Making a big purchase? Read the fine print to avoid any 'gotchas'
We’ve all done it. At the doctor’s office or when making a major purchase, pages of documents are placed before us or flash on a screen. It’s overwhelming to try to read it all before signing or initialing. We aren’t lawyers.
But that fine print is king when it comes to your consumer rights. You are agreeing to whatever is written that you have signed.
MV Realty is being sued by Ohio and three other states for alleged deceitful practices. The company offers cash as “loan alternatives” of between $300 to $5,000 in exchange for a contract that binds homeowners to using the company if they sell their house in the next 40 years.
More:Ohio AG sues MV Realty for 'shameful business model' to get real estate listings
The Ohio attorney general and counterparts in Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are questioning the business practices of the company. Many consumers said they didn’t know MV Realty files a memorandum that acts like a lien on their property record with the county. A lien, unless it is lifted, can make it difficult to refinance a home or get a home equity loan.
The consumers I spoke to for a story about MV Realty said they never would have agreed to the MV contract if they knew about the lien. But they admitted they were rushed to sign a pile of paperwork by a notary who didn’t explain what they were signing. The consumers also said they didn’t read the paperwork and acknowledged it’s often hard to read a stack of papers filled with fine print.
More:'They were being deceitful': Homeowners, state say MV Realty tricked consumers
Don't be rushed; read the fine print
“Make sure you read all of the terms and conditions and fine print in the contract prior to signing,” said Hannah Hundley, an Ohio attorney general spokeswoman.
“If someone verbally represents a term, make sure that term is accurately reflected in the contract. If it’s not in the contract, treat it as though the term doesn’t exist,” she said.
That’s what happened to Elizabeth Varga of Fairlawn.
Last summer, Varga didn’t know if her back pain was a flare-up from a chronic back problem or if she needed a new bed.
So the 78-year old-widow went to Ashley Furniture in Fairlawn to look for a new bed. Her existing bed was about 10 years old.
Varga said she was very clear with the Ashley salesman. She wanted assurances that she could have a trial period, like she’d seen advertised from other companies, or return it.
Over and over, Varga said, the salesman told her she could have a 90-day trial period and return the bed if she changed her mind with a $75 fee.
When it was time to sign the delivery and warranty contract, Varga said she didn’t have her glasses and couldn't read the document.
“He showed me a paper and said, ‘Sign here, here, here and sign it here.’ I said. ‘I am very paranoid because I got cheated out of my money a couple of times and because when someone sees an old woman with an accent and no man beside me, they have an easy target,” recalled Varga, a native of Hungary.
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The salesman told Varga that she reminded him of his grandma, who also had gray hair and an accent.
“So I trusted him and I signed,” she said.
Varga later mentioned to her daughter, Liz Tucci of Cuyahoga Falls, that she had bought a new mattress. It had a free trial and she would only lose $75 if she returned it.
A $75 restocking fee for a heavy mattress didn’t sound right, Tucci said. She called the store to ask in general about the return policy on mattresses. Tucci was told it could be returned, minus a $250 restocking fee.
Varga was upset about the $250 figure and drove to the store to find the salesman. He again told her it was $75.
Two weeks later, the mattress was delivered.
Mattress doesn't work out
Varga tried the new mattress for three days.
“It was hurting me so bad,” said Varga. For those three nights, she ended up on a futon in her guest bedroom or the sofa in her living room.
She called the store to request the mattress be picked up for a return. She was told she had to try it for 30 days.
There was no mention that the mattress was not returnable. But the document Varga initialed says upon delivery, items are no longer eligible for return.
In a response to a recent Better Business Bureau complaint filed for Varga by Tucci, Ashley Furniture said the manufacturer requires the customer to try the mattress for 30 days in order to qualify for an exchange for a different mattress between days 31 to 90.
But Varga did not want another mattress. She wanted her $3,041.32 back.
Varga went back to the store to confront the salesman and ask why he lied to her. He said he was positive that was the return policy. That salesman has since been promoted and moved to another location, Varga said.
The manufacturer told Varga they could not help with a return because the mattress had not been bought from the company.
She initiated a dispute on her credit card, but the credit card sided with Ashley since Varga had signed the document acknowledging no returns.
The mattress has been sitting on its side in her guest bedroom since last summer.
“Every time I see it I get so angry,” said Varga, who has been sleeping on her original mattress and hasn’t had the severe back pains since that flare-up.
Varga's daughter filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which is still pending.
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Ashley Furniture offers a refund
I reached out on Tuesday morning to Ashley Furniture’s Fairlawn store and was told no one could speak to the media about the case, which is pretty standard. I then left a message through a customer service representative on a customer care number for Ashley.
By Tuesday afternoon, I received an email from Kate Wolcott, Ashley’s director of marketing, saying she was pleased to tell me Varga would receive a full refund, "which began to process earlier today.
"Customer service is a top priority for us, so despite the Better Business Bureau and credit card company ruling in our favor on this matter, we decided to go ahead and process a full refund to satisfy this customer.” (Note: The BBB matter had not yet been resolved.)
I phoned Varga with the update.
“Oh my gosh. I can’t believe it,” she said. Varga called me back later that afternoon to say someone from Ashley had called to arrange a pickup for the mattress on Saturday. She would receive her full refund within seven to 10 days after the mattress was returned.
In a followup email to my questions, the Ashley representative said the company had no record of an associate promising a $75 or $250 fee to return the mattress.
“To provide excellent customer service, we issued a full refund regardless of this agreement signed by Ms. Varga,” Wolcott wrote.
When I also asked why an associate did not offer to cancel the sale before delivery if Varga had been inquiring about returns, Wolcott again said there were no records of the conversations. “These claims do not reflect our company values or standard operating procedures, so I have no further comments at this time.”
Though Varga did end up getting a refund, the fine print is what was important when it comes to return policies.
Stores are not required to provide refunds or to have any specific type of return policy under Ohio law. If a store has a refund policy, it must be clearly and conspicuously posted. Look for policies on signs in the stores, on the backs of receipts, and on an internet seller’s website, the Attorney General's Office said. It is not acceptable for a refund policy to be printed only on the receipt because the customer sees the receipt after the purchase has been made.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 orblinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Reading the fine print is important to protect your consumer rights
