Man Wants Rug Yanked From Under Him

RALEIGH, N.C. — One rug in the living room and another just like it in the garage.

“It's a nice rug, but we don't need two” Charles Cromer said.

Last July, Cromer bought the rug from Macy's for $357 and brought it home. He also ordered a smaller rug that was delivered soon after. But he got another delivery a few days later -- a duplicate of the larger rug he already had.

Cromer has been trying to get Macy's to pick it up ever since.

“I don't know why it's so complicated. You send a store truck out, you pick up the item and take it back,” he said.

To Cromer, the really irritating part is Macy's charged the unwanted rug to his credit card.

He repeatedly called the store and sent letters. On one he even printed the last sentence in red saying he wanted the rug out.

“It's not a huge amount of money. It's just aggravating as the dickens,” he said.

Macy's managers repeatedly promised to take care of it, usually on a Tuesday, Cromer said.

“I don't know what's magical about Tuesday, but every time we call, it's going to be a Tuesday,” he said.

“I was going to call them and tell them I was going to call (5 On Your Side)," he said. "But I'm sure he would have said, 'No, please don't do that. We'll straighten it out and call you on Tuesday.'"

When 5 On Your Side first called Macy's in Raleigh, no action was taken. But a call to the department store's corporate offices produced results.

Customer relations manager Debbie Worthen apologized, saying she was "truly amazed" that Cromer had waited five months for a rug to be picked up. Part of the confusion could have been the result of the merger between Hecht’s and Macy’s, which was underway when Cromer bought the rugs, she said.

Worthen credited his account and recently sent a truck -- it arrived on a Saturday -- so a crew could take the unwanted rug away. She also said she would send Cromer a Macy’s gift card.