City Furniture And Natuzzi Leather False sales pitch and No customer service consumer fraud ripoff fraudulent ripoff business Miami Florida

I have worked for many furniture retailers, including, but not limited to retailers selling high end leather furniture. In my experience, although the manufacturer is generally the most memorable name from a consumer's perspective, they very rarely have anything to do with the consumers' complaints. If there were a problem with this piece of furniture at the outset I could see involving Natuzzi, but from the information provided my assessment is that there was not a problem with the leather.

Judging from the information provided I percieve this as a case of dishonest salesmanship. In my experience consumers go into furniture stores with either very little information about leather furniture, and if they have been shopping for a considerable amount of time they tend to have collected a great deal of misinformation. Leather furniture is often misrepresented and oversold. Consumers are looking to salespeople for their information, and too often the salespeople lie or make something up. What's worse, I believe this salesperson used the furniture protection program as a way to distract the customer. The nuances of different leathers was probably either poorly explained or not explained at all.

Leather pricing does not relate to durability! This is one of the most common misconceptions I face when selling leather furniture. Let me say that a different way; The price of a piece of leather furniture does not in any way relate to how the leather will react to wear and tear or even minimal usage. Leather is priced differently based on the difficulty of processes used to treat that leather, and more importantly based on the availability of that type of leather in the marketplace. A natural leather with very little scarring or irregular grain patterns is rare. If you think about it as skin, leather becomes easier to understand. The value of a hide that is relatively unmarked or has markings people generally find appealing is high. Leather that requires a great deal of work, to make it appealing to consumers, is actually less expensive, because it is far easier for manufacturers to buy what starts out as an ugly hide and turn it into a highly treated fairly uniform piece of leather. What most people are looking for when they say they want nice leather furniture is a highly treated piece of leather.

Consumers tend to chose leather for it's durability, they want to sit on it with their kids, their dogs, and their buddies watching the game, and they want it to look the same as the day they bought it after a few years of normal use. There is a difference in the "hand", or feel, of different leathers and most people are attracted to a soft leather that you can run your hand across smoothly. What most people do not realize is that leather can be treated so that it stays essentially the same over time, or it can be treated so that it develops a patina. A piece of leather treated with a chemical protective coat, usually but not always containing a polyeurethane base, stays the same as the day you bought it with regular usage. A piece of leather treated with a wax protective coat will change over time, the leather will show scratches and wear patterns, it can be conditioned (like skin) and scratches will rub out, but the leather will not stay the same as the day you bought it. The most expensive leather is usually starts with an attractive hide that requires little to no work to make it look attractive, and it is treated with wax and will develop a patina over time. Think of a well worn leather sofa in a library, it is soft to the touch and comfortably worn in, but this look is not for everyone. Furniture protection covers accidental damage, it does not cover this type of wear if a type of leather was misrepresented when it was sold to you.

Furniture protection generally covers against pet and human bodily fluids, punctures, and/or stains from something like ink. These protection plans can be very useful, but you should always read and make sure you understand the particulars of what the plan covers. The plans do not cover you against poor salesmanship, and you should always listen to your own common sense over the "opinion" of a salesperson. They also often get a higher commission on furniture protection they sell. I think furniture protection is often a good thing, but you should know what you are paying for.

The manufacturer, in this case Natuzzi, makes a product that is attractive and well made, and it is the responsibility of the retailer to accurately represent the product they are selling. This retailer did a poor job, and in my opinion consumers should have a way to contact the manufacturer directly to let them know when a retailer is doing a bad job accurately selling their well made products. City Furniture is to blame, not Natuzzi, in fact I feel they are also victims in this case.

Best of luck in your future furniture purchases!

I had a similar experience with City furniture & will never buy from them again. I also purchased a leather sofa at about $3500. At this price I figured it would be complete leather but it wasn't it is mixed wit vinyl I later on learned.

My sofa lost its color & I thought i was getting a quality product instead I got junk. I contacted city Furniture & they told me I did not purchase the protection package & there was nothing they could do for me.At this point i am thinking to myself WHAT? i have only had the sofa for 6 months the color is fading to the point of having white areas on the leather which looks horrible & there is nothing you can do for me after spending 3500 on a leather Sectional.

I get the president's number for City & leave him a message. They send a technician to my house & he tells me the covers need to be replaced that he would order them & replace them.

After about 1 month he shows up & it is the wrong one,so he tells me he has to reorder & he will be back. When he returns it is the wrong one again. Finally after 3 months they get replaced with the correct ones.

At this point I have had the sofa for 9 months, after another 4 months the new covers start fading also.

I call City Furniture & they tell me I do not have the protection package that they are surprised somebody went out there the first time. They tell me to contact the manufacturer which I do & the first thing they ask me is if I placed the Teflon & I tell them no.

They tell me it would have voided any warranty but then she also tells me I have had the sofa for more than 1 year which is the time for the manufacturer warranty,she tells me she is going to try to help me any ways and schedules an inspection with a technician.When he shows up he tells me the areas need to be replaced.

After a few weeks I contact the manufacturer & they tell me they are going to send somebody else out.

The second person tells me the same thing it needs to replaced,after another couple of weeks I call the manuacturer again & they tell me both technicians reported it as normal wear & tear.

I am sorry but a caramel sofa with white areas on it after a few months is not normal wear & tear.

Well I give up the sofa goes in the garage for my new playroom.I will purchase a new sofa but will never buy from City Furniture again it will be from another furniture store.

Yes, im an employee, the names you said are familiar. In sales at city, the salesperson must get 50-60% of his customers to purchase "fab pro" or fabric protection. If the salesperson falls below this mark for any length of time he would be fired. Also "in home service" must be around 30%. You get the in home service money back in 3 yrs from purchase..BUT U MUST CONTACT THEM WITHIN 30 days following the end of term. Look at your 3 yr policy on back of folder your paperwork is in. What city doesnt tell folks is that if they get the fab protection..)(teflon) it will void the standard manufacturers warranty from Natuzzi. This is not true with all vendors City uses, just Natuzzi. BUBBLES on Natuzzi usually occur when the leather gets oily then has a chance to dry. For example on the arm-rests where the hand touches the leather(sweat) or the spot where your head hits the couch.(oils from hair)Go into any place that sells Natuzzi, and u will usually find these "hard-spots" or bubbles right there on the showroom floor! Still the salespeople should be accountable, and you should continue to pursue compensation. At the very least they will offer you a discount and send you some money back. City does REALLY strive for customer satisfaction, and Kevin is the person behind the program. He is a great guy, always approachable, kind and extremely generous in our community. Call the salesperson and have him call customer service again and ask for the manager, and a discount. They will take the discount right off of the financing, send the money immediatly to your debit card,visa or cut u a check. good luck, J

City Furniture is in the business to commit FRAUD. They will sell you all kind of phony extras and not inform you that it will indeed VOID your manufacture warranty!! When it comes time to place a claim then your SOL. because City Furniture will deny there services and the manufacture will point to the chemicals that City Furniture charged you $160.00 and promised would be the best thing for you but also deny your claim.>>>>>>>>>>BUYER BEWARE!!