I am starting to believe my parents have been ripped off.
My parents purchased chest beds for my two sons from New Life Style, a furniture store in Pittsburg, CA. The store did not have what we were looking for in stock, so we chose the beds from a catalogue they showed us. After finding a style we liked, we asked specifically what the beds were made out of because we did NOT want anything other than solid wood. (No press board, no particle board etc.) We were told that the beds were made out of solid pine. That was just what we were looking for, so my father placed the order. This was the day before Easter.
Fast forward one week, to the following Saturday. The beds were delivered, and the only thing solid wood on them is the knobs on the drawers!
I called on Monday to see if there had been a mistake. The manager acted very sorry and said he wanted to make things "right", that he'd look into things and that he would call me back. I waited until Friday with no call back from him, so I called the store again.
I was told by the lady who answered the phone that the manager was with a customer and couldn't come to the phone, but that he said to tell me that the beds should arrive by Monday. Huh? I told her I didn't know what he meant by that, and she said he would have to call me later.
I waited. He didn't call. So I called again later that afternoon. I was told that he "just stepped out" and would have to call me when he came back. I was preparing myself for another long wait, but he did call me fairly soon after that.
His explanation was that there must have been a mistake, and he has ordered the correct furniture for us. He said it should be in the store for us to look at on Monday. He also assured me that he will take my calls from now on, even if he is in a meeting.
Well now it is Monday, so I called to see if the beds had arrived so we could come out and see them. I was informed that they have not arrived.By the way, I was also told the manager was not in the store, then placed on hold for a while, then told the manager was with a customer. Hmmmm...
A few minutes later, I got curious about the manufacturer. I called the store again to ask who the manufacturer is, and this time I spoke with a guy, not the lady who usually answers the phone. I just asked him who makes the twin beds with drawers underneath, and he said he'd check real quick and put me on hold. A few moments later, another guy came to the phone to answer my question. I didn't think he knew who I was, so I asked him what they are made of just to see what he would say. He asked the manager, and then said "press board". Press board! I confirmed with him that it was the manager who I had been dealing with all along who told him this. So it seems to me as if they always knew the beds are not solid pine.
The bottom line is this:
We feel that we were misled, either intentionally or by accident, about the quality of these beds. Now we seem to be getting the run-around. For the price we paid, we expected good quality solid pine furniture. After all, that is what we were told we were ordering.incidentally, to add insult to injury, we found the same beds in an advertisement for another company for over $400 LESS than we paid for them! The high price was part of reason we believed them when we were told they were solid pine.
Is there any recourse?
Thanks!
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