Complaint Review: GCI Household Furniture And Mattresses

Bait and Switch, False Advertising, Bullying Tactics.

Before you read this, you should know that we feel every bit as stupid for being swindled and not walking away from any business dealings with Greg Cristell.
Greg has many advertisements in Craigslist such as this one (Verbatim): " Queen Size Pillowtop Mattress and Boxspring Set - New in Plastic - $110". We called his cell and got a voicemail message stating: "If you are calling about the mattress from craigslist, I still have it". (Making it appear as though there was only one for sale).

He called back and we then made an appointment to meet him. He indicated his father's furniture warehouse has closed down and he was trying to get rid of excess furniture. We later found he has been in business for over 8 years.

When we arrived he was with someone so he told us to wait in the car until he was finished. We then entered a warehouse/large storage unit that was arranged just like a furniture showroom. We asked to see the "$110 pillow top mattress". There were many good looking pillow top mattresses set-up in a professional way in nice bed frames. He gestured to a plain mattress propped against the wall to the back of the room which was obviously set there on purpose. The mattress was a flimsy, used, stained mattress that he sold with a temporary cardboard box spring.

He immediately started to up sell us on the nicer mattresses, starting with the next lowest priced set up for over $200.00 and going up from there. He also badmouthed other local mattress dealers, insisting their practices were dishonest, along with other accusations.
After a while it became very clear that he had no intention of selling the mattress he falsely advertised. He said he didn't stock the mattresses we were considering, but as part of his pitch offered to call us if it came inthen later said that the prices he offered that day wouldn't be available at any other time.
He became aggressive and insulting, belittling our sense of reality, in thinking we could buy a mattress for such a low price. We began feeling swindled. We offered to come back another time; he rolled his eyes, said that we wasted his time and he should not have taken our appointment.

He even went as far as to say, "No one in their right mind would buy these mattresses" (referring to the one he advertised and the next higher priced one above that). "You are the only people that have actually wanted them in over a year".

After walking out on him because of his rudeness, while driving away he came out and told us to roll down our window and made a last-ditched offer. Since we had sacrificed our time for this purchase, we finally consented to buy a $250 pillow top mattress with a box spring. He told us it was new and name-brand. It was new, but the brand was not one either of us had heard of..

Simian
Gainesville, Florida
U.S.A.