Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a kitchen dining set from AFW last November 2022. Two weeks after delivery, the foam in the seat cushions began to bunch up and valley. I reported to the store immediately. They dispatched a service technician to evaluate the issue. I was told it was a manufacturing defect and that new replacement cushions would be ordered for me. Ten months later I still did not have the cushions and no communication as to why. After several phone calls to the store my cushions were replaced. However, I was told that I was the ONLY person this happened to. The salesman, ******, even went as far to ask me who was sitting on the cushions. He was eluding to my weight and ask how big are the people sitting at the table! This is a disgusting display of discrimination and totally inappropriate behavior!My cushions were finally replaced. Two weeks after they were replaced, the same issue with the foam happened again. I reported it and I received the same line of questions and made to feel that it was my fault. I requested a refund for all 4 chairs or a replacement kitchen set comparable to what I purchased. I was told by the store manager **** that I was disrespectful for making demands! After taking a few days for their review, they only offered me half of the value of all four chairs. I declined their offer.I spent $6k in this store in one day and this is the customer service I received in return. I am requesting a refund for all 4 chairs, being the problem could not be resolved. The treatment I received was utterly unacceptable.

  Business response

  11/16/2023

  The customer purchased a ******************** ****** table set from our store on November 5, 2022.They first reported on December 23, 2022, stating three of four chairs had minor body impressions in the cushions and a work order was created and scheduled for an assessment by our stores technician on December 28,2022. The stores technician determined that the chairs foam was slightly decompressing (which looked typical for the price point of the set and normal seat compression variation for that collection based on previous sales), he then advised our parts purchaser to order four new seat cushions for the customer to help the customer to make her happy(even though it was deemed normal usage). Unfortunately, the part was out of stock at Lifestyles domestic warehouse caused by the covid supply chain issue worldwide which delayed the time frame significantly.  This means the manufacture only has parts in their foreign warehouse in ************** since the product purchased in an import product . After so many months of waiting for the part order, we were able to get lifestyle to  air freight cushions for a "one time only" courtesy from the manufacture in **************. Our customer service team then scheduled an appointment for our store technician to make the necessary repairs for the customer on August *******. Our service technician went to the customers home on 8/29/23 and replaced four seat cushions to complete the service. On October 2, 2023, the customer called again stating they were experiencing the same issue of deflation in their chair cushions. At this time our service technician was scheduled for another assessment and unfortunately, the manufacturer and our service team deemed her cushion compression was considered normal. Although we are not responsible for the construction of the product we did offer the customer a refund of half of what she paid for these chairs as compensation, after we already replaced her (4) cushions once on the prior service order. As a retailer, we feel for the price point of this product, this is not an issue of the product being defective, but rather the the product not matching the customer's quality standards. The manufacture agrees that the impressions on the seat looked within the variance of that model and they were unwilling to provide anymore credit or repair allowance towards her chairs in the future.   We both believe this issue is the customers perception of the product purchased, and we feel that by offering her 1/2 off on the purchase price of her chairs and repairing/replacing the seats once we have ethically done what was right to satisfy this particular customer and refunding her in full for the chairs she used for over a year is not a reasonable demand.

  Secondly, we would like to address the false comments directed by the customer toward our management staff. Our staff is trained and quality assured, and they never discriminated or disrespected the customer.  We asked the customer about her weight to assure that she was within the weight limit of the chair, to ensure the safety limits were not being exceeded.  Furthermore, **** only explained to the customer, that her demands of a full refund after we replaced the cushions was unreasonable to both us and the manufacture.  Once this message was relayed, she became very upset  she did not get what she wanted.  We stand behind our staff on this case, that we went far and beyond to make the customer happy.

  As a solution we will still be willing to offer the customer a 50% refund of the purchase price of the chairs(she is able to still keep them and she already used for over a year: also the manufacture has also replaced 4 x cushions already).

