Help Me Hank: Bad Sofa

Hank
"This was supposed to be the Christmas present. What do you think about that?"

John
"Bad Christmas, I think."

What do YOU think? The couch arrived with wrinkly upholstery, cushions that didn't match, ripped seams, uneven construction and little white spots where the fibers were actually falling out of the fabric. John tried covering up the defects with pillows, but it still just looked ratty.

John
"When people come over they make fun of it."

John also remembers the humiliating evening the back leg broke off.

Hank
"So your brother-in-law came over?"

John
"Yep."

Hank
"Sat on the couch?"

John
"Yep."

Hank
"And?"

John
"And the leg collapsed."

Hank
"Oh what happened?"

John
"It was funny but you couldn't laugh because it was embarrassing to us."

So John called the furniture store where he bought the couch, he told them it was defective and he wanted his money back.

Hank
"When you told them you have to take this back, what did they say?"

John
"They said they can't do nothing about it."

But months went by and nothing changed! That's when John called Help Me Hank.

John
"I think it's ridiculous."

So we called the furniture store and explained the rules. First: State law says if the merchandise is defective, the customer gets a repair, replacement or a refund.

Jennifer Davis Carey, Consumer Affairs Director
"And that's the choice of the consumer, not the choice of the seller which of those three they would prefer."

We also reminded the store that the Millers had been waiting since Christmas! The law says that any delay has got to be reasonable.

Jennifer Davis Carey
"Sooner rather than later, that's right."

Soon after our call things started moving fast. A pickup was arranged, the money refunded and then John got on the phone again, this time telling his friends to come say goodbye to the hideous couch.

Bottom line, if a product is defective, the store has to make good on it -- repair, refund or replacement and that's true even if the store has an "all sales are final" policy on returns. So what's the consumer battle you're fighting? Maybe we can help.