Bob's Discount Furniture Bob's, Bob's Furniture Took my money, sold me a protection plan, did a "thorough" investigation without observing damage and denied my claim Reading Pennsylvania

We purchased a sleeper sofa living room set from Bob's Furniture around February of 2016 (I can provide dates if needed).  When purchased, the salesman lied to us telling us that the set was a very durable set for cats in particular knowing that that was what we wanted to hear instead of directing us to a more appropriate set (which I was willing to purchase even if it cost more money).  After my cat trashed the set, I had since done research and woven fabric is the worst kind of material for cats; the salesman should have directed me towards something more durable like microfiber.

What was more troubling though was that by the time I learned this, the living room set, less than a year old, was already falling apart in ways my pets had not influenced.  Our first issue with it was that in store, they had just the sofa on display. We bought a sleeper for guests to stay on. However, the bed in the sofa was seated too low in the frame, and the couch cushions would squish under the frame, leaving your legs against uncomfortable hardwood, and when you stood up, the seats would stay smashed inside of the sofa. The cushions themselves began to fail.

Bob's at our request sent a service tech out who ordered new cushions but told us there was nothing wrong with the location of the bed in the sofa and that the sofa was designed in such a way that we needed to purchase a heavy thick board to sit on top of the bed under the cushions to prevent this uncomfortable situation from occurring.  We did as advised, and spend around $50 on a very thick and heavy piece of particle board from Lowes cut to fit the sofa. The board made the sofa feel like you were sitting on stone and was incredibly inconvenient and embarrassing to pull out when a guest stayed. Guests began sleeping on air mattresses negating the reasoning behind buying the sofa.

Less than a year later, the furniture degraded further. The fabric was pilling, and I would have to shave it with a sweater shaver several times a week. Then I moved a chair and the leg just simply fell off. The metal that the screw needed to seat in had somehow pushed into the hardwood and fallen into the sofa itself rendering the furniture irreparable.  I once again contacted Bob's furniture, and using pictures as their investigation, they were able to determine that the set was garbage and offered me a store credit of all but the “Goof Proof” extended warranty.  I accepted reluctantly but had just bought a home and needed furniture without a payment.

The problem I had in replacing the original set is that Bob’s delivery service is also a nightmare. This set I have described was estimated to be delivered between 8am- 10am.  My boyfriend took the day off of work and waited.   I understand things happen and deliveries get delayed, however they didn’t show up until nearly 9:30 PM. The delivery guys were a father and son, and the furniture nearly killed the out-of-shape retirement-aged father that came. He had to stop for a moment and I gave him a glass of water.  He was in no way capable of effectively doing his job, hauling a sleeper sofa to the third floor of an apartment complex (that I warned the company ahead of time would be an issue), and that’s not his fault. His employer should have the sense enough not to send people who can’t lift furniture to deliver furniture.  I had to instruct them on how to put together their furniture and what order because they were confused on how to do it in a small apartment. They left about an hour or so later, past my apartment complex’s quiet time.  It was so dark at that point that they left tons of garbage in my apartment complex’s lawn, sidewalk and driveway and probably had no idea.

I thought that couldn’t happen again when the next delivery was scheduled for 8-11am for a second time and my boyfriend took off a day of work to wait for Bob’s once more, but sure enough when the replacement set in May 2017 was delivered the delivery guys rolled in at about 11pm, 12 hours outside of their delivery estimate with no communication whatsoever with their client.  Even the guys delivering were angry at this point. They didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about their employer. Apparently Bobs then expected them to take our defective furniture to Harrisburg an hour and a half away, and the men were not going to get home until around 3am when all was said and done despite having been delivering since 8am.

I noticed one of the deliver guys was having a hard time assembling my loveseat. I guess it was having a similar problem to my old chair. The fitting for the screw wasn’t staying in. He was frustrated, I was frustrated, and neither I nor my boyfriend could take another day off just to wait until midnight for Bob’s to come again. So when the delivery guy jammed the leg on, flipped it over and said it was done, I accepted it begrudgingly.  After all, I only wanted this so obviously shoddily made furniture set to last a few years until I had the time and money to buy a new set somewhere else. This set hasn’t even been able to promise that for me though. The couch had made noises when someone would sit on it not long after delivery.

I told my boyfriend that it was just from a terrible company and that’s what we could expect for the furniture. A couple weeks ago though, when flipping the sofa over to apply rubber pads to the bottom of the couch so that it will stop destroying my hardwood floors (of which it is constantly marring), I heard the sawdust shift. Out the back of the sofa, a spring is poking out, pushing on the fabric. Out the bottom, broken hardwood has jutted out and torn through the bottom of the sofa fabric. Sawdust poured out the seat area onto the area rug.

I guess the noise the couch made when someone sat indirectly on that location of the couch was the sound of the frame given out right from the start.  The fabric of the top of the couch is sun-bleached from just 16 months of sun exposure as well. (As a side note, with some of the store credit we had, we purchased a dining room set that is okay except for a discoloration that randomly has appeared despite the fact that we really don’t sit at the dining room set.  I have not processed a claim for that, but there is still something going on even with that piece of furniture)

I once again contacted Bob’s. I eventually spoke with Allyson, who I believe may be a manager at the Reading store. Allyson sent the request for the warranty department to contact me about sending a technician out to see the couch on 11/24/18.  She told me that on Monday 11/26/18 they would contact me about sending a technician via email. I told Allyson that the couch was so obviously broken I could submit pictures and save everyone else the hassle. Tuesday 11/27/18 I received an email back from the warranty department.  Apparently after a “thorough” investigation, Bob’s Furniture’s Warranty Department concluded that the damage to my sofa and loveseat was covered in neither the manufacturer’s warranty nor the $199.99 “Goof Proof” policy I had purchased.

The problem is that the warranty department never gave me a chance to submit pictures. They never sent a technician to look at the sofa or the loveseat. They just somehow came to the conclusion organically I guess.  “Goof Proof” paperwork lists both springs and frame under the covered section after the manufacturer’s warranty expires, so I’m left to wonder why all of these issues with my sofa and loveseat are not covered.  Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.