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Protection/Warranty company is a scam: virtually unreachable and does not respond
By -

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- The Levitz Protection/Warranty plan is a total scam. Read on to learn about my claim experience and why you should seriously consider NOT shelling out your hard-earned dough for the protection plan. I purchased a pair of sofas from Levitz about 3 years ago and at the time the protection plan that was pitched to me sounded like an excellent idea: 7 year protection plan; protects against any type of damage, e.g. spills, human waste, burns, etc; they fix or replace your furniture; if furniture is discontinued they give you full credit towards a new item.

For a mere 10% or so of the purchase price, this sounds like an excellent plan; especially for sofas which inevitably get stained, torn, worn, etc. The Pitch: The salesperson explained to me that if I ever need to make a claim it's simple! Just call this number, they'll send someone out to repair it. If they can't repair it they'll replace it or give you credit towards a new one. Wow, that sounds easy. The truth: Unfortunately I had two sofas that were damaged; one received a tear in the cushion, the other a wine stain... what luck. I figured no problem, call the number and get it fixed/replaced.

So I pull out my receipt and "Levitz 7 year warranty" protection plan flier, which I filed away like a good little consumer. I call the toll free number to make a claim. If you bought your furniture after such-and-such date (2002 or so) they give you a different number (877-429-2935) to call. So I call the second number and they offer several "convenient" ways to start your claim. You can speak to a representative, fax in your claim, or send an email to claims@warrantyservice.com. I figure lets do this through email since we're in the digital age - my email gets bounced back (email address doesn't exist).

Okay, call the number and speak to a representative. After being on hold for a short time a representative comes on and gets all my information. Tells me I need to fax in the sofa details, such as make, model, etc. to a certain number along with my claim number which he gave me - after which a "technician" will contact me via phone within 7-10 days to clean the wine stain and replace the cushion with the tear. I fax in the details the next day and figure great, this will be easy. Within a week or two I'll have my sofas fixed. Good thing I paid for that warranty.

A few days later I call because I want to make sure they got all my information correct. When you call the number the menu gives you a couple of options: 1) File new claim. 2) Check existing. etc. When you choose to check on an existing claim you get a message that tells you to send a letter to a Florida address with your claim number to get the status of your claim - after which the automated system promptly hangs up on you. This company makes every effort to keep you from speaking to an actual representative. Honestly, I have to send a letter through the mail to get the status of my claim?

Since I'm on the West Coast I figure this must take at least a week to get a response back (my estimate is actually quite wrong, read on...). So I figured out that if I choose the menu option to file a new claim I can actually speak to a human being. The representative said that they received my fax and everything was in order - there was nothing else for me to do but wait... great.

About 2 weeks pass and no word. I call the number and again choose the menu option to file a new claim so I can speak to a human. The human tells me that they sent an email to the technicians to call me, and that's all the information they can provide. If I want more information I have to... you guessed it... send a letter to the Florida address requesting a status on my claim. I can't just call someone?

So I send a letter to the Florida address asking about my claim, and letting them know that nobody has called me in the 7-10 day time frame. I figure I'll get a response in about a week (3 days to get there, a day to respond, 3 days to get back). It has now been over 3 weeks and I still have no response. Let's see if I understand how this claim process works:

Jump through some hoops and phone number redirects, email issues, etc. to get your claim filed; Expect to get a call from a technician, which never happens; Call to get a status of your claim, only to be told to send in a letter; Send in a letter, no response; Go back and continue on an infinite loop. I think I've figured out how this company makes money. My honest opinion: I think warranties are a load of crap, and especially this one. Very rarely do I hear of someone who paid for a warranty, and then actually (successfully) used it and was happy that they bought it.

I'd have to say that I'm quite happy with Levitz and their furniture style and selection. They make nice looking furniture, of decent quality at a reasonable price. We all know that it's not top quality, but it's certainly affordable. I would buy furniture from them again, but I would never opt for the warranty because it's a total scam.

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Levitz nearly gave my wife a nervous breakdown!
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SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA -- We bought a Cambridge Bed Set for a EASTERN KING (not Cal-King) and scheduled delivery for March 15, 2006. Everything in the store was entered properly, however, when the delivery truck arrived, they brought a dented dresser, a scratched nightstand, a blemished footboard, and bed rails that fit the Cal-King bed, not the Eastern King. The problem was that our mattress was too wide for the set-up they brought (in this bed set, the same head and footboard are used, but different rails are placed for a cal-king or a east-king). When the delivery man realized that they brought the wrong bed rails, he laughed and thought that it was funny.

When we tried to refuse the furniture, the delivery people said "no, you have to call Levitz." We called Levitz in San Bernardino, CA to report the problem and schedule an immediate delivery of the new bed rails so our bed could fit... they said the earliest they could help us is Friday, which meant that we had to sleep on the floor for 2 days. The delivery people did not disassemble the bed frame, so I had to dismantle it and lean it against the wall so we would have enough room to place the mattress on the floor.

We also called Levitz customer service (stationed in New York 800-445-8318) and talked to **, who was very rude on the phone to us about Levitz. We talked to **, ** supervisor, and were also very sternly told that there was nothing they could do except communicate to the Mira Loma, CA warehouse to fix the problem.

