Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/03/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Two 4 Tier Gold ******* items were delivered to my home on June 10 as I departed for ******* and then on to ********** ****** until June 24. Upon return, I took one of the items out of the box and contacted Well Appointed House to report my dissatisfaction with the product. I was told I was "outside the return window." I have proof of travel and asked for a manager. I was told that Maria would get back to me same day. She did not. I called again, and when I finally connected with her, Maria said she would check with the vendor. Finally, today after I called and left another vm I received an email from Maria saying they would take the one item back with a 15% restocking fee, shipping fee and return shipping fee. No thank you. The item is shoddy with uniform plastic buffers, visible screws and wobbly stability. For a firm that touts, "Luxuries for the home" on the home page of their website this is a far cry. I have been a client in the past and have a beautiful wool rug, bed linens and lamps. The products I need to return to not measure up to a luxury home standard.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/10/2024

  The consumer emailed on June 23rd asking to return her items. We asked for a reason because they were delivered on June 10th, and we were outside of the 7 day window for return requests as stated in our company policy. *****************************************************************
  
  The consumer called in on June 27th saying her son put it together while she was away, and she didn’t like the quality when she returned home. Our customer service team member requested pictures of the bookshelf and emailed the policy explaining we were outside of the return window. The customer never responded with any pictures regarding a defect to our team via email. Customer also stated to customer service that she didn’t have the packaging for the assembled piece, but the second piece was still in the box unopened.  

  We called the customer on June 28th to discuss her situation. We explained again about the timeline for returns and she kept saying she could prove she was away, and her son put it together and it is poor quality. She said she had one unopened bookshelf, but the other was assembled, and she didn’t have the packaging. We told her we would see if the vendor could make an exception and take back the unopened piece and would get back to her. We advised we wouldn't be able to take back the assembled piece.  The consumer emailed on 6/23 asking to return her items. We asked for a reason because they were delivered on June 10th, and we were outside of the 7 day window for return requests as stated in our company policy. *****************************************************************
  
  The consumer called in on June 27th saying her son put it together while she was away, and she didn’t like the quality when she returned home. Our customer service team member requested pictures of the bookshelf and emailed the policy explaining we were outside of the return window. We never received any pictures regarding a defect. Customer also stated to customer service that  she didn’t have the packaging for the assembled piece, but the second piece was still in the box unopened.
  
  We called the customer on June 28th to discuss her situation. We explained again about the timeline for returns and she kept saying she could prove she was away, and her son put it together and it is poor quality. She said she had one unopened bookshelf, but the other was assembled, and she didn’t have the packaging. We told her we would see if the vendor could make an exception and take back the unopened piece and would get back to her. We advised we wouldn't be able to take back the assembled piece. We also explained it could take a couple of days for a response and she said she understood the policy and appreciated the help.  We as a retailer cannot control when customers are away, on vacation, at a second home, etc - the return policy is fixed and consistent for all customers.  Though we did go out of our way to be accomodating to this customer.
  
  The Manufacturer provided a return authorization which was sent to the customer on July 2nd and advised the 15% restocking fee and shipping costs.
  The images filed with the complaint are exactly as shown on our website including close up images of the exposed screws and plastic suction cups to hold the glass. The assembly instructions provide directions for anti-tip hardware for product stability. So, the customer was aware of what she was buying when she put the order in. 
  
   We also explained it could take a couple of days for a response and she said she understood the policy and appreciated the help.  We are happy to provide a refund on the bookshelf once returned and inspected.  We are surprised to get this complaint as the customer was out of the return window and threw away her packaging - but our team still attempted to faciliate a return on the unopened and unassembled item. We cannot take back a fully assembled piece with no packaging.  When a customer orders via e-commerce as opposed to going to a local furniture store, the expectation is that they are informed of the policies posted on our website and will follow them.