Like everyone these days, I buy quite a few products. Since I've recently bought a home that needs rehabbed and moved, I'll probably being buying more stuff than normal. (OK, that's probably an understatement. :) I'm so sick of sellers who misrepresent or just plain lie about their products, especially commercial sellers who do it. Every time they do and I buy, they waste my time in more ways than I can enumerate and, often, waste my money. Some days I swear I could make a living just by suing every entity that screws me over personally; that's without ever going back into practice as an attorney!
I'm going to put up an enormous comfortable bed after the rehab but, of course, don't want to have to move it around during the rehab so opted for a cot. Picked one up at the local Academy and it's a nice little functional cot. It's the traditional type used to discourage friends and family from overstaying their welcome - short and narrow :) But that gave me time to take care of some other things and find one more suitable on-line. I found one that was longer and wider, at least so said the Wal-Mart website. And the width was the critical deciding factor for purchase as I learned years ago to use a nightstand to extend the length of cots. The standard is 24-26" but more are now 30" wide and I would have paid more for that specific width (although I sure would have liked to find one reasonably priced and a few inches wider even). Nonetheless, if you've ever slept on a cot, you know that additional 15% in width makes a HUGE difference. Could have had it shipped to the store for free (but it takes longer, HUH?) but opted for the convenience of home delivery. It arrived, opened the box, the dimensions are stated on the label in HUGE print; says it's 26" wide. If I could get an answer from Wal-Mart, I'm sure they'd say it was a typo, the product has changed, yada, yada. As someone said a long time ago: I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any longer!
You can see the product here. And here's what I posted on their website (although I suspect it will never appear there):
"Fraud Alert
"Described as 30" wide and I was specifically looking for a cot wider than the 24-26" standard. This cot is 25 3/4" wide!!! I'm sick to death of sellers who misrepresent their products. Don't care why it's wrong on the website; tired of excuses. NO, Wal-Mart, offering to let me bring it back is NOT an adequate solution. You've wasted the time I spent in my initial research and my money for this product which is NOT as described and a return would SUCK up more of my time.
"Time for American courts to start awarding damages for time losses due to these types of misrepresentations by commercial sellers. Wal-Mart, STOP WASTING MY FREAKING TIME."
A little shout out to eBay sellers. Maybe I've been lucky but the vast majority of purchases I've made on eBay have been very much in compliance with their descriptions, whether new or used or surplus. Interesting that they are so much more honest than corporate sellers!
So, I've set up a separate category for these rants and I have a feeling I'm going to start filing product lawsuits left and right in the near future; likely ones for crappy professional services too. What the heck, I've already sued a couple of lawyers successfully. Seriously, malpractice when you know your client graduated from an elite law school and has practiced law? Sadly, corporate sellers and professionals these days aren't going to change their behavior until it affects their bottom line.