NEWARK
— The Attorney General’s Office
and Division of Consumer Affairs have
reached a settlement with Rockaway Bedding,
Inc. and Try-A-Bed, Inc. (“Rockaway”),
under which Rockaway has agreed to comply
with New Jersey consumer protection laws,
revise its advertising and delivery practices,
and follow specified procedures to resolve
current and future consumer complaints,
Attorney General Peter C. Harvey and Consumer
Affairs Director Kimberly Ricketts announced
today.
The agreement resolves a lawsuit filed
by the Attorney General in December 2003
alleging that Rockaway violated New Jersey’s
Consumer Fraud Act and Regulations in
its advertisement, sale and delivery of
mattresses, box springs and other bedding
supplies. As part of the agreement, Rockaway
will pay the State $437,500 to cover attorneys’
fees and investigative costs and to fund
future consumer protection initiatives.
"A
new mattress is a major purchase, one
that can cost over $1,000, and this settlement
will make the buying process clearer and
more understandable for the consumer,"
Acting Governor Richard J. Codey said.
"This agreement empowers consumers
and plainly states their rights to have
the selected mattress delivered at the
expected time for the agreed upon price."
Rockaway has worked cooperatively with
the State by implementing changes to its
advertising, among other things.
“New
Jersey residents are entitled to a fair
and honest deal,” said Attorney
General Harvey. “Under this settlement,
Rockaway Bedding must change how its advertises
and delivers its products, so consumers
get what they pay for and get it on time.”
Under
the agreement, Consumer Affairs will notify
the 70 existing complainants within 15
days that their complaints have been forwarded
to Rockaway and that they should expect
a response from Rockaway within 45 days.
Those customers have the right to refer
their complaints to Consumer Affairs’
Alternative Dispute Resolution Unit for
binding arbitration if Rockaway disputes
their complaints or requested relief.
Under the terms of the settlement, Consumer
Affairs will forward additional customer
complaints to Rockaway for a period of
one year. Rockaway must then respond to
the customer within 30 days of its receipt
of the complaint. Those additional customers
also will have the right to refer their
complaints to the Alternative Dispute
Resolution Unit for binding arbitration
if Rockaway disputes the complaint or
requested relief.
“The
customer will know if an item is in stock
and will be given in writing a specific
delivery date. The customer also will
be informed in writing of their rights
if the promised delivery date is missed,”
Director Ricketts said. “We don’t
want lives needlessly disrupted as customers
re-arrange their schedules to be home
and the delivery doesn’t come.”
This matter was handled by Deputy Attorney
General Geoffrey R. Gersten of the Division
of Law and Investigator Allyson Garner
of the Division of Consumer Affairs.
Also, under terms of the settlement, in
its advertisement of merchandise, Rockaway,
among other things, will:
- Specifically
designate which merchandise has special
or limiting factors relating to price,
quality, condition or availability;
-
Clearly and conspicuously disclose terms
of any financing policy and state all
limiting factors in close proximity
to the policy;
-
Clearly and conspicuously disclose any
conditions to special offers, such as
“free delivery”;
- Not
use a fictitious former price when referencing
a former price;
- Not
place within an advertisement a combination
of low price and graphic depiction of
higher priced merchandise, to obscure
the fact that the price is not for the
depicted merchandise; Not depict “coupons”
when the “coupons” cannot
be used for additional savings;
- Not
advertise merchandise (e.g. box springs)
as “free”, when in fact
the merchandise is not free.
Rockaway
has also agreed to:
- Prominently
disclose, at its retail locations in
the State, all material terms, time
periods and/or fees relating to its
refund and exchange policies;
- Clearly
provide to customers the choice of canceling
an order with a prompt and full refund
of any payment that has been made or
accepting delivery at a later date,
if the original delivery date is missed;
and
- Ensure
that their customer service agents accurately
convey to customers the material terms
of all refund and exchange policies.
###
_ag-ph_update.gif)
