Complaint Review: Web Direct Brands Inc. - Odessa Florida

Received a wobbly youth chair that's not finished properly (I paid for finishing), was told it's "normal" and that I should refinish chair myself.

On 8/8 I ordered a Whitewood Industries Youth Chair - Clear Finished order #84935160. The chair cost $162.99 (including the cost of finishing) and shipping was 54.39 for a total of $217.38. I received the chair approximately 10 days later. When we brought the chair in, I could see that it looked very nice. Unfortunately, the chair wobbles (on every surface). Additionally, when my daughter sat in the chair, her clothing was snagged by the roughness of the chair. The chair did not appear to be finished properly as there are several very rough spots.

I called Denise (my assigned customer service rep) three times over the course of 10 days and didn't hear back. I left a message on her voicemail (it said her name) each time. I then called the main customer service number and the gentleman I spoke with said he would direct message her to call me. She did call me on 9/1 and I told her about the problems. She asked me to send a video of the wobbling chair for a warranty claim, which I did, the same day.

On 9/2 Denise let me know that the manufacturer considers the wobbling to be "normal" and offered me felt pieces to balance the chair. I'm not sure why I would pay this much money for a chair that wobbles- every other chair I have ever purchased doesn't wobble when it's new.

Regardless, I emailed Denise again about the fact that the chair wasn't properly finished. She let me know that "it is stained by hand so it will be some imperfections. We also advertise that another light sanding may be needed for the desired level of finishing".

I let her know that I'm not concerned about imperfections in the finish. The problem is that the chair wasn't sanded properly before being finished at all. I asked her if I could send the chair back to you to have it finished properly. She then told me I would "have to sand the rough spots yourself since our website says some light sanding may be needed. You can use sandpaper and a clear coat of paint from Lowes or Home Depot. Here is a link for the type of paint you can use".

I read the description on the website- it implies that sanding is required before finishing. Why would I pay to have the chair finished by your company if I was going to have to send and refinish it myself? That doesn't make any sense.

I emailed Denise again, 3 times, over the course of a week before receiving a response yesterday letting me know that I could return the item. I asked for some clarification on your policy and today, she let me know that I could return the item by paying for return shipping myself (at least $50), not being refunded for my original shipping (another $54) and losing another 15% of the refund for a restocking fee. All for a defective chair.

To summarize, I received a wobbly chair but apparently that is normal (it should not be the case that a chair that costs over $100 wobbles when new). Then, the chair is rough enough to snag clothing, even though I paid over $50 extra to have the chair finished by your company. The response from the company is that the website indicates that sanding might be needed (although it's implied on the website that this sanding would take place before finishing and basic common sense would dictate that you wouldn't finish a chair without sanding it first). Then, if I want a smooth chair that doesn't snag clothing, I should sand it myself and re-finish it myself (then why did I pay to have it finished by your company? If I knew I was going to have to sand and refinish the chair myself, I would have purchased the unfinished chair). Finally, I'm free to return this defective chair at approximately a $130 loss if I choose (more than the cost of an unfinished chair). This is unacceptable. I can provide copies of emails if necessary.

Then, received response from company that wood is a "living and breathing thing" (it's not) and that they didn't know that the chair was snagging my daughter's clothing. I reponded with the email showing they were wrong, I had informed them of that problem and they chose to not respond and make no effort to rectify the situtation.