Caveat Emptor: Family Finds Out Their Craigslist Couch Comes With More Than Cushions

A family thought they got a great deal on a couch they found on Craigslist, but instead found out the couch came with way more than they bargained for when they brought it into their West Columbia, South Carolina, home.

Katie Johns and her husband were on the lookout for a sectional sofa they could afford, according to WISTV. Johns’ husband turned to Craigslist and found something interesting and called his wife right away.

“My husband was browsing on Craigslist, and he found a sectional sofa for a really good deal. It was like $250, and he called me and said, ‘How about we get a new sofa?'”

They met the seller, who simply went by the name “Rich,” at a storage unit and paid him for the couch. They drove back to their home happily with the couch, and the rest of the story should have been history.

However, a week later, everyone started getting itchy and developing red blotches on their skin.

A visit to the doctor told the family they had an infestation of bed bugs.

Katie Johns was disgusted and in shock. She had to see the nasty bugs for herself.

“Turned on the flashlight and got right down beside my bed and saw one bug. I’m looking some more, and I see another one. I bagged five bugs. When the exterminators came and they actually pulled the couch apart, it was immediately clear that the couch — in fact, that one section of the couch, was infested.”

The $250 couch quickly became a $3,000 extermination project.

According to Fox 8 News, Johns doesn’t want a new couch or even money for damages. She simply wants people to be aware of the dangers of buying items off of strangers on Craigslist, especially the one called “Rich” who offers furniture out of a Columbia storage unit.

“In fact, my husband said as he was picking up the couch, there was a couple coming in to pick up a bedroom suite,” Johns declared. “The fact that he’s possibly continuing to do this infuriates me.”

WISTV called Rich and he told the news crew he had “no idea” about any bed bugs. He said he does not sell furniture as a business but he does sell some “here and there.”

The call was then either disconnected or Rich hung up, and then he was unable to be reached for further discussion about the Craigslist couch.

[Image via WISTV]