Senator Prods FTC to Investigate Craftmatic Complaints

Elderly consumers complain of pushy door-to-door salesmen

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

July 11, 2008

Craftmatic • Craftmatic Denies Wrongdoing, Defends Sales Tactics • Senator Prods FTC to Investigate Craftmatic Complaints • Craftmatic Settles Florida Charges • Craftmatic Settles WV Fraud Charges • Ohio Settles With Craftmatic Beds --- • Consumer Complaints

Less than a year after the Federal Trade Commission settled with Craftmatic for breaking telemarketing rules, the agency may now be investigating the adjustable bed manufacturer for its door-to-door sales tactics.

ConsumerAffairs.com has received 134 complaints dating back to 2000 about Craftmatic beds – many regarding what consumers say are pushy sales tactics that prey on the elderly.

“We called the company in response to a promotion for a chance to win a free bed,” wrote Josie of Pueblo, Colo. “Next thing we knew we had a man in our house selling us a bed we could not afford, sight unseen. We feel we were pressured into signing the contract.

“The salesman said it was the answer to all our health problems and gave the bed all these wonderful reasons of how it would help my husband's heart problems and his recent neck surgery and my leg edema, and help with our sleep apnea,” Josie continued. “The stress of how we are going to pay for this monster has only made our problems worse.

"He also told us if we tried to cancel our order he would get fired. At the time I felt bad for him, so we didn't. Afterwards I realized he was just trying to make a sale.”

A March 2008 Inside Edition hidden camera investigation highlighted the high-pressure sales tactics Josie and others have complained about for years.

That Inside Edition investigation spurred Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) to ask the FTC to investigate the sales practices of Craftmatic, which has also recently been doing business under the name of Contour.

“Most alarming is the company's training and business practices that target the elderly population and employ high pressure sales tactics,” McCaskill wrote in a March 10, 2008 letter to then-chairwoman of the FTC, Deborah Majoras. “In this instance, Craftmatic personnel made claims that their product would cure health conditions, such as acid reflux and back problems, and pressured vulnerable customers to enter into contracts and avoid consultation with family members or physicians.”

The current chairman of the agency, William Kovacic, responded April 21.

“Like you, I was concerned to learn about the alleged high pressure tactics used by Craftmatic salesmen,” Kovacic wrote. “I assure you that we will follow up on these serious allegations.”

FTC spokesman Mitch Katz could share no further details.

The FTC settled for $4.4 million with Craftmatic in November 2007 after the company lured consumers into signing up for a sweepstakes and then, without their permission, called those consumers who filled in the sweepstakes form, violating the National Do Not Call Registry rules. The settlement is the second-largest ever for Do Not Call violations.

Craftmatic has also been at the center of many state attorney general lawsuits.

Consumers who fall victim to Craftmatic's tactics should file complaints with the FTC and their local attorney general.

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