Complaint Review: Chris Monteiro - Pawtucket Rhode Island

I am posting the original ads from Craigslist to show that Chris falsely advertised this Full XL bed as a Queen size bed.

This is like selling some one a car, telling them that it is a 4 cylinder that gets good gas mileage, when in reality it is a 6 cylinder engine. If the person does not check it out carefully one might get away with this tactic but the falsehood will be discovered the first time a mechanic looks at the vehicle. I am not sure how Chris figured this was not going to be a problem.

If he truly didn't know about it, why wouldn't he just fess up to his mistake and offer some resolution. He acts like he was doing me some great favor. If had sold the bed for $100 he might have had a case but $600 for a bed that is not the size advertised, doesn't function as advertised, and doesn't even have the proper size mattress is not any kind of bargain. It is quite simply a ripoff!

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Let me start out by commenting on the things that Chris has said in his report that are accurate. He did help me load the bed. He did tell me it was heavy. He was aware that I was not going to have help and he agreed to help load the bed. I did call him to complain that very evening. He did not tell me he could not deal with me anymore. He simply never answered any of the phone calls or emails after that.

Now as to the rest of his rebuttal.

A $2000 bed for $600? Please! I posted copies of his ad. Any one can read them for themselves. In his ad he claimed the bed costs $1500 in one and $1200 in the other and now it is a $2000 bed.

He even admits that he gave me the paperwork so i know exactly what was purchased and how much it cost. The bed was originally from Bob's Furniture. The Queen size beds are for sale new for $999.00 at this time.

However the bed that Chris sold me was not, as advertised, a queen bed at all. Chris is under the delusion that if a bed fits in a queen frame it is a queen bed. I posted in my original complaint the ads he posted where he claims that the bed was a queen size bed. I tried to discuss this fact with him in the only phone call he answered.

A queen bed is a standard size, 80" x 60". The Bed Chris sold me was 80" x 53" which is a Full XL. Unfortunately, the mattress he sold me does not go with the bed. the mattress was a regular Full size mattress which is only 74" x 53" making it 6 inches too short for the bed. IF as he claims that this bed was only 6 months old he could have helped me make a warranty claim with Bob's Furniture for not only the broken ram but for the under size mattress. I suspect, however, that the reason he was not interested in this suggestion is that BOB's Furniture did not sell him or his mother the wrong size mattress for the bed.

I am reasonably sure that Bob's furniture, whose employees delivered and set up the bed, according to the paperwork he gave me, would have noticed that the mattress was the wrong size.

AS to the functioning of the bed. The foot section, which did not go up & down, as he clearly advertised it did, did not immediately move when tested at his house. It did momentarily make a sound as if it was working and Chris told me that it wasn't going up because it was on it's side and therefore hitting the floor. The bed was propped on it's side in one room where there was not enough room to lay the bed down, and the mattress was lying flat on the floor in another room. You be the judge. Would you call this statement, "Steve came in and the bed was set up for him"  accurate?

The tags are still on the bed so i will post pictures of the tags which clearly state that the bed and mattress are the sizes that i have reported. Anyone will be able to see form these that the mattress is 6" too short for the bed and neither are Queen size.

As putting the bed in an S-10 Truck, The bed of the truck is 60" wide and 72" deep with the tailgate up so driving with the bed in the truck is not at issue. It was securely strapped down with 3 ratcheting straps.

I will also post a pic of the broken ram. If, as Chris insinuates, the ram could have broken during the drive home or during my unloading it. How would that explain the fact that the 3 screws that hold the broken bushing in place are missing. If it had broken after i picked it up the 3 screws would have remained into the aluminum shaft housing and only the plastic center would have been broken. It is apparent that someone had taken it apart in an attempt to fix this ram prior him selling it to me.

Anyone with even a modicum of mechanical understanding can determine that a force along length of the ram shaft must have occurred in order to blow out the center of the plastic bushing leaving pieces of the bushing around the 3 screws.  The screws would have remained in the aluminum shaft housing along with the missing plastic pieces which where around each screw. Only the  center would be broken out! This is clearly evident in the photo of the ram.

Chris even references the fuses in his rebuttal proving that he was aware of the problems i was having with the ram. The best performance I was able to get out of it was to have it move very intermittently when there was  no load on it, explaining why it made a momentary noise as if it were working properly. Chris was working the remote for this test. At home, with the ram in place in the bed it would not raise the foot section. It blew out the 4 fuses. I have not priced out the cost to replace the ram but it will cost $469 plus tax and possibly delivery to get the correct mattress. If I was short it may not be an issue but at 6' 1" I am hanging off the foot of the bed. You can see why I was upset. This was a material misrepresentation. I can only suppose that it will cost more than a new bed to make this one fully functional.