The most that they were looking to offer was $150 cash back and $50 store credit for the inconvenience. We were not satisfied customers, but my wife really loved the bed set. I ended up taking time off work to drop by and talk with store manager Don Johnson. He understood the problem, but could not help other than to have the warehouse schedule a delivery. He said that only Levitz Customer Service could offer us more compensation than $150 for our trouble. When Friday came around, the delivery truck pulled up with the same people from Wednesday.

The delivery man got out, looked at the bed rails in his truck and promptly told my wife that "these are not the right ones" and they would have to come back and give the right ones! They also told my wife to go to the truck to look at the new dresser they brought, but told her that it too was dented! She signed for refusing the shipment and we were stuck (again) sleeping on the floor with a dismantled bed set around us. That night I stopped by to the Levitz store to talk with 2nd store manager **.

He scheduled a Sunday delivery and told us that Levitz can indeed offer more than $150 as a cash-back for compensation. Levitz used to allow store manager to offer up to $500 cash back to customers for troubled orders or botched merchandise. Corporate Levitz took this power from the store manager and placed it with Customer Service in an attempt to control abuse of this cash-back and to cut costs to the company. We were furious with Levitz and immediately called Levitz customer service, and they again offered little help.

When we demanded more compensation, again, we met a stonewall and the answer was "no." When Sunday came we had been sleeping on the floor for 5 days. We got an automated message from Levitz saying that our delivery window would be between 11am and 2pm. Well, when 2pm went by and no delivery truck, we got right on the phone to Levitz Mira Loma warehouse (951-749-3000) and spoke to one of the supervisors. After checking the computer, she said that she sees that a Sunday delivery was scheduled and then CANCELLED!!!

We never found out who cancelled the order on us, but we were again outraged and had to deal again with Levitz customer service, which again offered no sympathy, compassion, or compensation for their errors. I called store manager Don Johnson and he was sympathetic to our situation, and said that he could only contact the warehouse on Tuesday to get the proper bed rails because they were closed on Monday. Another 2 nights of sleeping on the floor.

A different set of delivery people showed up Tuesday and got us the right rails and furniture. We called Levitz Customer Service one last time to try to get more compensation for our whole plight. I spoke with ** again. This time she was sassy with me for no good reason- I was professional with her in telling her about the situation and asking for more compensation. She had the nerve to say "don't argue with me, I can see everything on the computer here!" What a customer insult! I spoke with her supervisor, **, yet again. I told ** about how ** treated me on the phone and got no affirmative or negative reply.

I interpret this as "well, it is what it is. Like it or don't like it, we don't care." ** was sure to be firm in saying that no more than $100 will be credited back to us. What? We were offered $150 plus $50 in store credit! ** said, "I see no record of that offer here on the computer. I can only offer you $100 plus $50 for your inconvenience. Good lord, what an insult again! I figured that our ordeal was finally over, and I'll just take the compensation they were offering and report Levitz and Customer Service to the BBB. What a terrible experience my wife and I had!

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Terible Customer Service and Focus
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LEVITZ FURNITURE.COM, NEW YORK -- In August of this year, my daughter's doctor informed her that she would be having major shoulder surgery. The doctor advised me to purchase my daughter another bed so she could sleep better until her surgery. On 4 September 2004, I went into my local Silverdale, Washington Levitz showroom to purchase one of your Chelsea II Sleigh queen size beds that were on sale. The regular price was $549 and they were on sale for $199. The story was very busy so one of the sales people told me to go online to Furniture.com and purchase the bed there because there was a waiting line to get assistance.

I said okay but asked the sales person to check on availability and potential delivery date. He went into your computer system and told me that there were sufficient beds in stock to get a quick delivery of with two to three weeks. I went on line and ordered the bed and was told that I had a scheduled pick up date of 15 September 2005. On 6 September 2005, I called your customer service line and was told that my order was on track and there were more than sufficient beds in the system to handle my order.

On 15 September 2005, I went to your Tukwila warehouse to pick up the bed but no bed in stock. The warehouse staff asked why I was there and told me that my pickup was rescheduled and that I would be hearing something soon. I was furious because no notified me of the change. On 28 September 2005, after not hearing anything, I sent your customer service another inquiry. On 29 September 2005, I received a response stating that my pick up date had been changed to 27 October 2005. On 3 October 2005, I sent another inquiry and received another automated response.

On 5 October 2005, I sent another inquiry. On 10 October 2005, I went into your Tacoma, Washington Levitz store and asked for assistance in resolving this issue. I was told that the bed I bought was oversold on the first day of the Labor Day weekend sales event. This was several days before I even bought my bed and this is not what I was told when I bought my bed. On the same day, I received another message stating that my pick up date had been changed to 3 December 2005.

I responded back asking why the pickup date had changed again and received another response promising that I would hear back. Finally, on 11 October 2005 I received real communication from someone who states that the delay is due to a production delay. On 13 October 2005 I sent another email complaining of the unprofessional run around and I received two responses apologizing for the delays.

My family has been a devoted Levitz customer for a very long time. That continued loyalty totally depends on the quality and timeliness of resolving this issue. I have never had any problems with my previous orders but I am totally shocked with what I have been experiencing with this order. This is totally unacceptable.

