Before she knew it, bed was signed, sealed, delivered
Transaction shows limits of state law aimed at giving customers a chance to change their minds about major purchases.
By Lora Pabst, Star Tribune
April 19, 2010
Several days after Joanne Manlove suffered through a two-hour visit from an insistent bed salesman, a $3,000 adjustable bed showed up at her apartment in an Eden Prairie assisted-living facility in January.
Her son tried to return it, but the bed company said it was too late because she accepted delivery and the state's three-day period for cancelling such a purchase had expired.
After Manlove's son recently complained to the state attorney general's office, Contour Adjustable Beds agreed to cancel the deal without admitting to doing anything wrong.
Elder advocates said the episode illustrates the weakness of a state law aimed at protecting people from being exploited when faced with high-pressure sales pitches in their own homes. As it stands, the three-day cancellation window could expire before a product is even delivered.
Ben Wogsland, spokesman for the state attorney general's office, said Minnesota laws provide more time to cancel other types of purchases, including life insurance and travel club memberships. And in North Dakota, state law gives senior citizens 15 days to cancel a purchase made at home.
"We would definitely be in support of extending the cooling-off period, not just to seniors, but to other consumers as well," Wogsland said.
Preying on the elderly?
Manlove, 83, was recovering from a broken ankle and other health problems in January when she got a flier advertising a chance to win a free adjustable bed. A few days after entering the contest, a salesman knocked at her door.
For two hours, the rep explained the health benefits of various motorized beds. Each time she asked the price, he put her off. Finally, he told her the bed would cost her $3,500. When she balked at the price, he offered her a $500 discount.
"I told him all along, I wasn't ready to buy a bed, that I was just doing some research and I had to talk to my son before I made any decisions," Manlove said.
When she realized the salesman was prepared to talk right through the facility's dinner hour, she tried to find a polite way to get him out the door. But she said he wouldn't leave until she signed some papers.
"He said, 'If you decide not to take it, I'll just tear them up,'" she said.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Star Tribune
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