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  6/21 power reclining loveseat delivered. Power pack burnt out within 1st month. Retailer insisted nothing they could do so we had to contact mfgr! He stated the USB port had known problems and to avoid burn out an addll power interruption pack was necessary but our retailer neglected to inform us. Next we found seat and foot rest lacked sufficient padding and remained depressed and wrinkled even when not in use. Seat was deemed normal but they agreed to a new footrest but that never arrived! Pure water used to wipe a small stain actually removed coloring plus left a huge water stain. Mfgr stated no liquids could get on piece and only dry chemicals to clean! We were never told of this extreme condition! Where is this cleaning info written? In addition to easily staining the piece also has a huge stain caused by clothing dye transfer which retailer claimed was very common!! Next we stated there was 3" gap between seat and reclining back rest and back rest tilts severely to left appearing as though it's about to fall off!! In order to have a warranty on product we were told we had to purchase a protection plan. Altho we were never provided a copy of this until months later, this turned out to be a quasi insurance policy rather than a product warranty! These protection plans are scams and are known for NOT paying any claims which is what happened here!! Altho a repair tech deemed the material defective, among other problems, all was blamed on us and everyone denied all our claims. We wasted over $2,000 and are left with a 1 yr old pile of junk. Nobody will sit on left side for fear the back will fall off and we have to cover the piece with a sheet to avoid staining or dye transfer as well as to avoid just seeing the existing stains!! Numerous emails and pics to mfgr and retailer were ignored including 2 that went to the GM/owner. Deceitful, despicable business practices. I'll bring legal action if they continue to refuse my FULL refund of ALL charges!!

