NYC furniture retailer to repay shoppers in $350K settlement and you may be eligible

A Brooklyn-based furniture retailer has agreed to pay up to $350,000 to settle claims it cheated customers out of refunds – and you may be eligible for a payment.New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday announced the settlement with Payless Furniture – operating as 1StopBedrooms – after her office received hundreds of complaints for excessive delivery delays and cancellation fees, as well as deliveries of damaged furniture.Along with restitution for customers, 1StopBedrooms has been ordered to pay $75,000 in penalties and $2,000 to the state, and it must change its harmful business and advertising practices.“No New Yorker should have to pay hundreds of dollars for furniture only to receive it late or damaged,” James said in a statement. “We are requiring 1StopBedrooms to refund customers who were forced to pay unlawful cancellation fees or could not cancel their order after it was delayed for months.”James’ office launched an investigation into the online furniture store – which is headquartered in Midwood, Brooklyn – after receiving 270 complaints from furious customers.The probe revealed 1StopBedrooms frequently advertised furniture as “in stock” and showed shipping dates of less than 30 days when the actual delivery times were much longer, and its website did not include legally-required notices informing customers of their right to a refund.The company also failed to help customers with damaged, missing or incorrect deliveries.Instead of refunding canceled orders, the furniture retailer charged a 15% “restocking” fee and a return shipping charge of $2.25 per pound.It even told customers requesting refunds that they needed to withdraw their complaints with the Better Business Bureau or delete negative business reviews online before they would be issued a payment.The settlement requires 1StopBedrooms to pay more than $78,000 in restitution to 57 consumers who filed complaints, as well as $206,000 to roughly 200 other consumer...