MADISON (WKOW) -
Couches should be for sitting.
"He just sat down on the furniture and it broke," said Linde Van Slyke.
Their couch broke just days after it was bought.
For Linde and Scott Van Slyke, it's $500 they could have used for something else.
"That's months rent. That's a couple months electricity, that's food!," said Linde.
The full time students and new parents say they bought the couch because it was affordable and it offered peace of mind.
"The reason we chose Furniture Deals and Steals was because we were told that the furniture we were buying had a lifetime warranty," said Linde.
It even came with this tag. But once the couch broke, they say that Furniture Deals and Steals said it wasn't its problem -- that the warranty was through the manufacturer. But the manufacturer Flexsteel says the warranty is not valid.
Here's why: A company official tells Call for Action - Flexsteel sells furniture to Deals and Steals for pennies on the dollar. That's because the items are often discontinued, mismatched or damaged. The lifetime warranty at this point does not apply anymore, and the store is responsible for removing the warranty tag.
But when we visited Deals and Steals, although many signs read "no exchanges or returns" at least several pieces of furniture still had tags on them promising a lifetime warranty. We asked the manager about this.
"I'm told that Flexsteel tells you to take the tags off the furniture," said Reporter Sabrina Hall.
The store manager replied, "If they do, I have never heard that."
In any event, after our inquiries, a Deals and Steals executive decided to give the Van Slykes their money back.
"Quite a change in attitude since my husband and I spoke with him after you guys got involved," said Linde. "It feels good not to be stuck with a broken piece of furniture."
The Van Slykes are returning the couch on Saturday and Furniture Deals and Steals says it will be mailing them a check for a full refund. The store manager in Baraboo says he has since removed all those warranty tags from the furniture.
If you would if you have a consumer complaint, feel free to give us a call. The number to our Call for Action hotline is 608.661.2727.
