I visited The Dump furniture store located in Oaks PA on 6/20/09 with the intent of purchasing some furniture to be used to furnish a vacation property located out-of-state. I was initially pleased at the prices, and I purchased a King bedroom set, along with 8 dining chairs. I took several of the smaller items with me on the day of purchase, and I clearly understood that one of the nightstands was discounted heavily due to one of the drawers being damaged.
At the time of purchase, the salesperson, Steve Barrone, specifically mentioned that if I had ANY problems with the furniture after delivery, that I should contact Customer Service at 866-662-8947. He wrote this toll-free number across the top of my invoice very clearly. That is the ONLY thing that he mentioned about having any problems with the furniture, other than the fact that the discounted pieces that I had purchased were sold "AS IS."
I returned to the store with 2 vehicles one week later, on 6/27/09, to pick up the merchandise which had since arrived at the store. After more than one hour of waiting, all of the cartons were loaded onto the two vehicles. None of the cartons appeared smashed or damaged in any way when everything was loaded onto our vehicles. We transported everything to our home, where the cartons remained in the vehicles for several days until we rented a U-haul truck to make the out-of-state trip to deliver everything to the final destination. We unpacked the headboard and footboard from their cartons, leaving the foam packaging around them, and carefully loaded them onto the rental truck, along with all the other items, which were still in their original packing.
When we arrived on Thursday July 2, everything was transported into the home using furniture dollies and hand trucks, and the packaging on the triple dresser, bed rails, and mirror were then removed for assembly and installation. There were no issues with the headboard, footboard or mirror, however, when the dresser was unpacked, there was a very noticeable gash in the center of the front edge of the dresser. When we looked at the carton, we saw a barely noticeable, small "slit" on the corner of the carton, although there was no hole or dent in the carton.
The location of the "slit" which was hard to see from the outside of the carton, was located between two pieces of L shaped styrofoam that had reinforced the edge of dresser along the top inside corner of the carton, but there was a gap between the two pieces of foam, and this is just where the cardboard was "slit". When we transported the dresser in its carton, we did not drop it at any point, nor did anything fall against the carton. There are two photos attached, showing the damage to the front of the dresser, which unfortunately could not be in a less obtrusive location - front and center.
We began assembling the bed frame and the chairs the next day, on Friday July 3. Although we did not initially notice anything wrong when we unpacked these items, we did subsequently discover a few issues. The King size bed frame seemed to be larger than the previous king bed that had been in the room, which we noted from the marks on the carpet where the previous king bed had been placed.
When a King size mattress and box springs were delivered the next day, they fit perfectly on the frame from side to side, but there was a significant gap at both the top of the bed (headboard) and at the bottom of the bed (footboard). This gap in total was at least 6 inches — a much greater gap than could be filled by any standard comforter. There is a third photo attached showing just the smaller gap between the standard size King mattress and the footboard of the bed.
The mattress company stated that the side rails of the bed appeared to be too long, and appeared to be the length of a California King, which is 84 inches in length, rather than the standard 80 inches of an Eastern King. When we measured the side rails, they are exactly 83 inches long, and there is also several additional inches of space between the posts and each of the footboard and headboards - which creates this enormous "gap" of more than 6 inches in total at both the top and bottom of the mattresses. (Model number of the side rails is 04371357650).
When we assembled the 8 dining chairs, this process took several days, and we worked in an assembly-line fashion assembling the metal chair frames first, and attaching the upholstered seat cushions as the very last step. We finally finished assembling these on Sunday July 5th, and when attaching the seat cushions, we had a problem with one seat. Seven chairs had perfectly fitted seat cushions, however the eighth chair had a similar-looking seat cushion that did not fit the chair frame. There was no way to attach two of the four wood screws underneath the seat cushion, as the wood bottom of this one seat cushion was several inches too narrow at the end of the seat nearest the chair back. The seat cushion appeared to be intended to fit a different size chair frame, although the fabric looked the same.
Upon our return home from the holiday weekend spent assembling furniture, we retrieved our invoice copy and made a phone call to the Customer Service number at the Dump. When we reached a customer service rep on Monday 7/6, and reported the three problems to the representative, we were told that nothing could be done about anything, because we did not report the problems within 24 hours of receiving the furniture. I was stunned by this reply, and informed the representative that no one had mentioned any 24-hour deadline for reporting issues and problems, and that we had explained to our sales person that we were renting a truck to transport the items out of state.
I asked if there was any way to appeal this decision, and the rep told me she would check with her supervisor. Several hours later I received a follow-up phone call indicating that the supervisor, Tameika, had reiterated that nothing that could be done about the problems due to our not having reported them within 24 hours. I was told also that there was nothing else that I could do at this point.
I was feeling outraged and cheated, but I patiently waited until the weekend to contact someone at the store when it was open again. (The stores are only open Friday through Sunday to the public.) On the weekend, I called the store at Oaks and spent more than one hour on hold, and being transferred, and on hold again. I was told that I could perhaps speak to the department manager, Gene, but that he was tied up at the moment (for more than an hour.)
I finally gave up on the phone, and drove about an hour to get to the store, with the improperly fitted seat cushion from the dining chair in my posession. I was hoping that I could switch the cushion for a display chair at the store, and that maybe I could get a standard set of side rails for a king bed, which would solve two of my problems. When I met with Gene, he was very nice, but he said he could not help me with anything that had not been authorized by customer service. (The display dining set had also been sold, and the only other chairs like the ones I had purchased were apparently already committed for another customer's order.) I was also informed that there are no additional chairs like these in inventory. (Model number 0991193040.)
When I asked for the store manager while I was still at the store on Sunday 7/12, I was told that "Dave" was not there — it seems like he may have too easy a job if he can be absent when the store he manages is ONLY open three days each week. I am now left with a bill to pay and three problems to solve. I can possibly hire a carpenter to patch and repaint the gash in the dresser, and to cut down the side rails of the bed and re-install the brackets on the rails if this is even feasible. But I will incur considerable cost in doing these things.
As far as the seat cushions, I would need to trace one well-fitted cushion onto plywood, and then replace the upholstery on all 8 seat cushions so they will match each other. If I had purchased any of this furniture for a discounted "AS IS" price, I would expect to maybe incur extra costs to fix a problem, however, this furniture was sold at regular price.
I also applied and was approved for interest-free store financing, but but was not informed about any "extra" fees, however when I received the first bill, I noticed an unexpected $20 "Processing Fee" on the bill. What is this fee, and why was I not informed of any additional fees at the point of purchase?
I fell that The Dump has engaged in very deceptive selling practices, by not informing me as a consumers of the limited and unreasonable 24-hour period for reporting problems. And if The Dump is unwilling to rectify any problem that I have had, that I should be entitled to at least a partial refund for the damaged furniture that I am now apparently stuck with.
0 comments