M R Evans

Very professional with a great catalogue of products. They helped us customize our carpet for the perfect look.

We had an issue the very first time we spec’d the product represented by M.R. Evans. I have requested a quote for my client, and a representative of Signature in Canada - M. R. Evans - has provided me with a quote for the flooring. The price plus US to CAD conversion ended up being the upper limit of our client’s budget. I have repeatedly in email and phone calls inquired from M.R. Evans if there will be any additional duties at the border on this product, as this would essentially decide whether this product will be purchased at all, and they have confirmed to us that there will not be any additional charges of any type. Quote from email from M.R. Evans to us: “Good afternoon, There will be no additional duties or fees to be paid at the border.” As a representative of Signature, we have assumed that MR Evans has experience bringing in their products through the border, and are experienced and knowledgeable about product’s origin. Once the product was shipped and at the border, all of a sudden we receive a phone call stating that 6.5% duty is required on this product, as well as a flat rate of $322 for brokerage fees. So, all of a sudden my client was out $1100 for something MR Evans failed to disclose prior to payment possibly even intentionally, as they knew this product will not be ordered otherwise. As a representative of Signature in Canada, their only job in this transaction ended up being providing a quote to our client. For this they have collected their commission and washed their hands off everything else, when the problems and extra expenses started to arise. I have spoken to Mr. Martin Evans directly, and he has confirmed that his employee Emilia made a mistake not quoting brokerage fees and not checking information properly with Signature regarding product’s origin and duties associated with it. That was the extent of it though, they have kept their commission without assuming any financial responsibility for the consequences, even thought it was entirely their mistake. I am still unsure what exactly their scope of work was, as they are the ones that made all the mistakes others have ended up paying for, yet they came out making a profit. Not a bad business model, if you think about it. Do a sloppy job, make others pay, keep profit. On the day of shipment, and ongoing since, they have completely ignored all time-sensitive emails, leaving us to deal with all the hidden fees that surfaced without showing any concern for it. Based on my experience, either MR Evans is completely inexperienced at bringing products over from US, or completely incompetent, not sure which is worse. They certainly showed no remorse whatsoever for the situation with their only response being ‘we didn’t know there will be duties’ – something a 5 min conversation with any brokerage company would have made clear to them, and something you would expect a company that positions themselves as a representative of us product in Canada would know. Definitely do not advise them in any way, unless you are willing to deal with random thousands of dollars in additional fees.

Very professional, service was outstanding!