Complaint Rating:

I purchased a sectional sofa from Oak Tree Furniture in March of 2006; it was promised in 4 to 8 weeks and was delivered 4 months later. I was never contacted with an explanation for the delay. I had to call every couple of weeks to check on the status and was told every time that they did not know when it would be ready. When I went to the store for the first time I was directed to a salesperson that I was told was an expert on sofas. I told her that I knew nothing about buying sofas and that I had never purchased a sectional sofa before. I also told her that the sofa would be placed in the basement. After choosing a sofa I went home and carefully measured the room and drew a floor plan to show the salesperson so that she could advise me on the best sectional for the room. When it was delivered it wouldn't fit through the 36-inch wide door to the basement. I did read the fine print when I signed the order but it never occurred to me that a company would manufacture or sell furniture that doesn't fit through a standard door. One delivery person (who works for Oak Tree) said "this happens all the time" and the other delivery person said he'd worked for Oak Tree for 4 months and that "this has happened 15 or 20 times." I spoke with the owner and he offered to take it back if I paid a restocking fee of over $600 (25% of the purchase price). Since I had nowhere to put the sofa, I paid the restocking fee. I suggested to the owner that in future he might want to have his salespeople ask customers to measure doors/halls/stairs to make sure the furniture will fit and so that no one has to go through what I went through and he said he wouldn't do that. (I also called the salesperson who sold me the sofa to suggest the same thing and she would not even respond.) The owner said that when you buy a car they don't ask you if the car will fit in your garage or that when you buy a turkey the store doesn't ask you if it will fit in your oven. It sounded as if he was well prepared to deal with this type of problem. After looking for similar situations on the Internet, I found that even Wal-Mart has in bold print "take a few moments to measure your door, entryway and corners to ensure it will fit through or around them." If anyone at Oak Tree had mentioned this, I would have gone home, taken measurements and concluded that I needed a smaller sofa. I cannot comment on the quality of the furniture but I'll be better prepared the next time I buy furniture from someone else.

Company information:
Oak Tree Furniture, 9199 Red Branch Road, Columbia, MD 21045, 410-997-4209