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Company refuses to let me pick up furniture I paid for 1.5 months ago. Pursue police report, lawyer demand letter, or small claims court?

r/

Location: California, USA

Six weeks ago I went to an estate sale to purchase nursery furniture for my baby who is approaching due. The home is owner-unoccupied as they have moved across country and didn’t want to take the furniture with them, and planned on listing the home after the estate sale. I paid $400 for several pieces of furniture, and the company let me know the owner wanted to keep the items for an extra couple of weeks to stage the home for the listing photos. We agreed as it gave us extra time to secure a truck and family help for pickup. We gave them our phone number and we were given a handwritten receipt with the items we bought, the price, date, and their signature. The estate sale company is well known in the area and their contact information can be easily found online.

Four weeks go by and no updates from company. The home has been listed for at least a week and they have already taken photos of the room with the furniture. I call and they say they’ll look into it. No update after that. I text at week 5, they said they will contact realtor. No update after that. I text again at week 6, they read but ignore my text. I call the realtor who says the owner originally wanted furniture until the house has sold. This was not what was told to me, and this is alarming considering we have no clue when this house will sell (its been 3 weeks on the market) and the escrow process usually takes an additional 3-4 weeks. They say they will contact the owner, but it has now been 4 days without any updates.

At this point I have had my money held onto for 6 weeks with no pickup date given to me and now have proof I am being ignored. I am debating what the next step should be, should I – 1) file a police report and let them know, 2) Talk to a lawyer and have a demand letter drafted (I am okay with up to a couple hundred dollars in fees), or 3) pursue small claims court (again, I am okay with up to a couple hundred dollars in fees).

Comments

  1. yudkib Avatar
    yudkib

    NAL. You’re not getting a lawyer to do anything for the $400 you spent. Small claims court typically cannot be used for any order other than a monetary decision – meaning they can’t force them to honor the contract. You would need to file in big boy court for specific performance which will certainly extend past the term of the pregnancy. Your best option here is send a 7 day quit with a demand for a refund.

  2. ccccc7 Avatar
    ccccc7

    Schedule a showing. Don’t leave empty handed

  3. Embarrassed-Spare524 Avatar
    Embarrassed-Spare524
    1. Police: will most likely tell you this is a civil matter, but there is probably no harm in trying;
    2. The vast majority of lawyers have very little interest in writing a letter for a “couple hundred dollars in fees” – and I question how much a lawyer letter would do for you anyway. Just not worth it for furniture you paid $400 for.
    3. Small Claims (without a lawyer): Isn’t especially worth the hassle for $400. Also keep in mind that once they have moved, you might have a devil of a time collecting on a judgment you win. A California judgment allows you to go after assets located in California. If they no longer have any assets in California, you will have to take the judgment to the state where they move to and get permission from a court in that state to conduct collection activities. For furniture you paid $400 for, this would be a miserable thing to have to do.

    Bottom line, I’d continue working on them. If you think you need to, threaten a small claims action. Send them a draft complaint. Give them a deadline. I just don’t know if its worth it to actually file.