North Carolina Attorney Lawyer

Furniture, paragraph rip-off are the wind in their sails, fleecing consumers spend thousands of dollars for goods delivered or damaged.

City officials say the furniture retailers now the head of classification of consumers in collaboration with fraud pile electronics stores entertainment and electronics improved partnership contracts.

Some consumers pay in advance bar and the receipt of damaged goods, if any. Salaries and other endless struggles for goods to repair damaged or victims of turnover places for items they buy on credit at high interest rates.

The problem is so serious that the Giuliani administration proposes legislation on the licence of furniture and equipment outlets.

“There are too many violations of honesty … furniture and accessories traders, so that the situation go unpunished,” said Jose Maldonado, the outgoing commissioner responsible consumers.

“When we are faced with a business class is responsible for thousands of consumer complaints over the years, we can not remain inactive rest,” he said.

The division furniture house registered 847 complaints in 1996 against 645 the previous year. Watch Dogs on the Better Business Bureau has received over 700 complaints during the past year against retailers and catalog ordering, 18% over four years.

Complaints range from Turbo-Rip-offs of Fly-by-night dealer lapses in customer service. The effectiveness of the Rip-off victims losing an average of $ 2500 to $ 4000 per official said.

These include people like Patrick Allicock, a brake Transit Authority, and his wife, Cleopatra. The couple wanted their home renovators so badly Queens itself from $ 4500 to pay his pension.

The Allicocks, 10, children have commissioned a bedroom, living room and dining room set-Casa de Casa furniture Ozone Park She then made a common mistake consumers, they paid in advance.

It ended without furniture and money lost.

For months, delivery dates came and disappeared. “They kept saying` is not there yet, it is not yet here, “said Patrick Allicock.

Fed up, the couple finally went to the operation. “We went there one day. It was closed. We have nothing,” he said.

The couple had little recourse.

The furniture industry has a poor record to resolve complaints in favour of consumers, “said Brown, Ronna, General Counsel of the Better Business Bureau.

Ed Goldberg, a spokesman for Federated Department Stores, in his possession Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Stern’s, said operations against the city of the proposed licensing policy. “There is no need for this law,” he said. “It is an attempt to regulate a sector that many takes care itself.”

Consumer Affairs officials said that among the furniture discounters, North Carolina Show Room and Nation Wide furniture were the targets of serious complaints.

North Carolina Show Room promises price up to 60% by direct relationships with manufacturers. Customer Miriam Perez said he could not convince the company to replace a bedroom place $ 2553, it arrived damaged and incomplete. “They said it was nothing could be done,” said Perez.

Neil Baser, North Carolina Show Room chairman, said: “We would not be here if we do our customers. Any claim that this office is ensured. We do not manufacture these goods. If something comes down, we take care of it. ”

Nation Wide receive a satisfactory rating by the Better Business Bureau. The company recorded 44 complaints in the past three years, for products damaged or defective, and not in the service and delivery of the goods. “You do not regarded as a model of response to their complaints,” said the spokesman for the office of Anne O’Grady.