I went to Leons Furniture to buy a power recliner love seat. I spoke to the salesman and I stressed how important it was for me to get a non-toxic product with no scents or smells. Or else NO Deal. There could be no fire retardant foam or any treatment on the material. He assured me all would be fine, the chemical days are long gone for over a decade now. I trusted him. But when the couch arrived at my home, when I opened it I thought I was going to die. It has been treated with an oily film on the surface material. We took a paper towel and rubbed it down. The towel looked like it had wiped up some oil from the shop floor. We got it out of the house as soon as possible due to the scent. I called Leons and they told me there was nothing they could do for me. I just wanted an exchange or to special order one without toxic oil applied. They said all purchases are FINAL. I could return it only with a 50% restocking charge. Wow that is crazy! The girl on the phone said to read the back of the invoice. I asked them to pick it up ASAP. She said Jan. 8th. It was delivered December 11th. Obviously they were trying to deter me, so I gave in and said book it for pick up. Then she asked if I agreed to the 50% restocking. I said I had no choice. So she moved the pick up to Dec 20th. Yes, before buying, I should have asked for it in writing, no toxic product or the sale refunded. So my advice is to do so. Best bet to make up your own mind about where you want to shop, but now you know to read the fine print or make a written request on the invoice voiding the policy. Just remember, Leons has a 50% restocking charge, no exchanges, all purchases final. I have a car salesman licence and had to go to a mandatory course to be told about full disclosure, something I have always done, there was no need for the course. But they made it a law. Too bad that law does not apply to all sales people including Leons Furniture sales people. Just keep on your toes, look out for companies just chasing the buck with no concern for your health.

When I mentioned that I would be informing all my friends and contacts that they could not purchase scent free furniture from Leons. it did not matter one bit. Leons said the only thing they could do was send out an inspector to verify the problem. Their inspector DID come out and DID verify it. So they offered to do an exchange for a different couch and we agreed to give it a try. We chose a floor model so we were able to determine that it did not have the scented oily film on it. We sniffed every square inch to determine there was no chemical smell from the showroom or customers sitting on it and transferring their scents. Amazingly, and unfortunately, Leons did not wrap or protect the furniture when they delivered it. The floor model sofa came without any plastic wrap or packaging. We were confused when it arrived and one corner of it smelled strongly scented with cologne and scented laundry products. But then we realized, one of the deliverymen was covered in toxic chemicals and the other was not. The part of the couch that was scented was carried by the toxic one, who transferred the smells when the couch pressed against his body. So back to Leons went the second couch. Even Leons was surprised, their first comment was “Wasn’t it wrapped in plastic for delivery?” They charged me a 35% restocking charge, this was Leons, in their opinion, giving me a deal!??! What a rip-off.

For comparison purposes, other furniture stores I have since been dealing with have a very different attitude towards customer service. Stores like Sofa Land, Finesse and Mobler. First, they have a 48 hour exchange policy, no questions asked. This makes sense because what if something that seemed great in the store does not work in your home? What if something that you expected to be scent free was covered in toxic chemicals?

Success was achieved at Sofa Land. Dealing with the managers, Jeremy and Kendra, was a nice experience. We found a product IMG, a Norway company, that we are happy with, well-built and scent free, the IMG Motion Chair and Ottoman.

Why do some people force the rest of us to breathe their chosen chemical fumes? This is just like second hand smoke, worse, considering the side effects of exposure to these toxic chemicals.

Chemical fragrance people invade our air space, forcing us to breathe their territorial mark, just like a tom cat spraying his territory with urine.