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This is where you will let the world know your experience with a business, U.S. government department, politician, or organization.  Do not post any derogatory or negative opinions as this can be viewed as defamation of character or slander.  Instead, state the facts as they happened and let our readers decide for themselves.  We will review each post and with great sorrow, have to either censor out direct defamation or slander or reword what you said to make it “legally correct.”

We also have a forum in place for you to share your experience(s) with others, help others resolve any issues they have, and get help from other members.

The video section are videos you can find on YouTube, but they are consumer-relevent all in one place. Enjoy this section as well.

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What a nightmare, but not all bad.  Here’s the story.  We needed a new mattress.  Since I have a bad back and my husband needs surgery on his back, (and neck, etc.), we tried out the Tempur-Pedic mattresses at our local store.  We liked the mattress, but felt it was too expensive.  Then online we found a place selling Bragada mattresses.  Although they only really sell online, their office happened to be within 1 hour from our home and they did have mattresses there to check out.  So we went. 

The salesgirl was very nice to us.  We found a memory foam mattress we liked and she told us the price, (which was the same as on the web).  She asked if we needed a boxspring and we said yes.  She asked if we needed a frame and we said no.

She said it will be delivered and set up for us at our house.  So a week later the mattress and boxspring was dumped at our door by Federal Express with a rip in the box and torn fabric on the box spring.  We also couldn’t imagine how a boxspring fit into a 2″ or less box and was 1/2 the size of a regular queen-sized boxspring.  We called
Bragada.  They asked us to send them pictures of the damage.  We did this.

They then gave us credit for the boxspring in the amount of $150.00 as it was not effecting the boxspring itself.  We said okay. 

Then with our bad backs we took the boxspring out of the box.  It was folded in two.  Then it miraculously unfolded into a queen-sized boxspring 6″ thick.  Okay, what do we know about boxsprings? 

So we put it on our existing frame, put on a bedskirt, unrolled the actual mattress (comes rolled up), and put it on top of the boxspring.  Then came all the new sheets and bedding I bought.  It looked beautiful. 

Then I sat down.  Plop - right to the floor I went. 

That’s when we noticed we need a frame with a center bar to stop the boxspring from unfolding.  The people at Bragada didn’t tell us that.  So off to a mattress store we went to get a new frame. 

We put up the new frame and again did our thing with the boxspring and mattress.  I slept on it for one night and all was good.  The second night my husband joined me.  As we were laying there, and not doing anything else, plop.  Down went our heads, up went our legs.  The boxspring collapsed again.  The head part went flat and the leg part went up.

So I contacted Bragada who again asked me for pictures.  I sent them pictures of the mattress half up and half down, and the half-collapsed boxspring, and then after they asked, pictures of our brand new frame.  They called and refunded what they say was the balance of the total cost of the boxspring.  I have to find my notes to see if this is true as they change their prices continually on their website.

They did not offer to get us another boxspring or to send us a different one.

Now, through my research at TempurPedic, calling mattress stores, etc., it seems the boxspring should be a wooden platform frame with no springs.  Bragada’s boxspring has springs in it.

So these are my concerns:

1.  Why didn’t they tell us we needed a specific type of frame with our bed?

2.  Why didn’t they tell us the mattress they were selling us was old stock and a few days later they would have newer-type mattresses with different construction?

3.  When I called their sales person about the newer mattresses–she never bothered to call back?  (The customer service representative does call back and did keep in touch with me).

4.  Why did they sell me a boxspring that was not adequate for their mattresses?

All I can say is that they put our safety in jeopardy by not telling us what we needed in the way of a frame and not selling us the appropriate boxspring.  My husband with an already broken back and neck does not need this happening to us.  We didn’t even get an apology from them. 

The mattress itself was not their most expensive.  In fact it was the 3rd in line from their cheapest one.  This is what my husband wanted.  The couple of times I got to sleep on it though was good. 

So hopefully with a new boxspring, which we ordered from another company, we’ll be able to finally get a good, and safe night’s sleep. 

If you want to order from Bragada, by all means do.  However, do so with caution as their selling practices leave a lot to be desired. 

This organization goes all over the U.S. rescuing animals from kill shelters.  These animals, since they have a death sentence, are not cared for properly.  They are not given needed medications and diseases abound in these places.  So when North Shore Animal League rescues them they are already sick and dying. 

North Shore then gives the animals their first shots and spays or neuters them.  Then they are put up for adoption to people who will continue to care for them and give them love. 

The problem is, these animals are already festering illnesses within them and it’s too late to prevent the sickness.  So after the cute little puppies are adopted, within days they show signs of sickness like Parvo, Gastro Intestinal Diseases, Conjunctivitis, Respiratory Infections, etc.  Then the new owner has to deal with either spending thousands of dollars at the veterinary hospital getting them better, giving the new pet, whom they’ve already bonded with, back to North Shore Animal League, or letting North Shore take them into their own hospital. 