I would appreciate a personal apology from you and an immediate resolution to my problem. I do not want a refund but I do want my daughter's bed to be delivered to my home immediately. If my bed is not available then I am more than willing to accept a similar queen bed from your Mocoa or Chattam collections as substitution with free delivery to resolve this issue. These beds are similarly advertised online for $499-$549 each.

I look forward to your swift reply. I will wait until 3 November 2005 before I seek help from the Washington State Attorney General's Office for Consumer Fraud, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection and the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's legal office at Fort Lewis, Washington. Please contact me at the address above.

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BUYERS BEWARE -- READ THIS STORY!
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DEPTFORD, NEW JERSEY -- For the past 7 years since we've been married, my wife and I had always wanted a matching canopy bedroom set. Until now, all our bedroom furniture was piecemeal from what we collected over the years, through college, etc. Now that I have a better paying job, we decided to splurge and get our dream set as we moved into our new home. We found a set we liked online, which was only sold through Levitz.

On May 21st, We went to the Levitz store in Deptford, NJ and decided to put down $4400 on the canopy bed, two dressers, two night stands, and an upgraded plush mattress. We were told that it would take about 4 weeks for it to come through; we told them why not just deliver it to our new house when we move in on July 1st.

Just before move in date, we got a phone call saying that they could not deliver on July 1st, but rather July 5th. They asked if we still wanted the mattress, and we said of course. So the mattress came on July 1st, but then when we did not hear anything on July 5th, we called and were told that the delivery date had changed to July 16th (Thanks for not calling us about this first).

Later that week, when we checked online, the date had changed YET AGAIN to July 23rd. Again, no phone call from Levitz. Just an assumption on their part that we would find out somehow. Checking again later that week, the delivery date changed AGAIN to August 1st!!! (Still no phone calls) We tried calling customer service, and they offered us $75 merchandise credit. Fine.

This is where the story gets interesting. August 1st came around, and guess what -- no furniture! When we called, they told us August 12th. FINALLY, the furniture truck arrived on August 12th, TWELVE weeks AFTER purchase. Unfortunately, I was at work when the guys came to meet my wife at the house. They came upstairs and told my 5' 2" wife that they would not move the mattress, and she would have to do it so they could set up the furniture. When she asked for help, since we have a 1-year old and a 2-year old who were right there screaming, they said they "might get the mattress dirty."

I could understand if maybe it was a mattress purchased from another store. But it wasn't. So my wife showed them the bathroom to wash their hands, and their reply was, "well, we might hurt our back." (THEN DON'T BE A DELIVERY MAN). So they stood there and WATCHED as my wife moved a KING mattress and boxspring into the hall. If you have never moved mattresses before, believe me, they're heavy -- especially a king size with a pillowtop. Needless to say, my poor wife's back hurt for almost 2 weeks.

Furthermore, the delivery guys damaged one of the posts, and also brought queen rails, which would not allow the placement of the canopy. They told her they would bring the king rails "next week". So having waited so long for the furniture, she signed the delivery and agreed to wait a week. When I came home, we realized that the rails were correct, but the canopy was queen size. Also, the delivery guys "jimmied" one of the posts in place by shoving folded cardboard in the slot to make it stick! I didn't pay $4400 to have a makeshift bedset!

The people at the store say that they can't do anything, "You have to call customer service." Trying to get through to customer service is a nightmare. At least 30-minute wait each time. And when you do get through, they don't care. They told us we would not get the rails next week, but rather in SIX weeks!!!!!!!! What is that all about?!?!?!? A technician would arrive in FOUR WEEKS to evaluate the damage to the bed. The technician came in September, and evaluated the bed and said the new parts would come in another 4-6 weeks.

Since then, the delivery of the canopy has been postponed and postponed and postponed by Levitz. It is now mid-October, and we are still awaiting the parts to fix the bed. We have just received an email from Levitz stating that they no longer carry this furniture, so therefore, we WILL NOT be getting the canopy rails, EVER.

Now I'm pissed. The whole reason we got this set was for the canopy. I would rather them take it all back. But instead, they are offering us a merchandise credit for $133.07, the cost of the canopy rails. That does me no good since we spent $4400 for a canopy set. Without the canopy, it's not what we wanted. They are refusing to take it back. This is not only false advertising, but poor business practice.

The worst part of this whole mess is that I have found website after website with complaint after complaint after complaint about Levitz. My story is not unique. It is happening to thousands of people across the country. I wish I would have known sooner. After looking at all the posts, I'm just glad I didn't get the extended warranty. If anyone has had a horrible experience with Levitz, feel free to email me at **. Maybe we can together come up with a way to make something happen.

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Leave it at Levitz!! Don't buy there!
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HILLTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA -- I wish I would have found this site BEFORE I made a purchase at our local Levitz store in Hilltown, PA. Several weeks ago I bought a chest of drawers & nightstand for my son's room. The day it was delivered was the worst experience I've ever had with a furniture store! The delivery men did not speak English well enough to even communicate properly. The furniture came in boxes, had to be unpacked, and the trash was left in my flowerbed and on my lawn for me to clean up after they left. He told me in his attempt at English that I had to install the handles myself!

