Jeff Gelles
Consumer Watch
By Jeff Gelles
http://www.jewishworldreview.com | (KRT) As an immigrant who left China just a dozen years ago, Ying Zhang can feel at a disadvantage when communicating in English.
But the Wayne, Pa., resident, a computer programmer at a biotech firm, is confident she knows the meaning when an offer says "one-year no-interest financing." A year, she says, is a year.
So she was disturbed to discover recently that "one year" may have a squishier definition, if her experience with Raymour & Flanigan Furniture and Wells Fargo Financial is any guide.
On Nov. 28, 2003, Zhang bought two bedroom sets and a table for $4,800 at Raymour & Flanigan in Wilmington, Del. She made monthly payments, as required, and a final payment on Nov. 24.
But when Zhang looked back at the paperwork, something didn't add up: Her final payment had included nearly $900 in accumulated interest.
So, like any assertive American consumer, Zhang set out to find what went wrong - both to get her money back and fight a small injustice.
At every turn, she ran into a wall.
Offer at odds with contract
Zhang first called Wells Fargo Financial, which provided the financing for Zhang and other customers at the privately held furniture retailer.
A Wells Fargo rep referred Zhang to the contract she signed, which indeed did say, "The no interest option ends on 11/07/2004." When Zhang protested that the offer was for a year, not 11 ½ months, Wells Fargo referred her back to Raymour & Flanigan.
Zhang says her salesman and the store manager were sympathetic, and offered to call the bank. But they came back with the same message: "They said I signed my name, so it's my fault."
Zhang didn't buy it. She says she simply signed where directed, and relied on assurances that the deal gave her one year of interest-free financing. So Zhang decided to investigate further, to see if her experience was an isolated incident, or something else.
On New Year's Eve, Zhang visited another of the company's stores, in King of Prussia, that offered similar no-interest financing. If she bought something that day, she asked, when would she have to pay to avoid finance charges?
Before next Jan. 1, the salesman replied. But when she asked him to check further, he came back with a different date: Dec. 6, 2005 - closer to 11 months than a year.
Zhang protested again that "one year" should mean "one year." The salesman consulted with a manager, who offered a solution: If she bought furniture that day, the invoice would give the December date. But when it was delivered, the deadline could be changed to Jan. 6, 2006.
To Zhang, that sounded like a stopgap, at best.
"They are tricking the customers," she says. A customer who pays close attention could get the date changed, or pay early. But a customer who relies on the "one-year interest-free" pitch could get burned just as she did.
This story has a happy ending, at least for Zhang.
After I asked about Zhang's complaint, Raymour & Flanigan spokesman Heather Ward called back to say that Wells Fargo would be sending Zhang a full refund of the interest she paid.
"We don't want anybody having a bad taste in their mouth when they purchase anything from us. It just isn't right, and it's not good business," Ward said.
Ward referred questions about financing to Wells Fargo. Bank spokesman Steve Carlson said the interest-free due date is disclosed on sales slips and monthly statements.
Why does a "one year" offer ever come due less than a year later?
Carlson couldn't say, but told me: "If we have erred, we do what is right for the customer."
According to Ward, an error is exactly what happened. She said the retailer stands by the offers it promotes - and that a year means a year.
"That's what it is: a one-year, same-as-cash deal."
As Ying Zhang discovered, such assurances are important. But it never hurts to make sure everyone agrees on their meaning.
Jeff Gelles writes the ConsumerWatch column for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Comment by clicking here.
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