Our kids are getting older, so my wife and I finally decided to treat ourselves to what we thought was high-end custom furniture from Walter E. Smithe Furniture.
Within the first 3 weeks of receiving our new "custom" Family room furniture the cushions on the sofa began to "roll"/sink. The back cushions on the Love Seat started to cave in or in other words, our furniture already looked as if were five years old and we have hardly had a chance to use it within this time frame.
First, we called the local store in Crystal Lake to make them aware of the situation. They stated that they have nothing to do with "warranty issues" and we will have to take it up with the corporate office in Itasca IL.
We spoke with the corporate office and they stated they will have to send out a service rep to look at the problem, that took several weeks. The rep finally came to our home and agreed with the problems and stated he will have to order new foam cushions.
Finally after two more weeks he came back out and replaced the foam in the sofa and stuffed "material" in the back cushions on the Love seat. Hence, not only did he not fix the problem he made it worse.
This time when we called corporate, we simply said that we are very unhappy with the quality of their furniture and want our account credited and we will buy from another furniture store.
Their response was that we only had 14 days from when we received the furniture in order for a return and that we will never get a refund and that we have to let them make it right no matter how many times it takes, go back to the store and re-select different furniture but will have to pay a restock fee which would amount to over $500.00 or... They advised us "to get an attorney"
We have gone through six months of hell via letters, telephone etc. To date Walter E. Smithe III himself has never returned our letters or messages. He has his Pitbulls on staff to do his dirty work!
To date, our really expensive family room furniture looks as if it should go to the Salvation Army. Believe it or not, this is an abbreviation of the torment this company has put us through. We truly hope that this report will help to prevent other families from making our mistake and going through the nightmare we are still experiencing.
Kevin
Crystal Lake, Illinois
U.S.A.
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