The nightstand was placed in the room, but I noticed it was damaged. Then, when they unpacked the chest I ordered, it turned out to be a dresser, which was the wrong item. I then called the store and they said that they would take back the dresser and 'swap it out' for the chest. I told her that the nightstand was damaged and should be returned as well, when she then informed me that once an item is in the home, it cannot be returned and I had to call customer service and have someone come and look at it! News to me!

I called customer service the next day and they gave me the royal runaround: I could not get my money back, only store credit because all sales are final. It's on the back of the sales slip but nobody tells you that and it's not posted in the store! She said I could not return the nightstand but I could cancel out the chest order and receive credit on my charge card if I went to the store. I went straight to the internet and found your site. Ooooboy! I got a sick feeling in my stomach. I called my credit card company immediately to issue a dispute and they froze the charge for the nightstand while they investigate it.

Today, I went to the store and told the manager my whole story. He went on the computer and punched in a lot of info and eventually pulled up the fact that a refund check had already been issued as of yesterday. I asked how that could be since customer service told me that I had to physically come to the store. I told him that I felt like I was getting the runaround again and didn't want to wait for the mystery check that may never come and I wanted a credit to my charge today. He said he couldn't bypass the system to issue a credit, whereupon I said that I thought there had to be a way to over-ride it.

I think he was nervous since there was another customer there making a large purchase (poor woman!)so he 'managed' to get me the credit card refund! Ooooo, big surprise! Before I left, I told him that the 'terms & conditions of sale' should be posted in large print on the wall right at the checkout desk so that customers are informed of the policies BEFORE they make a purchase. Now, I'm waiting for Discover Card to come through for my dispute on the nightstand and have them pick it up and give me credit on my card. PLEASE, DON'T SHOP AT LEVITZ!

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Conned by Levitz in Washtinon Square in Beaverton
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BEAVERTON, OREGON -- Levitz in Washington Square, Beaverton, Oregon. Beware of ** - old chatty female and the liquidator owner Dallas. Short guy with a very cunning and clever voice. Very slick talker. I had a bad experience with them. The story goes this way. We bought a picture from them about 2.5 weeks. It was night time, closing time about 9:15PM. The sales female **, told us to pay cash since they are closing. Her boss told her the register is closed, she still rang the sale so she could make her $15 or $20 commission.

Which is fine. We paid the asking price for the picture we liked. She told us that she cannot pack the picture as everyone is gone, if we come the next day she will have it packed and ready for us to take it. We said this is fine but we cannot come tomorrow as we are going away for 1.5 weeks. She said not a problem, everything will be fine, she will put a sold sign and no-one will touch it, we can get it when we are back. We came back, and I called to say my husband is sick and he will come next week on Monday to pick up the picture. The person who picked up the phone said that is fine and he will pass the message to **.

My husband went to pick up our paid picture last Monday and finds that the picture we bought and paid for is not there. They are trying to give us another similar picture. Our picture has been replaced with the different picture. This was confirmed by entering the tag number of the picture. We found (story manager and my husband) that this picture had a different title and number on it. The manager asked my husband to come on Wednesday and see sales female ** (old clever female) who sold the picture. She will be back on Wednesday.

My husband called on Wednesday and ** took the details but did not call back. He called again to talk to ** and she said that is the picture and he explained that the picture he saw last Monday is not the right picture. She did not listen to anything further and hung up. She also removed the tag from the picture and through it away. When my husband went in the evening he was told by the owner ** (short guy with ferocious looking face), very clever and cunning talker. This is the picture you will get with no wrapping, you will not get your money, take it or leave it. That is the final, no questions asked.

The reason why we did not pick the picture when we paid for it because ** said they need to pack it up and now they gave a different picture and unpacked. Hence one of them is lying ** or ** or may be both are liars, cheats and crooks. Beware and do not buy anything from the Levitz at Washington Square in Beaverton, Oregon. If you like something make sure you pick there and then. They are a bunch of crooks. Once the store is closed, watch for ** and the clever, smooth talker **. Don'€™t deal with them or you will loose your money and your pride. Have mercy from people like them. God Bless You.

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Merchandise purchase experience
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MODESTO, CALIFORNIA -- I wrote the following letter to the CEO of the Levitz furniture company, Mr. Larry Zigarelli on 8/26/2007 regarding my purchase and delivery service issues hoping for response from him or someone in his office to help resolve a very unsatisfactory delivery service issue after I attempted to resolve through other company management levels and the customer service department. After waiting for a response of any kind which never came, I wrote him again in hopes of a response but still no response to date. Pasted below is the original letter to Mr. Zigarelli, and the other parties involved who were cc'd on my letter:

On July 31, 2007 my wife and I made a purchase of a matching couch, love seat and chair from your Levitz store in Modesto, Ca. For us, having purchased from Levitz many times in the past, it was a no brainer to return to your store which had provided us with many pieces of quality furniture for our family of 6 over the years. As much as price and value, we had never experienced anything but the finest in service as well, which is the reason I am writing you today. When we had made our decision to buy from our visit the previous day, we returned and talked with your sales associate, Monica.

When we informed her that we would like to purchase the floor sample of sofa and chair she had showed us yesterday, she told us that there was still a matching love seat available but not in the store and not at the savings of the pieces we were purchasing immediately available (she did say that she could work with the price, however). We were interested as we needed to replace our love seat also and she went to locate one on her computer.

