BIZ BUZZ: Caveat emptor: pricey furniture undelivered

An upscale furniture company that caters to the well-heeled set in Metro Manila is under fire and under threat of legal action from at least one unhappy customer who has yet to receive the items she ordered last June despite having paid for the items, and being reassured that the pricey sofas, coffee tables, rugs and the like were available and ready to be delivered.

The furniture company called Acasa Inc. — owned by celebrity Maggie Wilson — was sent no less than two demand letters by an unhappy client, represented by a law firm, but no response was received.

“Constant and numerous follow-ups via email, Viber and Instagram were made by our client for the delivery of the said items,” the lawyer’s demand letter read. “Your company, through its

employee/representative, made our client to believe that the above-mentioned items are already in your company’s warehouse and ready to be delivered. As it turned out, however, all those representations were false and untrue from the very onset.”

The demand, of course, is that Acasa refund the over P300,000 that the client paid for its fancy furniture, but to no avail. In fact, this client recently came across another unhappy individual who faced similar issues with the furniture firm, we’re told.

Of course, the problem now for this client is that Acasa’s owner has an ongoing very public spat with her ex husband, businessman Victor Consunji, who revealed earlier this year that multiple arrest warrants have been issued for Ms. Wilson on the basis of complaints he had filed against her in the wake of their separation. And because of this, Acasa’s owner is apparently out of the country.

Nonetheless, the lawyer of the unhappy client has threatened legal action against the company and responsible officers (for estafa, specifically) if the refund is not made this week.

Will the furniture firm’s client get her money back? Or will it have to be charged to expensive experience? Abangan!

— Daxim L. Lucas