I purchased a leather couch and loveseat from American Freight on 12/01/07 and picked them up just before Christmas. At the time of purchase I asked the sales associate about the warranty associated with the products to which he responded 'All defects are covered by our replacement warranty, including frame, cushoions and fabrics.' The literature he provided me regarding furniture made by United Furniture Industries, the manufacturer of the products, confirmed what the associate said.
A month and a half after purchase, and with very minimal use, a board popped out of the back of the loveseat (it popped out as someone sat down in the piece) and it's corner could be seen pushing against the leather in the back, threatening to perforate (the board is a support board in the rear of the couch which became separated from the frame on the top side.
I called American Freight to inform them of the frame defect (in my opinion no couch should break down with such light use) and the associate on the phone told me that all I had to do was schedule for an employee to come out and inspect the loveseat and bring me a new one. He asked for my name and phone number and said someone would be contacting me shortly to set up a day and time. I waited for a couple weeks and nobody called back. When I called American Freight again, I spoke with a new employee. This second employee told me that I had been given misinformation regarding the inspection and that I needed to go through United Furniture Industies to take care of the problem. I then called United Furniture Industries, who told me that they do not have anything to do with warranties and that all warranty issues need to be taken care of with the company from which the their products are purchased. Again I called American Freight and reported that I needed to get correct information regarding warranty issues. The third associate I contacted about this problem told me that I needed to schedule an inspector to come out and see the furniture (basically the same information that the first associate told me). At this point, I decided to take care of things in person, so I visited the store and talked to an associate who claimed to be the manager (name was Wes). This associate told me that I had abused my couch and that it would not be covered under any warranty. I asked to see his supervisor and was referred to another man (I can't remember his name). This man seemed very helpful and willing to work with me. He placed an order for a new loveseat and told me that the company would call me when it had arrived and I could bring my defective furniture to the store and exchange it after they inspected the problem.
At least four weeks passed and I had received no call from the company. I called them each week to check on the status on the new furniture and each time I was told that it would be in the next week and that they would certainly be calling when it arrived. Finally at about the one month point after placing the order for the exchange, I called American Freight and they said they had the furniture in stock and that I could come by and pick it up.
I took my defective loveseat to the store on 5/2/08 to exchange it for a new one. When I arrived at the store, the highest ranking associate present was Wes, whom I had talked with before (the one that told my my furniture was defective due to abuse). Wes looked at the loveseat and once again told me there was no way to determine whether what I said was true and that it looked to him like the the problem was due to abuse. He also found an area on the bottom of the couch that he deemed 'discolored' and told me that the my claim was rejected and that I could not exchange the couch. I asked him if an employee could repair the board that had come loose and he told me again "your warranty is void—we can't help you." He told me that his boss was on his day off and that I would have to come back if I wanted to talk to him but that it would do me no good because the inspection deemed my warranty void. Wes then turned his back on me and refused to speak any longer.
At this point I was not only frustrated with the poor workmanship of the product I had purchased, but even moreso with the way American Freight had handled my case. I took the loveseat to a furniture repair shop who fixed the problem in 10 minutes and charged me $15. They told me that my couch was cheaply made and expressed empathy over the bad business practices American Freight had used with me.
My complaint is this: in addition to selling me a cheap and defective product that basically has a bogus warranty, dealing with American Freight has been a very difficult and frustrating process. None of the employees could give me correct information regarding warranties and several of them gave me misinformation that resulted in a lot of wasted time and effort on my part. One employee (Wes) was very rude with me and even inferred that I was a liar (by telling me I had abused my couch and wanted their company to pay for it). I plan to sell the furniture for cheap on e-bay or some other service and be done with it (I have abandoned any hope of reclaiming lost money) so I am not looking for any cooperation from American Freight, but I want to report this business in the hope that they can be made accountable for their bad business practices and products and that other customers might avoid being ripped-off in the same manner.
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