-South complaint against Lumber Liquidators