  Business response

  01/09/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/10) */ The customer purchased a Southern Motion power reclining loveseat and two (2) Enouvation battery packs from our store. She also purchased a third-party five (5) year accidental protection plan through GBS Protect All, to cover any accidental circumstance that occurred within their plan coverage. This protection plan provides a welcome packet that was emailed to her on 07/02/2021 and emailed for a second time to her on 04/01/2022. The customer's first claim was about her battery packs. She stated one of the battery packs were defective, per the manufacturer's warranty the customer is to make a claim directly through them. Our customer service team helped guide her to the manufacturer's customer service line to make a complaint with their company. Our store was unaware of the issues with these battery packs at the time of her claim and have sense adjusted our inventory to avoid this problem with future sales. The solution we can provide considering the battery pack was defective is to replace the defective battery pack. The customer then claimed that the seat cushion and mid ottoman were decompressing. For this claim, we sent out our store technician to assess the decompression. As per the manufacturer her seat cushion core was not decompressed, but her mid ottoman was decompressed, we ordered the necessary part to complete this repair. We are currently in the process of trying to get this repaired to the manufacturer's standard. The customer purchased an accidental protection plan for coverage in the event of customer-caused damage. This service plan provides protection to the customer against accidental circumstances or events. The conditions are stated in the welcome packet which was emailed to the customer twice. The customer did make a claim after attempting to clean up a stain they created. This stain was not addressed with the proper cleaning techniques provided by the manufacturer on their website, creating the "huge water stain" the customer is referring to. GBS approved a technician to assess and inspect the loveseat. The technician denied the customers claim due to "Improper cleaning and accumulation of stains is non-warranted". Our store records show we sent our professional technician to her home to assess some manufacturer warranty claims on 03/09/2022, one of these claims being the stain in question. He stated in his report "she has several stains that she stated she tried to clean but caused fabric to fade". The cleaning techniques are provided on Southern Motions' page titled, "Your Furniture Stain Removal Guide". This page explains in detail how to properly clean stains out of fabric. This page clearly states what to do and what not to do. Southern Motion also stated directly to the customer that her original cleaning techniques were incorrect and gave her the correct tactics to clean. As stated in the above paragraph, we originally sent our store technician out to the customer's home for an assessment on the manufacturer warranty claim on 03/09/2022. Our professional technician made no note of any issue or concerns the customer may have had regarding the left-side-facing back of her loveseat. She first made this claim on 07/25/2022, after being denied for the stains by GBS. The customer received the loveseat on 06/26/2021 and signed that it was received in good condition. As a retailer we stand behind the manufacturer's warranty and provide a service to help the customer within the warranty provided to us by the manufacturer. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/11/22) */ Thank you for forwarding the response from retailer. I disagree completely with their responses. They left out key details and changed some to suit their circumstances. First off, as my witness will attest to, I did not purchase the protection plan willingly. It was NOT presented as "accidental damage coverage" as they are now calling it in their response. The salesman told us this was the only way to have a warranty on the recliner. Had he told us it was one of those quasi insurance policies: which are scams: rather than misleading us to believing it was the warranty we inquired about, we would not have bought the plan nor even the piece! No warranty equals no purchase which is undoubtedly what they are familiar with and the reason they mislead people. Contrary to their statement we were not provided a copy of this "protection plan" until AFTER my complaint to the retailer about damages to which they then only provided me the company phone #! After repeated requests they finally sent a copy! At first the 2 power packs were deemed defective and the protection plan company would not cover defective or improper retailer installed equipment. The retailer made it MY responsibility to locate and contact the power pack mfgr for refund or replacement. According to the mfgr these packs were not defective but sold and installed improperly by retailer. The retailer failed to follow mfgr instructions on proper use and installation. The cost of TWO useless power packs CLEARLY falls on the retailer for falling to follow mfgr advice which apparently is even written on the box! Next, I had to deal with the numerous issues with the piece itself. Cleaning instructions were never provided nor any warnings that liquid of ANY kind could not touch the piece. This info was only told to me by the actual mfgr AFTER the retailers tech denied my claim. No water can get on the piece and it can only be cleaned with special non liquid cleaning solutions - whatever that meant! Their technician did agree that a new ottoman piece was necessary because of the compressed portion but felt the seat itself was fine. He never sat on piece cause if he had he would have felt the metal framework on his bottom!! Despite agreeing to replace ottomon section the retailer STILL has not done it! Eventually the protection company was called about the huge water stain created by my use of plain water to wipe up a small stain as well as the several smaller stains on the piece that needed special cleaning. Their technician came out to clean the piece and upon seeing the water stain he declined to clean because he said he had nothing that was non liquid and his cleaning attempt could make things worse. He then pointed to a stain on the other seat (the one the retailer refused to correct the lack of proper padding) and informed me that the seat was badly stained from clothing dye transfer!! He specifically told me that in his opinion he felt the material was defective! The piece easily stains, any liquid will stain it even plain water and clothing dye is absorbed by seat! All of that equals defective and non repairable. Now please bear in mind this man is a furniture cleaning specialist so he is knowledgeable on the subject! If he's suggesting it's defective material AND can't be cleaned then why wouldn't his opinion be rejected? When I contacted the store about inability to clean the piece and the defective nature as stated by the cleaning technician. I also advised them of the clothing dye transfer stain as identified by the technician. The retailers response to the clothing dye transfer stain was to actually say that this was a very common issue!! Really? Why would anybody want any piece of furniture that can't be used unless you're naked or at the very least wearing only pure white clothing! This statement was ridiculous! During all my conversations with the retailer, the power pack mfgr, the protection plan company, the various furniture repair technicians as well as the original mfgr of the furniture itself I obviously lost track of dates and times like the retailer is showing here. Since they keep such accurate records why did the owner of the company ignore my THREE emails to him!! His name and email is provided on their website as the contact for any issues!! In any event, at some time during all this chaos we noticed the back of the piece falling off and the 3" gap between the reclining back and the seat!! Too obvious to ignore yet the retailer never addressed this in any of my MANY emails!! Once the tech said he refused to clean the piece and stated he felt it was defective material that's the last I heard from retailer. They never answered anymore emails nor made any efforts at any corrections. Still no power, badly stained in numerous places, cushioning lacking in ottomon and seat, 3" gap on seat and the reclining back falling off!! Horrible! Forcing the purchase of a Protection plan or accidental damage plan stating that was the product warranty is misrepresentation and borders on fraud. Perhaps this scam is the only way they get people to buy their useless policy and don't provide customer copies until after a claim or repeated requests. All things combined, there is no way the retailer can justify all these issues nor blame them on us. We've done nothing but try to use this piece as intended, namely to sit on it even if fully dressed!! This was a defective piece with improperly installed equipment from day one and we should not be stuck with this because the retailer chooses to blame the customer again!! Apparently the retailer has a habit of not addressing nor correcting customer complaints and damages are blamed on customer just like they're trying with me. You get what you paid for is their slogan and they feel if you want quality then you should pay more for it! This was an actual statement! At this point we want a FULL refund including the phony warranty we were forced to buy. Absent of the FULL refund this matter will go to litigation which will be far more costly for retailer and would include punitive damages. Witnesses will provide sworn affadavits or formal depositions if necessary and numerous pictures have already been filed. