One woman had to literally wait until the Olympics were over before she could get her table. So, she borrowed one from her retailer.
That led to one big hassle.
Pleasanton resident Mary Lerch was expecting out-of-town guests, so she went to Macy's furniture store and ordered a new glass-top dining table. But, on delivery day she got no table.
"She said it should be here the second week in August. Well that came and went. And, so the third week I called her and that's when she told me, 'Oh yeah, nothing's coming from China because of the Olympics,'" Lerch recalled.
It turned out her table was made in China. And, at that moment China was a little preoccupied with the spectacle of the Summer Olympics.
So, shipment of her table was delayed.
Mary says she told Macys, "Well, I need a table!"
Macy's did a nice thing. They loaned her a table to use while she waited. She had to put down a $1000 deposit but was to get it back when the loaner was returned.
"It was a huge wooden table, round," she described.
So, Mary's guests ate comfortably and in September her new table arrived. Macys took the borrowed one back and everything was fine. There was just one problem.
Mary did not get her $1000 deposit back.
"Someone said, 'Well, they couldn't find the table,'" Lerch remembered. "If I knew it was going to cause this much of a problem I wouldn't have taken the table."
Mary called Macys and they promised to investigate. But, weeks went by. The holidays came and went. She got no money back.
Mary e-mailed 7 On Your Side and we checked into the problem.
Macys told us the return of the loaner table was never entered into the computer so it did not trigger a refund. Once the mistake was found Macys refunded her entire deposit and added a $100 gift card for the inconvenience.
Mary had her Money within weeks.
Next time Mary orders a big item from overseas, she just might consider her timing.
If you return a product, whether borrowed or purchased, make sure you get a receipt when the store takes it back so you can prove you returned it.
