Complaint Review: City Furniture - Tamarac Florida

If I had a time machine and only one chance to use it, I would go back in time to stop myself from having made this purchase in the first place.  It has left me extremely disappointed, dissatisfied, and frustrated to say the least and my attempt to resolve the matter has gone no where and therefore have resorted to making this post in reference to my experience with the Domestic Shipping Department of City Furniture in Tamarac, FL. 

It all started with a purchase I made at the Ashley Furniture Store in Naples, FL which is co-located with City Furniture.  While the purchase was made with Ashley, City handled the delivery.  Since it was a considerable distance to Orlando, shipping was done by a 3rd party.

The 3rd party shipper delivered on time, but they delivered the wrong furniture.  I was present for the delivery and immediately refused since I knew it wasn't mine.  The driver could not explain what went wrong since the tracking number on the pallet matched the bill of lading.  Neither City nor the 3rd party "owned" up to the error. 

I contacted City customer service immediately to notify them of the error and inform them of the urgency to resolve this ASAP.  My family of 6 just moved into a home relocating from out of state and had no dining furniture (table and chairs).  We had to "rough it" until we received our furniture.

I did not get any additional information on the status of my delivery until I initiated a phone call to the 3rd party shipper 6 days later.  I found out that the shipper picked up 2 pallets from City, mine and another to be shipped to northern FL.  It turns out that the orders were switched and I received the order intended to go to N. FL.  All I knew at this point is that someone else received my furniture and accepted delivery.

City's solution to the mix up was to retrieve the furniture from this customer and have it delivered to me.  I had expressed my concern that the furniture could arrive in damaged/used condition since it was handled by the customer and had to be picked up and delivered again.  I therefore made a few attempt at requesting a new shipment from their warehouse which was NOT honored.

The delivery occurred 10 days after the original date.  The boxes were clearly not secured on the pallet since the shrink wrapping was removed by the previous customer.  I checked the boxes I thought may have been damaged and found everything ok.  It wasn't until after the driver left that I noted that the leaf of the table was damaged beyond repair and that glass shelves and hardware were missing from the china closet.

We immediately called to inform them only of the damage and missing parts only to encounter an argumentative representative. That was the last straw! I sought to get a refund for my purchase because I could not accept paying for the furniture after what I experienced.  I was informed this was not possible.

After pressing the issue some more, they offered a small monetary compensation (~10% of my purchase) which I have not accepted.  I have come to learn that the leaf is unique to the table and cannot simply be replaced.  The leaf is also beyond repair. Therefore, I have a damaged table which I cannot use to sit my family and guests.  When you buy something new, you expect it NEW since you are paying for new furniture. 

I called to negotiate the amount offered last week on 12/6 and was told I would get a call back later  that day.  I didn't.  I called the following day and was told that I could expect a call on 12/9.  It is now 12/11 and haven't heard back.  So here we are.  I have given City Furniture plenty of times to remedy this situation and have only received apologies, excuses, and most recently been ignored. 

I hope that this report will encourage them to resolve this matter.