Furthermore, I have never claimed that Chris Monteiro is not a professional and experienced firefighter and paramedic. I have had no experience with him in those professions and am not, nor have I tried to disparage his reputation with regard to those occupations.

What I do know is that he misrepresented a bed he sold me and then refused to deal the situation. If these were honest mistakes why did he refuse to deal with them? Why did he never replied to any communication after the first phone call when I brought to his attention that bed was not a Queen bed? Why did he not respond to my asking him for help with a warranty claim with BOB's furniture which would have cost him nothing? Many  of you reading this report may have sold used items to others. When something crops up after the sale, if you are forthright, you deal with it. You certainly investigate to see if the claims are true and if there was some sort of legitimate pre-existing problem or misrepresentation that you were not aware of you try work it out if it is reasonable.

Chris claims to be the victim of "helping someone out", but he has proved my points in his rebuttal. He misrepresented the bed. He can't even get his story straight regarding the value of the bed between his 2 ads and his rebuttal. Regardless of all the other issues, there is no getting around the fact that the mattress was the wrong size for the bed so unless you believe that Bob's Furniture is in the habit of selling mismatched beds and mattresses then one can only conclude that Chris was less than forthright in this transaction. I can only guess that $600 was more important to him than his reputation. You be the judge!

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I would like to respond to the accusation made by this individual.  I am just responding now as this was brought to my attention.  First, I am the individual that this report was filed against and I want to say that these statements are false and without merit.  This person called me regarding this ad and I made every effort to accommodate his needs and requests.  I have never sold furniture on Craigslist, but I have sold two cars over the last 4 years without incident.  My ad's have always been accurate, clear and to the point.  When this ad was originally posted, it was done simply with the intent to get rid of this bed and make room for my mom's hospital bed.  I reduced the price because of the economy and we needed the room.  When Steve called, he offered me a sob story of how he was sick and really needed the bed but could not afford the asking price.  I worked with him to reduce the price and so that it would be beneficial to both of us, I would have the room and he would have the bed he needed.  I want everyone to know that Steve bought a $2,000.00 bed for $600.00.  When Steve agreed, he only had $400.00 and he said he would try and come up with the rest. I told him he could come and get the bed, he would need a truck and someone to help him carry it as it was heavy.  Steve showed up with a small S-10 pick up and by himself.  Steve came in and the bed was set up for him, he tested it out and everything worked fine.  There was absolutely no problems with this bed.  Steve then gave me the money and I offered to help him carry it out.  Even after I told him to bring help.  I helped him carry the bed outside to his truck, he then decided that the best way to move this bed was to drop it over the bed rails of his truck and tie it down with rope.  The bed was hanging over the rails and tailgate, if anyone has seen a S-10 p/u, you know what this looks like.  He then drove over approximately 60 miles like this.  I do not know what happened after the bed left the house.  Later that night, Steve called me roughly 10 times in the matter of an hour, telling me the bed was not working and that something appeared to be wrong with the motor.   I told him and he knew the bed was 100 % when it left, but he wanted his extra $200.00 back and I told him I had already lowered the price as much as I could and the bed was working fine.  I told him that I could not know if he had damaged it by putting it in the truck the way he did.  He became irate and continued calling me and emailing me with new complaints about fuses and the mattress.  I told him I would not communicate with him further.  I did everything I could for him, including giving him all the paperwork and warranty information.  I should not be responsible for someone who throws a queen size bed on the back of his s-10 p/u, drives 60+ miles and takes the motor apart, all in an attempt to get the $200.00 back that he probably borrowed from someone to pay for the bed.  As for the room full of furniture he describes, if anyone wants to see it, feel free, Its a living room with a 60 inch flat screen tv, an early 1800's colonial desk and a coffee table and yes, my cousin does refinish and deal in antique furniture.  I urge anyone who is interested to stop by his store.  It's amazing to me that anytime you try to help people, they turn around and try to screw you.  As for me, if anyone wants to question my integrity, feel free to email me.  I am a firefighter and paramedic with over 14 years of verifiable professionalism and dedication to others. 

Hi steve I'd like for you to contact me through email [email protected].