Edmonton man cautions buyers after 13-month wait on furniture order
CBC
An Edmonton man is urging buyers to do their research after repeated setbacks saw his furniture order delayed more than a year without an offer for refund.
In May 2021, Karsen Zwiers and his wife visited a Leon's store in northwest Edmonton to seek out furniture for their basement.
They found a faux leather loveseat and two chairs on the showroom floor but in brown — the wrong colour for their decor. They paid about $3,500 to order the same set in black.
The emailed receipt gave a six-month window for delivery. Zwiers said he had no issue with the wait, but the timeline got pushed back, repeatedly.
In October, a salesperson called to tell the couple their order would be in by early February.
"At that point in time, I was starting to get pretty frustrated," Zwiers said.
He said he was told there was an issue with the supplier.
Disruptions throughout the pandemic have led to long shipping times for many retailers and their customers. COVID-19 has triggered a series of circumstances which have wreaked havoc across global supply chains, causing everything from transportation bottlenecks to labour disruptions and a scarcity of materials.
February came and went without news.
When Zwiers called the retailer, he was told they were now looking at June.
And because the purchase was a special order, store policy dictated that it didn't qualify for refund or store credit.
"At a certain point in time, if I have to commit my funds, I think that there's an obligation that they need to deliver some sort of services and or products in a reasonable amount of time," Zwiers said.
A statement from Leon's said the loveseat had not been in flyers since October but was still available online. Graeme Leon, president for the retailer, said timelines have been impacted by global, national and regional factors beyond their control.
Leon said they are now offering more flexibility for special order refunds and are providing refunds to cancel the order if the product has not shipped.
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