WSMV4 helps customer get refund from furniture business

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A Nashville mother turned to WSMV4 after she said furniture she ordered never came. The refund she was promised is nowhere to be found.

WSMV4 found a laundry list of complaints against the retailer that may have you thinking twice before you buy.

A growing family often needs more furniture.

“Just because I have three kids, and we needed more seating in the living room,” Kathryn Rohrman said.

Rohrman thought she had found the perfect additions from a pop-up shop inside Green Hills Mall called Interior Define.

She paid nearly $3,000 in May, but when WSMV4 visited her house this month, there was no furniture to be found.

“I get a pit in my stomach,” Rohrman said. “Three thousand dollars to me is a lot of money, and I just don’t know where to turn.”

The original order showed a delivery estimate around the end of October. She was later told it would be even longer.

“They told me I was misquoted in the store, and it was going to be longer,” Rohrman said.

Unhappy with the timeline, Rohrman canceled the order and requested a refund. An Interior Define associate told her via email on Oct. 29 that her order had been canceled with a 100% refund as requested. Rohrman was promised via email that the refund would go back to Affirm, the loan company Rohrman used, in 10 to 14 business days. That never happened.

“I just feel like they are stealing from us and getting away with it,” Rohrman said.

Rohrman is not the only one unhappy with Chicago-based Interior Define.

It has an F rating on the Better Business Bureau with more than 120 reviews of people not receiving orders and furniture arriving damaged. Some describe communication from the company as “misleading and false.” Big design bloggers parted ways with the company this month due to all the complaints.

“I am sure they have tons of emails and phone calls because there are a bunch of mad people,” Rohrman said.

Two days after WSMV4 reached out to Interior Define about Rohrman’s order, she finally received her refund. A spokesperson for Interior Define told us, “We apologize for the delay in providing Ms. Rohrman a refund and are taking steps to avoid any further delays for her and our other customers. The Nashville store is a temporary pop-up that will be open through the end of the year.”

Rohrman said it is unacceptable.

“I work really hard for the money I make,” Rohrman said. “If I can’t go out and purchase something I need and actually get that product, it is hard to trust people.”

Rohrman was actually paying a third-party loan company called Affirm for the furniture. The company told her it couldn’t stop billing her until Interior Define issued a refund.

It is important to keep in mind if you’re using payment plans like Affirm, it has its own policies when it comes to getting a refund.

A spokesperson for Affirm provided WSMV4 with a statement.

“Affirm empowers consumers by offering a transparent and flexible way to pay over time with no late or hidden fees, ever. If a consumer who pays with Affirm wants to return or refund their item, doing so is subject to the merchant’s return policy. The majority of cases are resolved between the merchant and consumer directly. That said, if a merchant can’t help (or is unresponsive), consumers can reach out to Affirm and we’ll do our best to help. While we have a 60-day window for disputes, in certain cases – such as shipping delays or cancellations – we may grant refunds outside of that time frame.”

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