Woman says rented couch had bed bugs

BECKLEY — A Raleigh County woman filed a complaint against a rental company for a January incident involving a couch that allegedly came with bed bugs.

Kesha R. Holliday of Beckley petitioned the court to enact proceedings against David Knight, doing business as Rent-a-Center, and Dwight Bailey of Terminix on March 26 in Raleigh Circuit Court, claiming monetary losses and inconvenience.

According to the filing, on Jan. 27, 2015, Holliday was bitten on her legs, arms and hands by bed bugs found in her recently purchased couch. She sought medical treatment and notified the defendant. After waiting for 24 hours for a response, the plaintiff contacted two pest control companies for estimates: Dodson’s and Terminix.

The home was treated on Jan. 30 by Dodson’s. According to the complaint Holliday then communicated with Rent-a-Center to inform them of the treatment and asked the defendant to remove the couch from her home. She also moved all other household items to her front lawn.

The plaintiff then contacted the Terminix corporate office in Texas on Feb. 5. She alleges her claim was denied on Feb. 10. According to the filing, Holliday then contacted “customer solutions.” She was advised that supervisor David Knight would handle the case with a different representative, i.e. Sedgwick Corp., which also denied the claim, according to the lawsuit.

Alleging breach of contract and distress, the complainant seeks a refund for the sofa along with compensation for loss of household items, pain and suffering.

Raleigh Circuit Court case no. 15-C-231-H