Jennifer Convertibles, San Francisco - advertisement did not reflect merchandise available

# 25 for February 7, 2002

Complaints.com received the following e-message on February 6, 2002:

From: Email User

Jennifer Convertibles, San Francisco - advertisement did not reflect merchandise available

I've recently had an experience with Jennifer Convertibles, San Francisco, though Manager, Scott Truesdale was always amicable, and eventually it was taken care of: Misrepresentation best describes my recent experience with JC. I responded to a newspaper insert for a leather sofa with dual recliners.

They didn't have any in the showroom, but said it would be identical to one they did have in stock but with recliners. It took 8 weeks, not "4 to 6 weeks" to arrive. It did not have recliners, nor was the quality anything similar to the piece in the showroom. It then took me 5 months of nearly weekly phone calls (15 or so) before I could get them to come pick up the piece, and hand me a check for the full refund.

They did this only after the store manager apparently hired some kid with a truck to come to my house and get the sofa. I finally did resolve the issue by getting a full refund upon returning the furniture, but not without constant phone calls, a letter to the store and the headquarters, a letter to The Better Business Bureau, and five months of waiting.

The costs? I had an ugly, uncomfortable, sofa that did not recline (it did have footrests) through the holidays with out of town company visiting. They never denied the false advertising, but took forever to get around to resolving it.

The final slap in the face was a letter from their headquarters saying I had misunderstood what I was buying, and that recliner and incliner mean the same thing. One giant bunch of losers pulling "bait and switch" as far as I'm concerned.

- Email User (2/6/2002)