Action: Sofa got too big for its stitches

On Jan. 10, we gave a deposit of $530 on a $1,053.64 order to Ethan Allen Home Interiors in Port Richey to re-cover our sofa. The sofa was returned to us March 9 with three ugly seams down the front and back of the sofa.

We called the showroom and spoke with our salesman. He informed us that the fabric we selected was not wide enough and therefore did not fit the sofa without the need for seams. He told us he accepted full responsibility for the error and that he should have told us this. There were no seams in the old upholstery and we depended on Ethan Allen personnel to help us select a fabric from the hundreds in its showroom that was suitable for our sofa. We had no idea that only fabric of a certain width would fit a camel-back sofa.

On March 13, we selected another fabric with our salesman, which he assured us was the proper width. That was over seven weeks ago. Repeated calls to the store have resulted in one excuse after another as to why the fabric has not arrived. We feel that we have been very patient since Jan. 10. The error was with Ethan Allen, it has $530 of our money, and we have a poorly recovered sofa the store is doing nothing to remedy. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Flynn

Response: David Burton, store manager of Ethan Allen Home Interiors in Port Richey, said all upholstery fabric is 54 inches wide. When you have a continual surface to be covered that is greater than 54 inches, as with your camel-back sofa, you will obviously end up with seams. The only way to avoid having a seam is to select a fabric that is "railroaded" or milled so that the pattern runs with the roll of fabric in a horizontal, rather than in a vertical, fashion. Unfortunately, your salesman neglected to discuss this with you when you selected your fabric at the store. Hence your surprise when the sofa was delivered to you with seams in the fabric.

Burton said when he was made aware of the problem, your salesman invited you to return to the store and select another fabric. Once you selected another fabric, it needed to be approved by upper management since additional costs to the store were going to be incurred. This added time, but to make the situation worse, he said, the new fabric you selected was on back order. The fabric has now been received and your sofa picked up for reupholstery. Burton said he regretted what happened, and that every effort will be made to expedite the new upholstery work.

Recalls

The following products, distributed nationwide and in Florida, were recalled between May 10 and 16:

18,000 Power Plus automotive chargers that plug into automotive cigarette lighters, by Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp.; when used under low-voltage conditions, the chargers can overheat, posing a fire hazard. The recall includes Power Plus automotive chargers and Impact wrench kits containing these chargers. Call toll-free 1-800-414-6527 between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. weekdays; Web site: www.heavydutytool.com, click on "media center."

Susie brand cantaloupes, imported from Mexico, by I. Kunik Co. because of their link to outbreaks of foodborne illness throughout the United States and Canada. Any cantaloupe bearing this brand name should not be consumed.

310,000 Total Gym exercise machines by Fitness Quest Inc.; the handles on these exercise machines can detach during use and the cable attached to the handles can break, resulting in injury to the user. The recall involves the Total Gym 1000 and the Total Gym Pro model exercisers with serial numbers DK000001 through DK129350, models with the serial number prefixes XO or SM, and models without serial numbers. Call toll-free 1-800-321-9236 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET weekdays. Total Gym models sold on television infomercials are not included in this recall.

93,000 speaker power adapters sold with Hewlett-Packard Co. business desktop computers by Philips Electronics; the speaker power adapter's power-cord connector is not grounded, posing a potential shock hazard. The speaker power adapters were included in HP's P1534A External Amplified Speaker sets. Call toll-free 1-800-870-7193 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays.

12,000 Ziotek brand extension cords by E-filliate Inc.; the cords have reversed polarity, which can present electric shock and electrocution hazards. The 1- to 2-foot-long extension cords were sold through Cyberguys catalogs and the Cyberguys Web site. Call toll-free 1-800-327-6703 between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. weekdays; Web site: www.cyberguys.com. Cords that have the letters "MSL" imprinted on the plug, but which also have a yellow "QC" label wrapped around the cord, are not included in this recall.

Sources: SafetyAlerts at www.safetyalerts.com. Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov, toll-free 1-800-638-2772. Food and Drug Administration at www.fda.gov. Government food safety information at www.foodsafety.gov.

- Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

Requests will be accepted only by mail or voice mail; calls cannot be returned. We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If your complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of your canceled check.

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