She came back and informed us that they had one in the Sacramento warehouse and she could arrange to have that one delivered for a fee by Friday, August 3rd. This was important to us as we had informed her that the prime reason we were in today was that my wife was hosting a baby shower on Sunday, August 5th for her niece who was expecting her first child.

As this was a little more than what we had planned to spend in cash, she persuaded us to fill out a credit application and inquire about financing it instead, which we did. The end result was that we made our purchase, took away the 2 pieces in the store that day and went home, anticipating the arrival of the final piece. We also made some other purchases that day to accent the new look our living room would take. We were very excited and had zero reservations about the $2300.+ purchase we had made from your store.

Thursday, August 2nd, I received a call from Monica who informed me that there was an error in the inventory records and they did not have the piece we had purchased available in the Sacramento warehouse, but that she would find it elsewhere and get it delivered as soon as she could but it would not be there before the baby shower date of Sunday.

She apologized and offered to take $100 off the purchase price for our inconvenience, when I stated that wasn't very much, she revised it to $200 after getting approval from her GM which I accepted. She told me she would get back to me as soon as she could. Meanwhile, I explained to my wife, who is in restaurant management for many years, what Monica had told me, and though upset, understood and agreed to be patient until Monica had gotten back to us.

On Saturday morning, August 4th, I received a call from Monica who was pleased to tell me that they did have one after all in the Sacramento warehouse, but couldn't get it to me until Thursday, August 9th at the soonest. I told her that was fine if that was the best they could do, she apologized again for the misunderstanding and inconvenience and told me I would receive a call soon to confirm the delivery time window/information.

On Sunday afternoon, August 5th, during the baby shower, I received an automated call from your delivery system to tell me when I could expect the delivery to take place and when it had stated my address, I noted that it was incorrect by one digit, and proceeded to go the menu to speak with a customer service representative to get it corrected. The first representative I spoke with refused to take my information, stating it was policy to have the customer go through the salesperson at the store, even though your system had called me.

I asked to speak with a supervisor, who refused to consider the illogic of the policy under the circumstances and in the end, at great inconvenience to me, the customer, I was forced to return to the store to correct an address that could have been easily resolved at the time of the call. The 40+ guests, mostly women in your key demographic, that witness the entire phone call and it's absurdity are shocked that we as customers, would be treated this way by a company of your reputation.

I had also asked the person on the phone to have their supervisor call me on Monday in my office, hoping to discuss the issues that I am now having with this process. They said they would have her call me but that call never did. Having been in customer service for over 30 years, I am now furious with the events/failures that have transpired in the past few days but resolve to stay calm as at least my love seat will be delivered soon.

On Thursday, August 9th, I take a PTO day to be home to receive the much anticipated loveseat. The window is between 3-5 p.m. and the drivers show up at approx. 4 p.m. As they are unloading it from the truck and remove the bubble wrap from it, the driver stops and asks me to come and examine the piece. It has scratches, gouges deep into the leather (not imperfections that are customary in leather, but rather like cat claw marks throughout the back cushions), color missing from the side where it has been rubbed up against other items and clearly not in an acceptable condition for a new piece of furniture.

I tell the driver that I cannot accept it in this condition and he agrees, but needs to inform his dispatcher, which I understand. He calls her and she tells him to put me on the phone, proceeding to tell me that I have to take delivery, that it was clearance and purchased as is, and that I had no choice in the matter.

I reiterated that I would not take delivery, I wanted to speak to her boss immediately and he could call me at my office number (in my home). Within minutes, I received a call from **, who identified himself as the Director of Operations for this area, and inquired what seemed to be the problem. I told him the condition of the furniture and why I wouldn't take delivery, as well as all of the events that lead us up to this point.

He said he would be happy to inspect the piece upon its return to the warehouse and get back to me. Within 2 hours, he had called me back and apologized profusely for the condition of the unit, and all of the circumstances of poor customer service my family had received to this point.

He told me he was personally involved with finding me an acceptable piece, placing several calls to warehouses in the vicinity and asking the supervisor to inspect and get back with him with what they had found. He told me he would get back to me that evening of which I gave him no time restrictions as I wanted to know when I could expect my love seat. He did not get back to me that evening as promised, but rather the next morning.

He apologized for not getting back to me as he promised, but that he also didn't get a call back from the other warehouses as he expected. He stated that he had found several pieces but as they were in the Mira Loma warehouse, he needed to have them shipped to Sacramento, where he would personally inspect and then have delivered, the finest piece available.

He asked about delivery times, dates and tailoring them to our convenience and I informed him that I was going to be out of town attending my company's annual GM- trade show-convention being held in Anaheim, Ca. and my wife's work schedule didn't allow for her to be home before 6 pm. He said that it would be no problem, just let him know what works best for us and he would arrange the rest. He also offered to send us another $100 gift certificate as a means of further apologizing and to earn back our trust, business for the future.

Confident that we finally could put all of this behind us, I agreed and told my wife the newest arrangements as I felt ** was very sincere in his efforts to assist us and resolve this fiasco after the purchase. Against her better judgment, she agreed, as she wanted to return and undo everything about this purchase and go to another retailer. This is where it gets worse.

