West Elm sofa bed falls apart, Oakland man regrets not speaking up

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Have you ever not spoken up because you didn't want to be a pain in the rear? That's a position an Oakland man found himself in, ultimately a decision he regretted.

As the song goes, let it go. Let it go, but sometimes, as Albert Mejia found out, it's just not possible to just let it go.

Albert purchased a sofa bed online from West Elm.

Not long after he noticed something wasn't right.

"We noticed that it started to fall part, the sofa bed," said Albert. "Didn't do anything about it because we didn't want to complain."

First he noticed his sofa began to sag in the middle.

He says it got so bad, he and his partner had to sit on opposite sides of the sofa otherwise they would sink - so much for romance.

Then look at this, the spokes meant to reinforce the bed disconnected from the foundation.

The problem only got progressively worse.

"And here is the glue. It started... it completely came undone. So this is the fabric that was supposed to be attached to here," Albert explained.

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He said after a year, he decided to complain to West Elm.

They asked him to send the pictures to them. He did.

But when he tried to follow up days later, he said he would be transferred and the phone would just ring and ring and ring.

He then sent follow up emails.

"And I got no response from anybody. So I kind of gave up," Albert said.

Over the next year, Albert hosted several house guests.

By November, it became unbearable.

"Trying to open the sofa was very difficult. I guess the metal part of it bent somehow, then we couldn't close it."

Frustrated, he tweeted photos to West Elm expressing his anger.

They asked him for more photos, so he forwarded the photos he emailed them a year earlier.

A week later, he contacted 7 On Your Side and we contacted West Elm.

The company told us "Mr. Mejia received a merchandise credit in the amount of his original purchase. We look forward to the opportunity of helping Mr. Mejia create a home he loves."

"You all are amazing. Keep up the good work. Thank you," a happy Albert said to 7 On Your Side.

We'd like to thank West Elm for giving him a credit. The sofa bed was not under warranty and the company was under no obligation to give Albert a refund.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.