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Colwell, Inc., Charlie Colwell Shady Operation! Complete Ripoff! More Pushy than a Car Dealer! Homewood, Alabama
First things first! Back in May of 2009 my husband and I were in the process of buying a house and planning our wedding. As most people, we were tight on money and were planning on furnishing most of our new home with hand me downs from family until we could afford new. My husbands grandfather gave us some cash to go buy a couch with. He said he had found an awesome deal in the paper and set up an appointment to go look at it. So we all go to the distribution center and wait for Charlie. When he gets there we go in and he unlocks the "showroom" door. He closes the door behind us. When we ask about that awesome deal in the paper, he leads us over to something in the corner.
It is the smallest couch I have EVER seen. I think it went to some dollhouse furniture. At this point I am mad and ready to leave. My husband insists since we are already there lets look. So we do. After what seemed like an hour of looking, sitting, and listening to Charlie's speach about the great quality and 5 year warranty and solid oak frame.... I finally found a leather sectional I liked. But the price was way above our budget. The whole time we were in there he kept fidgeting, looking at his watch, sweating, and pacing. He said he had another appointment after us and he may have to meet with them and we would have to leave. He wouldn't let anyone else in the showroom with us. We finally decided we would sleep on it and get back with him. He acted infuriated asking what was the deal he thought we needed a couch and we weren't going to find a better deal.
We explained that it was out of our budget and didn't really like any of the ones that were within budget so we wouldn't waste anymore of his time. He starts to sweat and breaks out his calculator and starts punching numbers in mumbling and fussing. Then he starts coming down on the price. It got so bad that I walked out and left my poor husband in there alone. I walked out into an EMPTY waiting area. Where were those other appointments he kept stressing over? I walked out to the vehicle with my father in law and grandfather in law where the tell me that Charlie had got mad at them because they were looking at mattresses while we were looking at the couch. He didn't like that they were off in another area.
My husband finally walks out and says that he offered us the sofa, loveseat, and wedge for $1300. At this point I didn't want to buy anything from this guy. I was starting to think it was stolen. He said it was a friend's but did this friend know he was selling it? I finally agreed and he wanted a good chunk up front. He got it and was to call when it came in. He had to order it which is supposedly why we got it so cheap.
When it finally came in, Charlie wasn't there for delivery. Some other guy was. We loaded it up took it home to find flaws in the leather. The corners were worn and there was a tear in one. Well, guess what? Charlie NEVER returned our calls and his number changed. We gave up after about 4 months.
Well, a couple of weeks ago the pull cord for the recliner broke. It snapped in half. So, I dig out the info. read on the warranty that the manufacturer does not deal directly with the public. So I call Colwell and got Charlie's number. He actually answered. He said to take a picture and email it to him with the invoice info. I did. It was a bad email address. I got to looking at it and realized it was spelled Colwel on the email he gave me. So I added another l and tried again. It went through but I never heard back. I tried calling but no answer no returned calls.
I looked up a 1800 # for the manufacturer and called and explained the situation. So far so good. I am awaiting the $13 piece now. She said it was over a year old. I am guessing that's why it wasn't free. But it was not a year old when it happened. I should have contacted them directly instead of waiting for him.
To make a LONG story short. Save yourself some time and stress. I know I won't buy from this company again. It was a very shady operation and to be helping a friend out by getting rid of all the furniture.......he is still selling it. I want to know how much furniture that friend had!