Internet Furniture Seller Slapped With Court Order

Consumers Complain about North Carolina Furniture Buy Direct

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 13, 2006
North Carolina is famous for its furniture companies, but one company has been drawing the wrong kind of attention. North Carolina Furniture Buy Direct, based in High Point, has garnered a slew of consumer complaints and now it's been slapped with a court order.

"We've heard from hundreds of people who paid for furniture they never received," said Attorney General Roy Cooper. "That's not the way to do business, and we're taking action to stop it."

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Cooper is not the only one who has been hearing from angry consumers about North Carolina Furniture Buy Direct.

"I ordered $3000.00 worth of furniture in January and like everyone else have been given the same run around. I have had to give them my credit card number numerous times because they conveniently can't find my information to refund me," Jennifer, of Slidell, Louisiana told ConsumerAffairs.com earlier this month.

"I ordered over $6000 in living room, bedroom and dining furniture in Oct. 2005 and was told in Feb 2006 that my order was misplaced," Jeffery, of Sayville, New York told ConsumerAffairs.com last month. At the time, he still hadn't gotten his refund. That's right, refund. The company required Jeffery and other consumers to pay for their purchases, in full and up front, then never delivered.

A North Carolina judge has granted Cooper's request for a temporary restraining order to stop the company from demanding upfront payment from consumers, then never shipping the furniture. Cooper is also seeking to permanently stop the company's bad practices, and is asking the court to order N.C. Furniture Buy Direct to pay refunds to consumers and civil penalties to the state.

As alleged in the complaint, N.C. Furniture Buy Direct began selling furniture via the Internet in January of 2004. The company required consumers to pay at least a fifty percent deposit when they placed an order and more recently required full payment upfront. Consumers were told that their furniture orders would arrive in four to 12 weeks, however many people never received their furniture as promised.

The federal mail order rule requires companies like N.C. Furniture Buy Direct to give customers the option of a full refund if their order doesn't arrive on time, which the company failed to do even after Cooper's Office reminded them about the rule and the company said it would change its ways to comply.

According to the Attorney General's complaint, N.C. Furniture Buy Direct took out a loan from First Bank in High Point in June 2006 that it told Cooper's office it would use to pay refunds to dissatisfied consumers.

Cooper said that when his office followed up, they discovered that many consumers still hadn't received either their furniture or a refund. N.C. Furniture Buy Direct recently began to take orders under a new name, N.C. Furniture World, and instructed employees to deny that the two companies are connected when in fact they are the same operation.

"There are many excellent furniture firms in our state, and we want consumers who order from North Carolina businesses to get what they pay for," said Cooper. "To protect yourself, check out the company before you order."

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