The problem is that  North Shore puts the animals on buses and goes far and wide to pet stores to get them adopted.  So the people who adopt them live far from North Shore’s veterinary hospital.  Then they either don’t charge you or they do.  I haven’t figured that one out yet.  It depends on the doctor you get.

In addition, it is impossible to reach them.  They put you on hold for a long time and then ask you to leave your name and number for someone to call you back.  You never get a call back.  You email them complaining of never getting through and they do not email you back. 

So if your beloved pet is in their hospital you do not know what’s going on.  Then when you finally do get word of what’s going on (after a million calls), you are given the wrong information.   Is’s a harrowing experience to say the least.

I have since found so many people who have obtained sick animals from this organization.  Many cannot make the trip to Port Washingon and end up spending thousands of dollars.  My local vet told me they also get many animals from people from North Shore that are sick.  It is obvious that these animals are not given the proper examinations before they are allowed to be adopted.  They are hoping you are too far away to bring them back. 

Our cat and dog died recently.  The cat because of poisoned food found in a can of Friskies, (I have evidence of this), and the dog from old age.  The cat was old also, but would have lived a little longer if it weren’t for the bad food.

So my husband and I went to the Putnam Humane Society in Carmel, New York to adopt another dog and possibly a cat. 

We found the place to be very clean.  It was crowded with dogs and cats needing good homes.  The staff was very nice and took care of the animals well.  One cat needed special medicine and I watched how caring, lovingly and carefully the head of the place treated the cat and gave him (or her) the medicine.

However, I cannot say the same for how the head of the place treats people.   

My husband and I fell in love with a dog named Nigel and my husband fell in love with a cat named Oregon.  Nigel went nuts over me.  He jumped up and tried to kiss my nose.  We took him for a walk and he was so good and behaved so nice we fell in love with him.  We knew he was meant to be with us as his new parents. 

We submitted an application for Nigel and was told we’ll hear something in a few days.  After not hearing from them I emailed them.  I got no response.  So I called.  I got no return call.  I contacted the references I gave them and they said they didn’t hear from them either.

Now two weeks later we get a flier in the mail from them asking for a donation.  No word on Nigel. 

To my husband and I this was rude, uncaring and inexcusable.  We feel these people are crying wolf to find good homes for these animals and get donations, but then not wanting to give them up.

We live in our own home with a front yard, back yard and big patio.  Our pets are never let loose on the street.  They are well cared for and not abused in any way, shape or form.  They are welcome on our bed at night and when they got old and sick, we stayed up with them night and day.  Our dog we took to two different vets.  One vet told us there was no hope and the dog will die soon. 

There are also three people living in our house who do not have to leave to go to work.  So someone is home at all times.

We happen to have living in our house someone who went through medical school and worked 5 years in a surgery room in a hospital.  He told us the cat had food poisoning and the vet would not be able to do anything about it. 

We do not know what is in the head of the head of the Putnam Humane Society.  We can only guess she is more in love with animals than she is with people, (my father was like that), and in her desire to do what’s best for the animals she has lost sight of what a good home is. 

In the past we have taken in strays, were given a dog by the veterinarian who’s owner died, and a friend who couldn’t take care of the dog his mother got a month previous because of her untimely death.  We’ve also had a dog walk in our house, (of which the owner was found), and a kitten whose owner moved and left all his 16 cats and kittens to fend for themselves. 

We feel the Putnam Humane Society is not only denying us a pet, but also has stolen Nigel from us by not allowing us to have him.

If you want to donate money, food, blankets, etc., to the Putnam Humane Society or yell at them for being bad to humans, write to them at:  Putnam Humane Society, P.O. Box 803, Carmel, NY 10512.  Web site:  http://www.puthumane.org. 

I have had two problems with Sears.  One was with their parts ordering call-in number and one was with their online ordering process. 

I needed a part for my washing machine.  I called Sears’ Parts Department and told them what I needed.  They said okay and charged my account.  Then they contacted me and said the part was not in stock.  I had put a rush on it and had paid extra to have them overnight express the part to me.  So when they said the part was backordered I asked them to cancel my order as I could get it somewhere else.  Well, they cancelled my order but still charged me for shipping.  When I called them up they said they don’t refund shipping charges.  They never shipped anything to me.  They said in the interest of good customer relations, they would refund the shipping charges as well.  What good customer relations?  They shouldn’t have charged it to begin with.  In addition, they shouldn’t be charging my account until they actually ship out the merchandise.

My second problem with them was when I ordered something from their web site.  They indicated it was in stock at the store near my home.  After I ordered it they emailed me and advised it was not in stock and if I wanted it I had to go through the whole order process again and order it from another one of their stores.  Since this was not acceptable to me, I didn’t reorder it.  A week later I could not imagine why the balance on my checking account did not match my records.  A call to my bank revealed Sears had charged me for my order–a week after they said they didn’t have it in stock and I should reorder it.  They said Sears would wait several days before they took it off my account.  This was not acceptable to me.  Since they didn’t have what I ordered, I spent the money elsewhere.  Now my account was in danger of being overdrawn.