Why is upholstery company holding her sofa hostage?

Sonia Strauss entrusts her sofa to Miller Mills Decorating in Delray Beach, Florida, for an upholstering job. Then the furniture disappears.

Q: This January, my husband and I gave our sectional sofa to Miller Mills Decorating in Delray Beach, Florida, along with the fabric to be reupholstered. A representative told us the work would take four to six weeks. It’s been more than six months.

Miller Mills Decorating doesn’t respond to our phone calls. The company required total payment in advance. I put the total on my Visa card. Last month, after six months of waiting, I disputed the charges on my card.

Now Miller Mills Deco- rating is telling me that it accepts only cash or a check before delivery. The company is going to wait for payment before delivery. In the meantime, my husband, who was suffering from brain cancer, died.

I’ve promised to pay for the sofa when the company delivers it, but so far it hasn’t. Can you help me get my money back? — Sonia Strauss, Boynton Beach, Fla.

A: I’m very sorry for your loss. Miller Mills Decorating should have upholstered your sofa within the specified time frame, or returned your furniture and your money.

So why didn’t it? You might find a clue in the company’s online reviews: yelp.com/biz/miller-millsupholstery-delray-beach-2. While it has one or two happy customers, many guests are not pleased. And that’s putting it mildly.

They complained about slow service and high prices. As one customer put it: “If I could give it less than one star I would.”

Interestingly, these reviews were online before you and your husband approached Miller Mills Decorating about your sofa. A little research might have persuaded you to find a different contractor.

That’s the real takeaway from your case: A few minutes of research might have prevented this from happening. It’s no guarantee, but at least you would have had fair warning. You followed all the right steps to a resolution. You contacted the business. You were more than patient. Then, when you say it failed to respond, you placed the $1,300 in dispute on your credit card.

A credit card dispute, or chargeback, is the last re- sort when a business doesn’t deliver a product or service. But it’s what the Fair Credit Billing Act is designed to do — to protect you from charges for services you didn’t accept or that were not delivered as agreed. I’m surprised your bank accepted your chargeback request. The law requires that you file a chargeback within 90 days of the transaction.

I contacted Miller Mills Decorating on your behalf. In the meantime, Visa made a final decision on your case, agreeing to credit you with the $1,300 you spent. Miller Mills also returned your sofa in “fine shape.” You said you’re grateful to have both your sofa and your money back. You can get real-time answers to any consumer question on Christopher Elliott’s forum, elliott.org/ forum, or by emailing him at chris@elliott.org.