Fraser Valley furniture store sued for not giving man couches he purchased
A customer had to sue a Fraser Valley furniture store for it to give him a refund on three couches he paid for but never received.
According to the Civil Resolution Tribunal decision posted online Wednesday, Jessie Chima bought the couches for $1,660 from Abbotsford’s Five Corners Funiture Gallery Inc. in February 2023.
But a few days after the purchase, the store told him the sofas were out of stock. Instead of offering a refund immediately, the store tried to give him alternate items. Chima thought the practice was deceptive, alleging the store engaged in a bait-and-switch tactic.
He sued the furniture store in Summer 2023 after his attempts to get a refund in April failed. The furniture store admitted in the tribunal proceedings that it told Chima it would look into a credit card refund but forgot to call him back.
The store eventually did provide a refund, but not until September 2023 — more than two months after Chima sued the store.
The customer also tried to sue for punitive damages over what he believed to be bait-and-switch practices. The tribunal said it couldn’t give him damages though, because Competition Act enforcement is the Competition Bureau’s jurisdiction.
In the end, the tribunal couldn’t award the customer more than he’d already been refunded and ordered the furniture store to pay half of his filing fee.