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:10/06/2023

  Type:Delivery 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.

  I ordered 43 yards of fabric through Wakefield Design Center for a sofa. They ordered the fabric from ****** ********** ******** ****** ******* Payment was given in full totalling 10,408.64 for fabric, taxes, and shipping. The fabric was delivered to the upholsterer 4 months later and was damaged irreparably. After photos sent, ****** agreed and took it back-- *** paid by them. Redelivery occurred 1 month later-- again damaged in the same way. ****** took it back. We do not want to reorder this fabric again-- which will take months to remanufacture from *******. Wakefield refuses to give our money back and insists that we order another fabric. We do not want to be forced to do this. They are holding 10,000 unlawfully for 6 months with NO DELIVERY OF PRODUCT-- breach of contract--the owner George will not speak with us. Please help! We refuse to order any other item from them.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/19/2023

  Good Morning.

   

  First of all, this has been resolved.  The client has received a full refund from ******** *******.

  However, there are several points I would like to make, especially as we disagree with almost everything ******** ***** claims.

  1) We have been in business since 1997 and have a sterling customer service reputation.  This is the ONLY complaint I believe you have ever received.  It was unjustified

  2) ******** ***** is NOT our client, so this claim should have no validity.  We sold the fabric in question to her designer, ****** *****, with whom we have a long standing relationship.  ******** ***** simply paid her designer's invoice.  The issue should have been between ******** and ******.  

  3) We are a "To The Trade" business.  A designer would not have had the same reaction ******** ***** had.  I'm willing to chalk that up to her ignorance about how our industry works.

  4) Her fabric came is with marking that she did not like.  The manufacturer of the fabric and the mill itself got involved as a favor to Wakefield because of the volume of business we do with Kravet.  There are dark threads which run throughout the underpinnings of the fabric.  Sometimes more pronounced than others, but always there.  ****** and another of their competitors provided verification of this which was shared with ********.  She did not want to listen to what all of the professionals were telling her.  ****** was under no obligation to refund or replace since the fabric was NOT damaged, as ******** claimed.  Even IF the fabric had been damaged, ******** legal responsibility is the "replace or repair."  They offered twice to replace but that was unsatisfactory to the client.  The next available fabric was due end of October/early November, which was quite normal in our industry.  Wakefield is a middleman and has to respect the interests of the consumer and of the vendor.  They can't both be right and sometimes the customer is not right... as was true in this case. 

  5) We paid for the fabric in full up front as soon as ******** placed the order.  It took a couple of months to resolve.  ****** send one or two replacement orders and she still complained.  At that point we asked ****** for a refund.  They agreed in principle although they weren't legally required to do so.  Unfortunately, since this was out of ******** norm, it took over a month for us to receive a refund from ****** ... it just hit our bank 10/18/2023.  She had received her refund from ******** ******* the day before, so obviously there is/was no need to continue this.

  6) Our Invoice clearly say that "Special orders are not cancellable or refundable."  Since this was not damaged, it should never have been cancelled. Normally if and order does get cancelled for extenuating circumstances, the vendor and Wakefield each charge a restocking fee.  In this case, we waived all of those fees.

  7) If you have further questions, I can provide you with the name of the designer, ****** N****.  She is no longer willing to work with ********. ******** accused us of "breach of contract" and "criminal activity."  Can you imagine?  This would never have happened if we were dealing with her designer only, as designers understand the name of our industry.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/27/2023

  
  Complaint: 20703313
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  1) We received a refund due to the kind efforts of the Better Business Bureau and ******* *** credit card. We have nothing to do with ******** *******.
  
  2) This is NOT the only complaint about this company. The designer ****** *****, said she would never deal with Wakefield  again after this incident. In addition, my current designer has told me that she never deals with them because of their horrible reputation in never giving refunds when there is a problem. The upholsterer I dealt with also confirmed the poor reputation of this company.  My current decorator  has one client who lost 15,000 dollars from this company. I am the only one who thought of calling the better business bureau and the credit card company. The fact that you never received another complaint does not mean they are a legitimate company. Often customers do not know who to turn to when they have legitimate concerns.
  
  3) I attempted to resolve this issue with my designer who called the owner on multiple attempts and he would NOT agree to a refund. He told her that I should just choose another fabric from another company and he would keep my money!! She said after working in this field for so many years— she has never been so rudely and insultingly addressed before.
  The truth is — when issues occur— it is OK for a design company to get off their high horse and speak directly to the injured party. Communication is everything and the owner  in this company adamantly refused to even answer emails or respond to any phone calls. I am not ignorant about the business. I have purchased many items from design companies in the past but never had an issue before. I was even able to speak with ****** directly — where the fabric was made. The manager gladly got on the phone with me and said he would be happy to refund any money and apologized for my inconvenience. In fact— he claimed he never got paid for the order to begin with from Wakefield.
  
  4) I did not object to the fabric since it was sent to the upholsterer directly . The  upholsterer called me immediately to tell me that the fabric had an abnormal number of dark threads and hairs along with mold on the back of it and he refused to work on it since it was so badly damaged. He sent me videos and photos which I would gladly share with the BBB. I then  forwarded both the videos and the fabric to Wakefield. I also personally went to visit the upholsterer to confirm.Wakefield  acknowledged the damage and said they would send another lot and would examine the fabric before sending it. They never visited or spoke with the upholsterer who is located 10 minutes away from Wakefield.!!!
  What happened— they never examined the fabric— and sent the same lot!!! ****** again  took back the fabric without an argument after photos and videos were sent. They again apologized.
  
  5) The next lot was supposedly coming in within 2 according to emails from Wakefield. and the designer.  After several phone calls— the new lot never arrived— in fact, Wakefield lied and said that it never even arrived at the warehouse.!! It would be a few months more. Note— the fabric was originally ordered March 2023!!! 
  
  A refund was definitely inorder when dealing with a company such as this one.
  
  There should never be a restocking fee when the error is from the company.  "Special orders are not refundable  or cancellable"— was not anything I agreed or signed. NOBODY would accept damaged merchandise and not get a refund— especially if the range of 10,000!!!!
  
  This company is a horror to deal with!!  
  
  Please post my response!
  
  Thank you
  
  ******* ********