** calls on Monday morning to inform us that he has selected a piece and that it will be delivered on Tuesday, August 14th, between the hours of 6-7 p.m. He tells me (or my wife, **) to call him as soon as it is delivered to confirm everything is satisfactory to which we agree. We tell our children that it will be coming, and as they (all teenagers) have witnessed all that has transpired, are told under no circumstances can they sign for anything and that their mother will be home to take care of the delivery, that is why the delivery window is so tightly defined. We are very happy that ** has put all of this in place and that we can finally enjoy the full set we purchased now 2 weeks prior.

On Tuesday, August 14th, I am on the trade show floor when I received a call at approx. 4:30 pm from my wife who is livid. She had just gotten off the phone with my 16 year old daughter, Devyn, who is home alone. Devyn had received a call earlier in the day about taking the delivery earlier, which she politely refused, stating that she couldn't sign for it anyway as she wasn't a legal adult. A short time later at about 4:15 pm, she received a knock at the door and it was the delivery drivers telling her they were here to make the delivery and that she needed to sign for it. She refused to open the door, explained again why she couldn't and went to call her mother at work.

While calling her mother, they knocked again and told her to open up so they could deliver. She did not, so they told her that they would just wait out in front of house until she did. She is understandably frightened as these strange men are outside our door insisting she take care of the delivery. She finally gets through to her mother and tells her hurriedly to come home, that she is very uncomfortable with this situation which brings me to the point of my wife calling me in Anaheim with the newest development.

I immediately call ** and leave him a voice mail as to the situation, my wife is calling the dispatch to get these men away from our house until the agreed upon time, that this is unacceptable. She also leaves work immediately to hurry home to be with my daughter. While all of this is transpiring, the drivers knock at the door again, and give my daughter a phone number and tell her that will return when my wife calls, so apparently someone had gotten a hold of them and told them to leave until my wife was home in the delivery window.

My wife arrives within minutes of their departure and calls them to bring the loveseat, which they did. She calls ** and he is mortified, embarrassed that we have yet another issue, when simple execution of the plan he laid out, would have resulted in a satisfactory resolution for all. Instead, I had another interruption to my business day adding to my stress level of this whole purchase, my wife left work early and suddenly, costing her valuable overtime and adding to her stress level.

Now, my underage daughter, is very stressed due to the driver's insistent and aggressive manner to force her to take the delivery of the item, when the driver's should not have even been near my house, letting alone calling several times and knocking at the door several times. It can quite intimidating for a young girl having strange men demanding access to the inside of your house which is now a major concern.

When I finally speak with **, he cannot find the words to satisfactorily apologize, but tries to anyway, stating that he would take decisive action against the delivery company, with whom he has had several issues prior to this with, and taking care of us, stating "even if he had to buy us a bedroom or kitchen set" and he would get back to us soon with the resolution. My wife told him that she is will now consider legal action especially due to the nature of the delivery drivers inappropriateness with how they engaged, intimidated my daughter and he said as a parent, he could certainly understand her position.

The next morning, I get a voice message from **, stating that the delivery drivers are claiming that my daughter told them they could deliver when they spoke with her, in effect, calling her (and us, your customers) a liar. He needs me to call him back so he can speak with me, that he thinks he knows what actually went down, but has to look into it.

After we discuss it, he told us that they said they spoke to a female named ** and that is why he ** knew that they were trying to cover up what they had done, as my wife **, could not have spoken to them on my company cell phone, as it was with me in Anaheim. ** tells me he is getting another person involved and will be back in touch, he also has another conversation with my wife as well so she is now in the loop too.

** calls me on August 17th, Friday afternoon at the agreed upon time and tells me that the person he needs to partner with is on the East Coast, but I could expect a phone call from that person that afternoon-evening PST to discuss. Surprise, no phone call. Instead, on Sunday afternoon, 2 days later, I receive a call from a **, who I believe is a Director of Traffic. He apologizes for my inconvenience, but doesn't seem too sincere or too interested in the circumstances of the situation, and immediately asks me what I want, as if the whole thing was something I orchestrated to get something from Levitz.

I tell him repeatedly that I do not know what I want, that he should offer something he thought would be satisfactory. He stated that he didn't want to offer something less than what I thought would be satisfactory and again, insisted for me to answer what I wanted to clear it all up, so I replied, $5,000. to which he promptly informed me that he would have to take it up to another person, that he couldn't authorize something like that.

I told him that I was tiring of all this run-around, that he needed to get back to me promptly with a resolution as I was beginning to feel like an attorney might be interested in this due to the insult to my family's integrity accusing us of being liars, intimidating my daughter to the point that she is uncomfortable being home alone fearing retribution from your drivers for getting them in trouble, lost wages from work for myself and my wife and the stress that this has caused us since we made the purchase and that I expected a better sense of urgency from all going forward.

The next time I hear from **, another 2 days has gone by and I am on the sales floor of one of the stores I supervise for my company (I am a District Manager for Petco Animal Supplies). I excuse myself from my mgmt. team and go to the office to have a discussion with **, who also has a person from Risk Management on the call with him.