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/11/30) */ I have included a copy of the original signed invoice (exhibit A), the GBS pamphlet (exhibit B), the original email to the customer containing the GBS Welcome Packet (exhibit C), the second email to the customer containing the GBS Welcome Packet (exhibit D), the GBS claim information and denial (exhibit E), and the email thread from our parts department and the manufacturer (exhibit F) in this response for your reference. The customer is stating in their response that their witness can attest that she did not willingly purchase the accidental protection plan. As she is an adult and our company simply cannot force someone into purchasing something they do not want, we must disagree with her statement. As you can see on her original invoice, exhibit A, the line item for the protection is described as follows, "GBS Furniture Protection GBS-249 5-Year Accident Protection Plan", as well as the line notes that states "Customer declines furniture protection plan" where the customer was able to initial showing they did not agree to purchasing this protection. Our sales personnel take courses directly from a GBS representative on the correct approaches for selling their protection plans. We never attest to such claims as furniture retailer. The specific salesperson that worked with this customer is a very honest and professional person and is very unlikely to have tried to sell this protection plan as the only warranty on this product. The customer had referred several times to GBS as a scam and calling it "one of those quasi-insurance policies"; GBS is backed by the Better Business Bureau proving that it is a reputable company. All this information is also available in the GBS Premium Protection Program pamphlet, exhibit B, which can be found in multiple locations throughout our store and is generally stapled to the customer's copy of their invoice, although it is not always given directly to the customer. In the event the customer was confused of the coverage, she would have benefited from asking specific coverage questions regarding a purchases this large. Exhibits C and D can prove that our customer service team did email the GBS Welcome Packet to the customer on both 7/2/2021 and again on 4/1/2022, along with a copy of their invoice. The second email that was sent before she made her claim with GBS has a subject line of "GBS ACCIDENTAL PRTECTION PLAN" which can also be seen in exhibit D. If this customer is unsatisfied with the protection plan, she is more than welcome to contact GBS to request a refund, which is handled directly between GBS and customer after the original purchase. If GBS is willing to refund her money, our finance department will proceed with the proper refund procedures, after getting communication and authorization from GBS directly. I have included the claim information from the GBS merchant portal, exhibit E, for your reference. In the customer's rebuttal, she stated "eventually the protection company was called about the huge water stain... as well as the several smaller stains on the piece that needed special cleaning". The pamphlet, as well as the GBS Welcome Packets that were emailed to the customer clearly state that accumulation is not covered under their protection plan. The customer is stating the technician sent from the protection plan company specifically told the customer that in his "opinion" he felt the material was defective and that because he is furniture cleaning specialist and is knowledgeable on the subject. Our store technician, who has been a furniture repair specialist for nearly 25 years and has worked directly with the manufacturer, Southern Motion, for at least the five years he has worked for our company. We feel he is a very skilled technician, and he made the initial assessments on the customer's loveseat deeming some of the issue valid, while others were not. The water stain was declined by the manufacture and the protection company as shown in exhibit E.3., F.6 and F.7. The multiple accumulated "stains" was declined by GBS, and her improper cleaning attempt was not warranted by Southern Motion or GBS. If the customer would have used her protection plan properly, and not attempted to clean anything without knowing the proper cleaning procedure or chemicals, she would have been covered. Unfortunately, because the customer took improper steps, she was not warranted. The customer's unique choices to file a claim, has nothing to do with the opinion of coverage through the manufacture or protection company. All warranty coverage is warranted by the manufactures, not the retailer. As previously stated in the prior response, this customer started with an initial issue with their Enouvation Battery, our customer service team directed her on how to make a claim with the company to get her battery packs fixed. Unfortunately, Enouvation requires the customer to handle any claim directly through their customer service portal. We also stated we will refund or replace the defective batteries, which we are still willing to do for the customer. As far as a response from our owner Rick Rose's personal email, he forwards the emails directly to customer service to handle. All customer issues through our store are handled through company emails, to keep specific records of any communication between manufactures, customers, and review agencies. No customer email correspondence is sent between our owner and the customer directly. All problems are handled between customer service emails and the customer directly to clarify. As for the customer's statement that we have not done anything to repair her middle ottoman, I previously stated we are in the process of making this repair as soon as possible! To conclude, we are willing to replace/refund her enouvation battery pack(s), repair her loveseat with parts from the manufacture at an installation cost to her (parts + labor), and she can attempt a pro-rated accidental protection plan refund through GBS directly if they are not happy with the services and coverage provided. We are willing as a company to cooperate with her, but it takes both parties to agree on a compromised solution. We as a company can not just refund the deal in full that was delivered brand new, signed in good condition, and now has been ruined by careless cleaning procedures. If she would have communicated with us beforehand, we could have assisted her for a better resolution. We feel the customer continues to add problems to her purchased items to attempt to get her furniture refunded in full. Unfortunately, both us and her presented the facts, and they were deemed non-warranted by all parties. We would like to work with the customer to resolve things internally, but if legal ramifications occur, we are well prepared to take action. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2022/12/09) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The retailer continues to reply with only half the story and ignores portions they wish to hide! Their own repair tech upon seeing a huge water stain on one seat and identifying a clothing dye transfer on the other seat stated the material was defective. Add the number of obvious visual defects and this confirmed his opinion that the piece was defective. The retailer sells knowingly defective furniture and does absolutely nothing when customer is unwilling to accept such inferior products. They ignore your emails detailing all defects or they blame customer! Google reviews confirm their lack of willingness to repair anything and instead blame customers! Burnt out power packs, insufficient padding, back rests falling off and footrests touching floor are NOT caused by customer!! Part of footrest they acknowledged as needing replacement yet 18 months later its still NOT done! Clearly they have no intention of acknowledging all the detailed defects with this piece and have focused only on ONE stain which they continually blamed on me!! All other defects were never addressed and they have no intention of repairing anything on this defective piece. Their lack of action to rectify any of the damages are forcing legal action which is now my next step.

