Artisan Furniture Repair Requested deposit to make repairs then job was taken away from tech and now I can not get deposit back. Milltown, New Jersey

This is Mark Kuiper of Artisan Furniture Repair. I am responding to the claim posted here by Natuzzi America. A deposit of $345 was received by me for repair work to both a sofa and loveseat, which were under 3 years old. The framework on both had cracked along the forward spar, resulting in drammatic sagging of close to 5 inches. Both pieces had to have their coverings (leather) stripped back and the main spar either replaced or mended to correct the frames. There were other smaller cracks along ancillary framework, which also needed attention. The entire project required the removal of the items from the owner's home for 8 to 10 business days. At the time of the initial estimate, I noted the furniture owner's level of frustration with Natuzzi was already near the boiling point.

After several weeks of back and forth communication between Natuzzi and the furniture's owner, Natuzzi cut a deposit check, and asked me to go ahead with repairs. By this time, however, the owner had become so frustrated and angered by Natuzzi's slowness and refusal to replace both items, he stopped taking my calls and eventually refused to have the items repaired. I was not included in any further discussions regarding the furniture, and I assume Natuzzi had to replace both sofa and loveseat. 

With regard to the deposit, I have been more than willing to refund Natuzzi America's deposit of $345 and did in fact repay Natuzzi. I'd be happy to supply a payment receipt and US Postal delivery confirmation should anyone inquire. For the record, I'd also like to note that Artisan did not recieve any compensation for the time spent providing Natuzzi with an estimate for repairs, which involved two visits to the furnitureowner's home, about 10 miles away.

At the end of the day, Artisan is a small, family-run business, and as such is influenced by the economy at large. We are not always able to repay large multi-national corporations like Natuzzi America within the expeditious timeframe it deems appropriate. Artisan works carefully and concientiously on a project-by-project basis, taking care to deliver a quality product. We pay attention to detail, and are careful about the projects we accept. Additionally, I am a full-time repair company and NOT a "repair by night" outfit. I've no idea where Natuzzi came up with this false claim.  

Cancelled projects like the one described above disturb the flow of work and have a ripple effect on Artisan's tiny budget and finances. I communicated this to Natuzzi and thought its rep understood that repayment would take longer than Natuzzi would like.

For the record, Artisan is a business in good standing with both Angie's List and ServiceMagic, where we have won reputable business awards.

I hope this rebuttal clears the air and am indeed sorry that Natuzzi and Artisan had this misunderstanding.

Sincerely, Mark Kuiper, Artisan Furniture Repair.

Hi. I saw this report and HAD to tell my story with Natuzzi. I don't know the repair company, but if they had the same experience as we did, then I can only say Natuzzi is ripping people off.
I bought a Natuzzi Catania II sofa just over 2 years ago in Toronto, Ontario. To our surprise, one side of the sofa recently fell in (down). To our even greater surprise, when the sofa was turned over to see what damage was done and what could be done to repair it, underneath the backing was not "engineered frames' made from european hardwoods" as Sears advertised but good old fashioned particle board!!! I cannot believe I was told that this sofa had a hardwood frame. Sears Canada is not responsible for the sofa since I moved to the USA. The 10 year warranty on parts is Natuzzi's responsibility as per Sears Customer Service. Unfortunately, Natuzzi says it is Sears responsibility. Now I am stuck with a very expensive broken sofa, and two corporations who could care less!!!

KG