Update on the Furniture Debacle

Well, I can't give you a resolution, but I can let you know where we're at for now. I'd refer you to the BBB website, but my report has still not been published there. I would still encourage you to check out the site though...the sheer number of complaints, let alone the magnitude of each, is absolutely appalling.

Briefly, the recap of that complaint is this...

I submitted an abbreviated version of the complaint that I sent to the Attorney General's office. Only abbreviated because of the character limit in the online form! The first response I got back was only regarding the fact that I had quoted the owner as saying,"You pissed of Mr. nice guy." Her response was that she's 62 and that she doesn't use that kind of language. She then proceeded to say that her exact words were "No more Mrs. nice gal." OK...first of all, talk about seriously avoiding the actual issue! Secondly, I felt like she had argued my case for me...regardless of the semantics of the issue, the customer was treated in an unacceptable manner. Lastly, can I tell you today that I remember what she initial said...no. However, I CAN say that Elizabeth and I both sat down within 30 minutes of the instance and wrote down our accounts separately. We proceeded to record the exact same quotation...you do the math, I think we know what she said (again...SO not the issue). The remainder of their initial response was that they had been "more than nice," and that I had insisted on harassing their warehouse manager. Aye aye aye.

So I responded stating that the actual issue had been completely avoided in their response and that I had not harassed their manager. I did say that I would not argue the fact that I had become defensive in my interactions with them, but only as a direct response to their attitudes toward me. I wrote that it would be clear to the Attorney General's office that the problem originated with their inability to file and maintain their paperwork.

Their final response skirted the issue AGAIN, stating simply that they had gone out of their way to accommodate me and that I would not receive a refund because I was not legally due one. They also claimed that my order had been placed as soon as I called to check on my order status, that it had been done so with a rush attached, and that I was aware of this. Two questions..1) if they had placed the order right then and told me about it, why would i have continued to call them all week to find out what the status of my order was? and 2) if they had placed the order earlier that week...why would the manager then have offered me a refund 3 days later? Seriously??? Bull shooey, I say.

Quick side bar...even if I weren't legally due a refund, which I definitely believe that I am, what kind of a business goes this far out of their way to throw their customers under the bus??? When this whole issue began, I was one complaint out of 38 in the past 36 months. Currently, there are 41 complaints posted on the BBB website within the past 36 months, and mine isn't even there yet. SERIOUSLY??? That's 3 more published complaints in a month's time.

So, the BBB wasn't able to reach a resolution, but that's not their job. At least I have added yet another nail to their coffin in cyber world. PLEASE...encourage your friends to check out the BBB website before shopping ANYWHERE.

Let's get to the Attorney General's office. I am not gonna lie...I don't feel incredibly confident in the level of support that I'm receiving here. However, I think that my case agent is just doing her job and being very careful to remain a neutral mediator between the company and the consumer. When she first called, she said that she was confident that I would receive a refund, but that it may be only 80% due to a restocking fee. I wasn't happy to hear that, and we had a pretty lengthy conversation regarding my expectations of her office and what I feel is their job as far as getting the facts and resolving the issue. That's when she explained to me that she is not there to represent me, but rather to represent the good of the state. And for that reason, she has to approach the situation as an unbiased investigator. She then proceeded to tell me that if I wasn't happy with whatever outcome we reach, I could pursue the issue further in court. Not wanting to burn my bridges at the AG's office I retracted and thanked her for her due diligence, and said that we would take each step in the process as it came.

So, she called again today and had some questions for me. Turns out, the company is now claiming that the order was a custom order, and according to the contract a custom order cannot be cancelled regardless of the circumstances. They should really be keeping track of these lies, because in my opinion, they've already dug themselves a hole.

So that's where we're at with the resolution. In regards to the legal possibility of pursuing this further, obviously for $150, that's not going to happen. I did, however, speak to a friend of mine who is a lawyer...off the record. First of all, before I even asked my question, he had some knowing statements to make about the company. Did I mention that he is a lawyer in family court??? Why would a lawyer in family court have knowledge of a company's legal woes. No reason unless they are so infamous that they are discussed in legal circles. Anyway, the reason I wanted to talk to him was to find out how far I could legally go in regards to telling people to stay away from the company. The last thing I need is for them to have grounds to charge me with defamation of character! He basically said that I could say whatever I wanted and print anything based on truth and I would be fine. He then proceeded to say that if anyone came after me, he'd defend me! Ha!

Well...stay tuned...I'll continue to post updates. Due to the holidays and the red tape of such a process, it could be a while before a resolution is reached. I feel fairly confident that I will receive the refund that I deserve though. And if I don't, I still get the chairs...it's not like I'm losing either way. I have made it pretty clear to people that I will not be the one picking up the chairs if it comes to that, so if it does, my hardest decision will be choosing who to send to pick them up. I've had a lot of volunteers, but none of them are very happy with the situation, and I don't think I'd like to see any of them spend time in jail because of a confrontation during the pick up. So we'll just have to see...

Hopefully, it won't come down to that and I'll have my money back sooner than later!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!