With more than a dozen formal complaints filed against Bond Dinettes of Fairfield, a Newington furniture store, the Connecticut Department Of Consumer Protection is investigating.
State Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr., Friday confirmed the investigation and said it was centered on the store’s failure to deliver special orders within the time frames promised.
Farrell said customers were told that the delays were caused by manufacturers’ inability to deliver products, but several of the customers contacted the manufacturers directly and were told that there was not delay being caused by the manufacturers.
The Better Business Bureau in Connecticut has received more than 50 complaints against the store in the past 10 months, compared to 20 in the previous three years. It has an F rating, in part because the store has made no attempt to even address six of the complaints.
When I wrote about the store in April as the Watchdog columnist at The Courant, store owner Stephen Pawlak Jr. also blamed manufacturers for the delays.
He claimed to have no knowledge of customers who had tried to repeatedly contact him about their orders only to be ignored.
One West Hartford woman, Sally Welensky, 76, told me she made numerous calls to store early this year when her four kitchen chairs and a kitchen table did not arrive as scheduled. She said none of her calls were returned and she and her daughter ended up having to drive to the store to get someone to talk to her.
In comparison, Puritan Furniture Mart of West Hartford, had 14 complaints in three years with the Better Business Bureau. The store responded to every complaint and only one involving delivery.
In placing a special furniture order, get in writing that if the merchandise is not delivered by a specific date that your deposit is returned. Also, put deposits of credit – not debit – cards.
Similar Posts:
- Bond Dinettes’ Twisted Version Of Its History
- How Consumers Can Protect Themselves Against Firms Like Bond Dinettes
- Bond Dinettes Closes Its Newington Store
- Bond Dinettes Allegedly Caught Lying To Customer About Why Delivery Of Furniture Delayed
- Blumenthal Shows Pro Business Stance In His Dealings For Errant Local Furniture Retailer
- La-Z-Boy Warwick Store Needs Better Customer Service
Bond Dinettes of Fairfield, a Newington furniture store has always been my favorite. I normally purchase my furniture from this shop. I do not know what actually went wrong which lead to all this.
Do not buy any special order items from this place….they told me 6 to 8 weeks…almost 20 weeks and still waiting…they dont pick up the phones….they have a BBB rating of F…. I am going to file a complaint with the department of Consumer Protection as well. I am going to get this charlatan shut down…I dont care how much money i have to spend doing so……
I am surprised as well. I have bought furniture several times through the years from this store that seems to have been in business forever. I’ve never had a problem and the staff is always courteous. With the new phone system, ever place seems to take forever to answer. Has anyone called a State office lately? Geez…..
I have purchased two tables at Bond Dinette and had a wonderful experience both times. In fact, my special order was delivered today! I must say I was worried, but it was on time and the delivery men set it up, took care to keep my house neat and not damage anything in the move.
I used to work at Nassau Furniture for four years. It is very common for special orders to get delayed and 99% of the time it’s the factory’s fault. I can’t say that Bond Dinette has never messed up and not returning phone calls is completely unacceptable, but it seems like some of the anger being vented is excessive.