• Initial Complaint

  03/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a furniture set in Jan. The chair had to be ordered. Once we received the chair we realized it did not fit. I called the company and one of their business professionals looked up our purchase and said we could return it, but it might be a 15%restocking fee. I had to get a truck to take it back. Once I got to the store, the manager said they could not take it back. He said it was against policy, even though one of their professionals told me the day before they would. Imagine the embarrassment I felt when I had to go and tell my wife, the driver of the truck, and others, we could not return the chair that the business said I could. It was quite the frustrating experience. I also caught them contradicting themselves a couple times throughout the conversation. They pride themselves on "honesty."

  Business response

  07/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/17) */ We truly and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or embarrassment that was caused to the customer. When this customer came into the store he was assisted by one of our most experienced sales associates, the customer was provided a discounted price to price match another local store to appease the customer. The customer purchased this chair through our store knowing it had to be special ordered. At the time of their sale, the customer signed both their invoice and their Special Order Agreement Form. We have these forms to prevent instances like this. Our invoice states in underlined, bold letters "SPECIAL ORDERS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO CANCELLATION". The invoice then continues "All exchanges and cancellations are subject to seller approval. A minimum fee of 15% of the purchase price will be assessed(re-stocking fee)on seller approved returns, exchanges, or cancellations." The customer stated they did not realize the chair would not fit in their home, our invoice clearly states, "Buyer agrees to measure doorways and stairways before ordering, as seller is not responsible for merchandise purchased that is too large to fit." This invoice was signed by the buyer just underneath this disclaimer. The Special Order Agreement Form, which was also signed by the customer, repeats the same disclaimer. It states "Any item that is special ordered (not stocked in our warehouse) is NOT subject to cancellation" it then continues "Also, it is the customers responsibility to measure all doorways and room sizes." Again, just above where the customer signed their name our Special Order Agreement Form states "By signing this form, both customer and sales consultant agree that the invoice, disclaimer, and order has been reviewed. Also, the customer understands that special orders are not subject to cancellation." Although customer stated we contradicted ourselves as a company, the signature on the paperwork agreeing to our terms stated different. We truly apologize for any misunderstanding the customer has regarding our terms and conditions. We highly advise reading the paperwork once signed.

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