Complaint Review: Uniway of Columbia

 We went to the home show in Columbia, SC.  Just as we were about to leave, someone offered us a chance to win a $25,000 home makeover.  We entered, and several weeks later we were contacted by uniway and told we were selected as finalist to win this makeover.  All we had to do would be to come to their presentation.  I wish we had Googled "Uniway of Columbia" before we wasted two valuble hours of our time.  We would have had more fun watching paint dry.  On the phone, the representative were helpful, curteous and cheerful.

When we arrived, we filled out some paperwork and a survey of items we planed to purchase in the next five years.  During our tour, the fast talking salesman was very pleasant and seemed knowlegeable about his company.  He had memorized retail and wholesale prices of several pieces of merchandise in the showroom.  He laughed, joked, and called everyone by their name(amazing memory, I don't recall his name".

After the tour, the hardsell started.  We were allowed to try to unlock a doornob with the key we received with our invitiation.  Of course it did not open it.  I later over heard another salesman say that only one in twenty-five thousand keys will fit that lock) We were given a couple of books with merchandise to look at and then he returned.  We told him that we wanted to do some research and make some informed decisions before signing the "yes" line. 

He then became visibly agitated and started saying thing like, "If you want to pay retail the rest of your life, then sign the "no" line.  He then told us if we used a major credit card he could reduce the downpayment to $99.00.  We explained that it wasn't the down payment, we like to research before we make commitments.  We informed him that we would be signing "no" and ask for a pen.  He stated he did not have one,  However, he had one when he thought that we may have been suckers. 

After returning home, I went to the website associatied with the $500.00 shopping spree. www.shoppingmall.com   I found that the shipping and handling was approximately what I would pay for the item offered at a discount store.  And the quoted retail price was very inflated.  Here's the trick.  You have to pay a $5.00 order fee and shipping and handling fees with your own money/card.  The 500.00 is only applied toward the inflated retail price.  WHEN YOU SEE UNIWAY, YOU HAD BETTER RUN AWAY.