If you’re thinking of suing Wayfair, you may not be able to go to court – you may have to go to arbitration instead. Wayfair has an arbitration agreement in their contract, at least as of the most recent version from January 2020. That contract requires customers to either go to small claims court, or take their claims to arbitration before the American Arbitration Association.

An arbitration is like a mini-lawsuit, and our firm has extensive experience representing consumers before the American Arbitration Association. If you have a legal claim against Wayfair, Click Here to Submit Your Claim. We may be able to help. We don’t charge for consultations and don’t charge to do an initial case evaluation.

In 2019, a consumer tried to sue Wayfair in court in a class action lawsuit, claiming that “customers have received bedbug infested products” and that she had received a “headboard contaminated with bedbugs” from Wayfair. Nicholas v. Wayfair Inc., 410 F. Supp. 3d 448 (E.D.N.Y. 2019). The court upheld Wayfair’s arbitration agreement and forced the consumer’s lawsuit into arbitration.

A second consumer tried to sue Wayfair claiming the same thing, arguing “that he is one of many customers who have received products from Wayfair that were infested with bedbugs” and trying to enforce his rights in court. Gorny v. Wayfair Inc., No. 18 C 8259, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95619 (N.D. Ill. June 7, 2019). Again, he got sent by the Court to arbitration. 

If you’re going to arbitration against Wayfair, having a lawyer helps you win.

A recent study in the California Law Review found that consumers who try to represent themselves in arbitrations only won six percent of the time in consumer cases before one of the biggest arbitration associations. The study concluded that “self-represented plaintiffs file few claims and rarely prevail on the merits or obtain relief in the form of a settlement.” But repeat player law firms—lawyers that have filed multiple arbitrations before—have a huge advantage and tend to win more cases. Our firm is a “repeat player” before the American Arbitration Association, with numerous consumer clients in arbitration at any given time.

It’s not surprising to us that people lose in arbitration without a lawyer. It’s not a simple process. The rules alone are fifty pages long. It works just like a smaller version of a lawsuit, but it’s just as complicated to win one.

What kind of legal claims can I arbitrate against Wayfair?

The two consumers above both alleged that Wayfair had sent them products infested with bed bugs. On their BBB page, Wayfair has thousands of complaints. A few examples of things people might have a legal claim for are:

Missing or Damaged Parts, Broken Items

If you’re missing parts, or the parts to something Wayfair shipped you are damaged or broken, then you aren’t getting what you paid for. If you’ve tried to get Wayfair to fix things or get replacement parts for furniture you ordered, but can’t get them to resolve things, then you might have a claim. 

Misleading Descriptions or False Advertising

If you bought furniture from Wayfair and it didn’t match what you were told it would be, you might have a claim. For example, if you bought something that was supposed to be 14 inches, but it turned out to be 9, that’s not what you agreed to. Or if the descriptions in the advertising were deceptive, you might have a claim, too.

Refusal to Honor Wayfair Protection Plan Warranty

Wayfair sells protection plans to customers through three providers—Allstate, Warrantech, and Uniters. Each of the plans is different. For example, some cover stains, while some don’t. Your plan might cover replacement parts, accidental damage to the furniture from burns or spills, electrical issues, or other kinds of damage. 

You also might have a warranty and not even know it based on what ads you saw and what you were told in the buying process. And there are warranties that are “implied” even when they aren’t expressly talked about.

If you’ve been trying to get Wayfair to honor a warranty and can’t, we can talk to you about your options, with no cost for consultation. Save any proof you have that you contacted them – any e-mails, proof of any phone calls in your phone records, letters, or anything else that shows that you gave them a chance to repair it. We can look see what rights you have and whether you can take legal action in an arbitration.

False Reports to Credit Agencies

Sometimes companies report things to credit agencies that aren’t true. Because Wayfair has financing options and even their own credit card, that might be an issue. If you’ve seen something on your credit report that’s false, or if your credit has been damaged, you might have a claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

We can represent consumers in arbitrations against Wayfair.

If you’ve been having issues with Wayfair and can’t get them resolved on your own, you may or may not have a legal claim, but we don’t charge for case evaluations. Click Here to Submit Your Claim. We handle lawsuits and arbitrations by consumers against furniture manufacturers and retailers, and we can help you determine if you have a valid claim.