BOSTON -- A Randolph, Mass., family has filed a lawsuit against Bob's Discount Furniture Store, claiming that the retailer caused a bedbug infestation in their home.

Yvette Downey, 39, said she bought a bedroom set from the Stoughton store in 2004 for her 13-year-old daughter Ashley for Christmas.

Downey said the family members were all suffering from itchy skin, but they thought the problem might have been caused by the detergent they were using until they realized the white maple sleigh bed was infested with bedbugs. They said the problem came to a head when a cousin who was sleeping over was bitten by the bugs.

An exterminator found bedbugs and their eggs all over the house. Downey's lawsuit said she had lived in her apartment for two years without any problems before buying the bed.

The Downeys have filed a $500,000 federal lawsuit. They told the Boston Herald that bedbugs have taken over their home, forcing them to throw out just about everything.

Bob's said it has refunded the family for the furniture and paid for the home to be decontaminated, but the company owner said that does not mean Bob's has accepted responsibility for the problem.