ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — An East Point woman says a Rockdale County ministry took her money and never delivered what it promised.
She told Channel 2's Matt Belanger she paid a $50 administrative fee to receive a bed. The bed is supposed to come from the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta.
Ciara Vergara told Belanger her family needed a bed for her 4-year-old daughter.
She said she found "free beds" being offered by 1 John 3:18 Ministries through a Craigslist post.
Belanger went to the ministry's address in Conyers and found an unmarked, locked door.
Vergara says she met a man there Tuesday who identified himself as Pastor English.
"'By the way, there's a $150 fee.' That's what he said, and I was, like, 'Well, there's no way I can do that right now,'"Vergara said.
Vergara told Belanger the man later agreed to accept $50.
She showed Belanger her receipt with the payment recorded and English's signature.
Now that she's paid, Vergara says she can't ge a straight answer about when she'll get the bed.
"I called, called, called, left messages, no answer," Vergara said.
A man, who identified himself as Pastor English, disputed Vergara's story during a phone call before hanging up on Belanger. He also would not agree to meet for an interview.
"The idea of any of our clients being mistreated make me nervous," Megan Anderson with Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta said.
Anderson runs the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta. She says her agency works with 1 John 3:18 Ministries to give furniture to people in need.
"The rule is agencies are only supposed to charge clients what our fees are," Anderson said.
Anderson said the ministry should only have charged Vergara $20 for a bed.
"I'm going to call the other clients he has referred to us to make sure they haven't overpaid," Anderson said.
The Furniture Bank of America is working with Vergara to get her a bed.
WSBTV
