Consumer Alert -- The Room Store (Columbia, Charleston: credit, hotel, new house)

[RighteousConsumer]

This is a general alert, particularly directed towards military families (which accounts for most of Goose Creek).

Beware of buying furniture from The Room Store. While the prices are good for the quality of furniture, if you are military, you will find that it may not be worth it in the long run to buy from this company.

To make a long story short, my husband graduated from nuclear training in July. We were slated to move to Groton, CT in August, and ordered furniture from them that was to be shipped to our new house when we received an address for delivery.

Approximately 3-5 days before we moved, they called and told us our furniture had arrived -- in Charleston. We were asked if we wanted to take it with us. Of course we didn't mind, we had a 24' truck for our self-move and needed the extra weight. So we loaded it on the top of our old furniture and drove on our merry way.

We arrived in Groton, ended up living out of a hotel for 2 weeks. When we finally moved in and unpacked our furniture, all was well until someone sat down and the seam on the middle cushion of the couch quite easily popped (cleanly). This was not a tear, and since we had paid for the fabric protection and were told we had a one year warranty, we called to have this taken care of.

We were immediately told that our warranty was voided when we relocated the furniture. My husband called the store; at first they seemed helpful, but subsequent follow-up calls revealed that they were going to stonewall and claim no-fault for their failure to fully disclose what was happening when we accepted delivery and moved it ourselves. The manager I spoke to was quite rude and essentially told me he didn't have to help me. They had their money, they were done.

Edit : I forgot to mention that at one point, I did find a customer service rep who would have helped us out. Unfortunately, he informed us that The Room Store does not service our area. They were perfectly willing to sell us furniture and fabric protection plans, but were unable to back up their warranties to begin with.

I have since involved the bank that issued the card the furniture was paid with, and it looks like they are reaching a resolution by applying financial force.

However, I still advise anyone who is planning on moving -- even a block down the street -- to pass this store by. Their customer service is horrendous from the store level and up, and their policy is, at best, inane considering that this particular location is right in the middle of a community that moves often and at the whim of our government.
Please pass this story on and prevent The Room Store from scamming any other families who already struggle to save up for new furnishings while dealing with long work/training hours, deployments, and/or a modest paycheck to get by on.


lizbotkin@gmail.com

[mj1atwork]

Did a quick check with the BBB and found that they have an unsatisfactory record .

Columbia, SC: Check Out a Business or Charity

[OrangeCountyGirl]

I think that's pitiful no matter if you're military or not.

If you purchase furniture, the warranty is the warranty. They should be able to take care of it, and want to take care of it for their customers regardless.

I'm fed up with these companies having absolutely NO customer service and not giving even a modicum of respect or consideration to us.

[ah090206]

We have also had 2 horrible experiences with The Roomstore (N. Charleston and Myrtle Beach.) After our first order, it took forever to get the furniture. We'd call and they would have NO CLUE where our order was (couldn't find it in the computers...) We sat on the floor in our new house for dinners for a month (when the furniture was supposed to arrive the week we moved in.) No one ever knew what was going on there. The only reason we visited a 2nd time is because they gave us a $150 gift certificate to apologize after I wrote a letter to the contact on the website. We called to confirm that our furniture was AT THE STORE, READY TO GO and rented a truck (refusing to wait for delivery this time around.) We drove 30 min. to N. Charleston only to find that part of the furniture was not there (after they told us that it definitely was.) They then said we could have the floor model at the West Ashley store (another 45 min. away)...we started to drive...hit traffic from an accident and turned around. I cancelled the order and ordered from Crate and Barrel. The furniture quality is much better and honestly, it wasn't even much more!

Other than the usual wear and tear, I haven't had a problem with the furniture from our original order...thank goodness.

If you paid with credit, could you dispute the charge? Just a thought.

[RIPOFF ALERT]

This Store's furniture is junk. I was told that my furniture was covered for 5 years by the salesperson. That is not the case they only cover you for wood mark,water stains, ect.. They do not cover you for any manufacture defects unless you volunteer for that coverage. This was never told to us because the salesperson did not know what he was talking about. After only a several months the sliding door on my china cabinet broke. Also the wiring in the back was held up by a piece of plastic and tape. The tape eventually wore off and everything fell off. All they could say was sorry but there was nothing they could do. Now I am stuck with a $1,000 china cabinet that is a piece of junk. I would never recommend this store to anyone. I wish I had checked the BBB before I shopped there.