He dismisses my offer and tells me that he can only authorize a 20% discount on the purchase, which is a joke, given that I could have negotiated that at the time of purchase if I was inclined to haggle; even the salesperson indicated that the price was negotiable. He asked me what I thought might be more satisfactory then, I replied that you should zero out the balance of my purchase and to furnish another entire room (and make good on Eric's offer which he may not have been aware of).

They replied that they would get back to me, that they would have to discuss it with another person to which I say fine, but time is now of the essence as my patience has worn thin and that I considered their offer to be unacceptable and insulting given all my family has endured.

He contacts me again 2 days later on Thursday, August 23rd and offers me 30% off my purchase, which I refused on the same principles. 30% off this purchase is no consolation, no resolution after the way your company has treated me and my family since we came into your store to make a simple purchase and delivery. This has been painful, stressful, embarrassing, insulting and demeaning to us, who only had intended to buy furniture from a place we gone many times before and received quality service and product.

Your warehouse attempted to "dump" a poor quality piece in an attempt to clear the warehouse and demanding I take it as is, sight unseen, the drivers were inappropriate in trying to force my daughter to take delivery on the 2nd attempt before the prescribed time, and finally, the lack of concern by **, who dismissed my daughters fears perfunctorily as without basis, giving us his assurance that he would not allow retaliation from his team. Given the lack of control from his team so far and their inability to execute, his assurances have no value in calming my wife and daughter's fears.

Frankly, Mr. Zigarelli, I still do not know what I want exactly and would be curious to hear how you would feel and what you may expect if the circumstances described above happened to you. I have been in retail mgmt. for 30 years and have never experienced anything like what I have had happen to me in the past month inflicted on my family, nor even have heard of any other experience approaching similar.

I do know that while at my recent trade show, we had several breakout sessions on customer engagement / satisfaction upon which I had the opportunity to administer to more than 50 GM's personally. We discussed several instances of poor customer service which they shared with each other and the impacts they could expect. I also, was asked to describe a memorable poor customer service experience and was met with absolute silence when I completed my story.

I'm sure in some way, this may impact any buying decision they have in the future when buying furniture as the best advertising is a happy customer, and conversely, the worst advertisement is an unhappy one. I do know that whatever resolution finally happens, it should hurt and have future impact, not something as minor as a 30% discount and pushed under the proverbial rug so nothing as egregious as my recent experience can happen to any of your customers ever again.

I want the general public to know that the Levitz company does not care about the customer once the purchase is made. The quality of the pieces of furniture I purchased is fine, my issue is that once the final delivery was made, no one from the Levitz organization has made any attempt to resolve this in a more satisfactory manner. The Director of Operations has not returned any of my calls to follow up since he turned it over to the traffic department mgr, nor has anyone from the customer service department or finally, anyone from the CEO's office including the CEO, Mr. Zigarelli.

I would not recommend that anyone purchase merchandise from this retailer for these reasons as there are several alternative companies that offer similar quality goods and prices. I was a former repeat customer but I will never shop there again. Every time I see the furniture I purchased from them, it makes me sick to think that I have spent my hard earned money with an organization that places so little value on their lifeblood, the customer.

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Bait and Switch
By -

WOODINVILLE, WASHINGTON -- My husband and I found a leather sofa set that we liked in Bellevue, WA on Dec 10, 2004. We had just moved into a new home and needed to furnish an extra family room. The merchandise was just over $3,000, some of the most expensive items in the store. The salesperson ** advised us to purchase a leather protection plan.

We asked to see the details. She said she could not give us anything in writing that day because Levitz was in the process of switching vendors. She would send it soon, but that it was a very good plan covering any kind of damage… stains, burns, cuts, rips, tears, scratches, scrapes… we said we had a cat with back claws, maybe it would be a good thing. She encouraged us more. So we did it and bought a protection plan for an extra $350+. *LIE #1*

Furniture was delivered with some minor damage to the corners. I asked the delivery people to take it back. They said… “you bought the protection plan, right?" I said I did but I didn't have any paperwork on it yet. They wrote the 800 number down on a slip of paper for me and said to call them… that they'd cover everything. *LIE 2*

I said I might not get to it for a while… new house, holidays, etc. They said no problem. *LIE #3* Finally, I got around to calling the protection number… kids put a scrape on the backside of the sofa… gave me reason to get them out here. It was almost a year later. I had no idea this would be a problem.

Following the steps for getting a claim underway, I called the store and spoke with ** about getting a copy of that paperwork I had never received. She agreed to send me the details and added, “oh, yeah, they'll be great about that… Scratches, scrapes… it should all be covered.” *LIE #4*

After receiving the paperwork I learned about what it would and wouldn't cover. Turns out it doesn't cover delivery damage, doesn't cover cat damage, doesn't cover scratches or scrapes of any kind... I filed a claim, which was rejected of course, then I called the store again and spoke with Scammer ** and Manager ** about my concern.

That I had been sold something based on mistruths, which were further reinforced by the delivery people, leading me to delay seeking repairs on delivery damage through proper channels in a proper timeframe. I wanted my money back for the protection plans… I wouldn't have purchased them if the store had been truthful to me. Manager ** said I needed to call customer service. *LIE 5*

** at Customer Service told me that the store should credit me if I was given misinformation. *LIE #6* I called the store again, they referred me back to customer service. ** then recanted and said she never said the plan would cover cat scratches. *LIE #7* Spoke to ** at customer service on Nov 23, who said she'd confer with ** and call me back today, Nov 29. *LIE #8*

I received no call, so I called customer service once again and spoke to ** who finally told me part of the ugly truth. Levitz would not refund my money, would not repair the delivery damage, and said that if she were me she would have read the fine print more closely. She would not have trusted the word of the salespeople or the delivery people.

