Johanna Trujillo called NBC 6 Responds after months of dealing with a bonded leather section that peeled at the touch. Her efforts to resolve the issue on her own went nowhere.
“It’s so upsetting, you can’t sit down,” she said. “We ended up buying bean bags to sit on the floor so we can watch TV.”
Our team helped her get credit from a local furniture store and she expressed her gratitude in a video showing her new sofa set. Since her story aired in November 2016, NBC 6 Responds has received more than 3 dozen complaints from viewers with similar problems, involving different stores across the viewing area. Michele Quin and her husband were among them.
“It’s cracked everywhere,” she told our team, as she showed us her how her sectional was peeling. She bought the furniture in 2010 from Macy’s and had purchased a 7-year warranty that she thought covered peeling leather. But her claim, she said, was denied.
“They kept on saying it’s not covered under the warranty and they couldn’t help us with anything,” Quin said.
Then her husband heard about NBC 6 Responds. After our team got involved, Macy’s issued a full refund and apologized. In a statement, the company told us they “aspire to create the best possible shopping and service experience” for their customers, adding that: “When we fall short, we work to learn from the experience, which we have done in this case.”
Dawne Garcia showed us the new sectional she’s enjoying in her home, after years of dealing with an old set that started to peel.
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“I hated it but they were pretty couches when you couldn’t see the peeling,” Garcia said.
She didn’t buy a service plan, but when the NBC 6 Responds team reached out to Rooms to Go, they decided to help her out and give her a credit for the old set.
“They told me that they would give me the same amount, what I paid 10 years ago,” Garcia said.
The company told us Garcia only had to “pay any difference, if there is one, between the sets as well as delivery or any other items she chooses to purchase at the same time”. Both Garcia and Quin thought they were alone, until they heard Trujillo’s story. They’re grateful they did.
“My hat goes off to you guys because if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have new couches,” Garcia said.
So far, NBC 6 Responds has recovered close to $12,000 for people dealing with peeling furniture in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
