Complaint Review: Direct Buy - Maple Shade New Jersey

I have been a sucker, er customer, of Direct Buy of Cherry Hill for about 2 years now. I went into it kicking and screaming and almost walked out of the initial orientation, when they announced the 3-yr membership fee was $3,995. I wish I had let my feet do the walking that night. Somehow my wife convinced me this was the right thing to do. She has since been using HER feet to kick herself for being suckered in.

To be fair, Direct Buy of Cherry Hill reps have been pleasant with us. They will greet us warmly when we walk in. After that, my experience has been that we're on our own. Ask for help - they don't even know how to fill in the orders properly. Ask for status - they tell you they will get back to you in 48-72 business hours. Ask for reasons why it was delayed - you get an unacceptable answer. Let me back this up with an example:

On July 6, 2007, my wife and I purchased a sofa and 2 swivel chairs from Direct Buy using a lesser know vendor (at least around here - I cannot find any local furniture outlet that carries them. Closest one is 1 hour away). We had to advise the person typing the order in of the actual discounted price, the part numbers, and the finish/fabric. The order process took over an hour.

We received a call back from the rep who took the order 3 weeks after that. She made a mistake on the order when it first went in and apparently the manufacturer never advised them of it. (By the way, I found out later that they have the ability to check statuses directly on the manufacturer website.) So now, the manufacturer started their process with the order a full 3 weeks after we put the order in. Our order was thus scheduled to ship in early August.

I decided to follow up with them to confirm the order. Our order was set for delivery September 11th, 2007, into their warehouse. There was no real explanation of why. But I rolled with it. I advised them that it was putting a real clamp on our plans with the living room.

3 business days before September 11th, I placed another phone call to Direct Buy of Cherry Hill. I wanted to confirm the furniture would ship on time because I would need to take a day off of work, rent a U-Haul, and pick up the furniture (standard procedure - they won't deliver in general but they can make arrangements to do so at our cost). The rep advised me that she would call me back in 3 business days to confirm status. 3 business days is when the shipment was due! That was laughable because she has just advised it should still be in for September 11th.

I called back later and this time got the name of the Direct Buy representative responsible for the relationship with this vendor. She is the one who told me the reps can easily determine the status by going on the vendor's website. In 3 minutes she advised me the material was backordered and would not come in until mid-October 2007. She thus advised of a new delivery date of early November. By now I expressed my frustration with this rep. She claimed she would call me in mid-October once the fabric was in. She has not done so to date.

Tonight (October 16, 2007), my wife received a call from Direct Buy in Cherry Hill. The fabric came in 9/28/07 but was not good quality, and our order would have to be pushed back further. They would not get in new fabric until the end of the month, which would mean our order would not ship until late November. I called Direct Buy of Cherry Hill back and told Susan, who answered the phone, to cancel my order at this point. I read her the riot act - I advised her this is the 3rd time the order has been delayed, you people are ridiculous, you took my money and I get nothing in return, etc etc. I mentioned that the local media should hear about this and I plan to follow up with the local news channels to see if there's a story here.

Tomorrow I plan to follow up directly with the Direct Buy rep responsible for this vendor and advise her of the deal. I expect a complete and full refund, including the standard 8% "handling" charge. They've handled NOTHING.

I believe A class action lawsuit should be filed if there are enough claimants with the same story I have. This story demonstrates that Direct Buy of Cherry Hill has no customer service; their follow-up is terrible; their answers are inappropriate and unacceptable. There should be an incentive for them to help their clients, but since most of the money is given to them up front, they have none. I am considering contacting the Better Business Bureau as well. I would love to know of a way to get a refund of the membership fee because they are not expressly telling you about major manufacturing delays, nor do they advise of real savings realized from the start.

Waiting 4 months for a couch and 2 chairs is unacceptable. I plan to go to a local retailer to purchase furniture that can be delivered to our home.

Direct buy ripoff do not do it Seattle, Washington
U.S.A.