September 23
Mr. Donald Shaffer
President, CEO, COO
Heilig-Meyers Company
12560 West Creek Parkway
Richmond, VA 23238
Mr. Shaffer:
This letter is in reference to an incident which occurred Saturday, September 21 at The Roomstore located at 3305 North Central Expressway in Plano, TX. The incident is as follows:
My wife and I recently moved into a new home. Having bought from The Roomstore in the past, we visited the Frisco, TX location and placed an order for approximately $4800 in furniture. Last Saturday, we decided to purchase an entertainment center in addition to the items already on order. My wife had received a promotional offer from your company which clearly stated she was entitled to 40% off the most expensive item she purchased. The offer came in the form a birthday card, and contains no caveats about the number of items to be purchased, only that the purchase be made on a Roomstore credit account, which we intended to do.
We made the mistake of going to the above referenced Plano, TX location to do so. We entered the store Saturday afternoon, and then the fun began. After selecting an entertainment center, we informed the salesperson of the coupon we had. He examined the card and stated that the way we do this here is to apply the discount to a piece of the entertainment center.in this instance, he wanted to apply the discount to one of the shelves on the center. I pointed out that the item had two prices, one for the unit with a TV stand, and one without. There was nothing indicating that the entertainment center was a five-piece item. Who would buy only the shelf of an entertainment center?
At this point the salesperson took the offer your firm sent us to his manager. After twenty minutes of waiting, the manager came out with a completely new story. The offer, he claimed, was from a different company. The offer we had was from Roomstore Furniture and Accessories. The manager emphatically denied that his store was a part of that company. When I pointed out that the sign on the door clearly read Roomstore Furniture and Accessories, he became agitated and began raising his voice as he mindlessly repeated That's not from our company! As we left the store, I made sure to obtain videotape of the front of the store with the logo reading Roomstore Furniture and Accessories. I compared the logo from the store to the one on the offer we received, and they are AN EXACT MATCH. Your firm had the nerve to send my wife an offer in the form of a birthday card, and then deny to our face that it was from you. You insulted my six-month pregnant wife to her face with your deceptive advertising. She was upset to the point of tears as we left, as this was clearly a race issue. It appears that your Plano employees feel they can treat Hispanic customers however they please without consequence. While that may have been true circa 1930, my wife and I are active members of the League of United Latin American Citizens, and I can assure you there are going to be consequences to this fraud and these discriminatory practices.
When the Attorney General's office in this state sees the evidence I have collected in this case, they aren't going to hesitate to pursue action against your firm for deceptive advertising and trade practices. The same goes for the Federal Trade Commission. And the BBB and LULAC, and the Plano Chamber of Commerce, and every consumer reporter in this state I can contact.
We'll be canceling the $4800 order we placed with your company, needless to say. I'm confident that the ensuing lawsuit we will be filing shortly against your company will more than cover the cost of new living room and bedroom furniture and even an entertainment center. Only we'll purchase it from a reputable company who does not practice and condone discrimination and deceptive advertising.
This is my only attempt at settling this matter before litigation and bringing in all of the referenced agencies. You have my contact number at the top of this letter. This issue will either be resolved this week, or we will be filing suit next Monday. Believe me when I tell you that it makes absolutely no difference to me.
Josh
Dallas, Texas
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