I called guardsman and asked for information about making a complaint about one of their business alliance channels misrepresenting them. The rest of the ugly truth was revealed: Guardsman is no longer doing business through Levitz as of Oct 2004. BAD CONSUMER COMPANY. They'll go down; it's just a matter of time. Eventually we smart and not-so-smart consumers will starve them out by warning fellow buyers. Good riddance.

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Twice as furious at Levitz
By -

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- I see I am not the only victimized consumer who paid Levitz and months later has still had no delivery! I shopped online at Furniture.com but decided to go to the showroom in Queens before buying. On August 27, 2005 I paid for my sofa and was told that it would be delivered September 23rd. I asked if there was any way I could get it earlier since I was buying it to help alleviate my lower back pain, but I was assured this was the first possible date. Then, I received a letter saying the "anticipated delivery date" was now Sept. 30, than another letter saying October. Then another saying November 11.

A few days before Nov 11th I could not believe it; but my sofa was now really coming, or so I thought. I called to find out whether it would be delivered in the morning or afternoon and I was told it was scheduled for Nov 12th despite my having told the sales person that my coop does not allow weekend deliveries. The recording said I could select another date, so I confirmed delivery for the first available weekday which was Nov 16, 2005. Today, Nov 12 I called to find out if the delivery was anticipated in the morning or afternoon, and the machine said my new "anticipated" delivery date was now Jan 4, 2006.

4.5 months after they processed my credit card and they won't even commit to that date. They clearly feel that they have my money and they can just string me along month by month and deliver it whatever month and what ever year they please without an explanation. They continue to sell that very sofa on furniture.com which claims the following: I have cut and pasted this section for you:

At Furniture.com, deliveries are fast - in days, not months as with some stores. When will my order be delivered? Because Furniture.com works with local retailers, your furniture will be delivered fast, directly from local warehouses. Plus, we let you choose the delivery date before you check out so there's never a question as to when you'll receive your furniture. When you click "Proceed to Checkout" from your Shopping Cart, we check the inventory at a warehouse near you, and check the times that delivery teams will be in your neighborhood.

On the first page of the order process, we'll show you the earliest date your furniture is available. On the second page of the order process, once you've entered your exact address, we let you select a delivery date that is convenient for you. At Furniture.com, we want you to know exactly when you can get your furniture, and let you choose a convenient day to receive it. Sounds simple, but we're the only furniture website that offers this level of visibility and flexibility.

Today I called the showroom and the sales person I purchased it from told me he could not talk to me as he was with a customer but would call me right back. It is 9 pm. He could not even bother to call back. Please reply immediately to confirm you will deliver the sofa on the November 16th, 2005 date that was confirmed to me earlier this week.

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No delivery NO money
By -

PENNSYLVANIA -- My husband and I had put money down on a sofa at the Downingtown PA Levitz. Delivery was to be made the day after settlement in our new home. Which would have been on October 20th or so. We visited the store to make our final payment only to hear the delivery date was changed. That was not acceptable so my husband canceled the order. They stated corporate would send us a refund check for the money put down via check. Again my husband said that was not acceptable. He did not pay corporate he paid the store. I found out from the girls that Levitz had filed Chapter 11 at that time.

Knowing this , they were still accepting purchases and money, credit cards etc from customers while I was standing at the Customer Service Window. Time went on, and we still had no refund check . They continued to change the dates for mailing. Today we called only to find out Levitz changed their policy and will not refund any money. But will issue credit? Credit for what? They claim there are stores still open in New Jersey where we could use the credit? Or we can go on line? On line? Please, the links to add to the cart do NOT produce anything? Imagine that?

Also we called the store and they said we have to have the original bill? Excuse me? WE have the cancelled check and we also have the order number. Customer service informed us we only need the order number because the system shows the credit. The gentleman in the NJ Store states he doesn't have access to such? Sounds like the run around to me. We also have the option to file with the Bankruptcy court in NY? Now you know we will never see a penny.

Yet Levitz is continuing to advertise on their phone lines for consumers to buy? Isn't that fraud? Wasn't it fraud back when they were taking money knowing the consumer would never see a product or their money back? Levitz has been turned over to a financial management firm. I do not know if many are aware that Levitz filed Bankruptcy.

It started as Chapter 11, but it may have now gone to 13. No one is going to see their money or the product. LEVITZ took the money and NEVER paid the Vendors for your purchases! They too, tried to sell us the floor model... without a discount! Hey, people sat on it and kids jumped on it... We paid for something BRAND NEW... it is a shame that a CIVIL Law Suit cannot be filed or can it?

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Levitz Furniture Corporation Rating:
34 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Levitz Furniture Corporation
7887 N. Federal Hwy.
Boca Raton, FL 33487-1613
561-994-6006 (ph)
561-998-5617 (fax)
www.levitz.com
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