Harveys - ridiculous delivery times, no customer service!
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I guess this is self explanatory. Anyone else had any problems?
Here's the letter I wrote. Ironically I tried to send it to the sales manager at the branch, but when I phoned them I was told, again, that he's in a meeting. He didn't call me back.
"Reference: Order number 754*****
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Reference: Excessively long delivery times, lack of communication, lack of responsibility, poor service
For the benefit of anyone I choose to distribute this letter to, I would like to point out at the outset that we ordered this furniture when we announced my partner is pregnant. She now has 8 weeks to go and we do not have the furniture.
I refer, as indicated above, to order number 754***** placed on 27th December 2009 at your Romford (Gallows Corner) Store with salesperson *******. The order was for £3***.00 and we paid the full amount in full immediately.
The order was:
· 1 Toulouse Extended Dining Table
· 3 Pair of Toulouse Ladder Back Chairs
· 1 New Toulouse Storage Coffee Table
· 1 Toulouse Nest of Tables
· 1 Toulouse Large Sideboard
· 2 Toulouse 3 Drawer Bedside Cabinets
· 1 Toulouse 2 Door 1 Drawer Wardrobe
· 1 Toulouse Bedroom 3+2 Chest
· 1 Toulouse Bedroom 6 Drawer Chest
The first thing I have to say is that on this day, 4th May 2010, the order has not yet been fulfilled.
Delivery times:
******* stated to us on 26th December that delivery would be “within 4-6 weeks”. However, when we returned on 27th and had paid, he changed this to “6-8 weeks”. I challenged him on this and he said that Christmas had left a big build up, though he could not explain to me why this would have happened. What he was saying made no logical sense and I actually left the store, angry, as it was clear he was not telling the truth. We were told we would be contacted “within 4 weeks” to arrange delivery.
Lack of communication:
Nobody contacted us as promised, and hence we phoned Harveys on 1st February 2010. We were told that our entire order was in the warehouse and we would be contacted imminently with view to arranging delivery.
On 5th February 2010 we phoned again. No-one could tell us anything. We continued to try to contact someone, to no avail.
First delivery:
I made a complaint on 3rd March 2010 and on the same date I managed to contact a sales manager at Gallows Corner, named ***, who told me he would get onto it. Your Gallows Corner number is well hidden, incidentally.
It turns out that a number of our items weren’t available at all. After many phone calls and complaints, to several people, we were told we had to contact a sales manager to authorise a part-delivery, and that is the circumstances upon which, as above, I first contacted ***, over a significant period of time, we managed to take delivery of the bedside tables, the dining table, the dining chairs, the two chest of drawers and the sideboard. This was after 3 months, or 13 weeks, from the order (and full payment). *** said “when this is over, pop into the store and we’ll arrange some compensation”, with no hint of irony in his voice.
The wardrobe was also delivered but we sent it back, as it was damaged. We were assured that we would receive a phone call the very same day, to arrange delivery of a new wardrobe, and the nest of tables, and the coffee table
Phone call later that day:
We were promised one. This didn’t happen.
I contacted *** on the Friday (two days after I was supposed to receive a phone call), and was told the wardrobe had been delivered. It took some time for us to establish that it hadn’t.
Lack of communication (again) and us having to do the organising:
We didn’t hear anything for some time. In fact, as has become routine, we have never heard from Harveys unless we have contacted you first. On Thursday 18th March, we phoned you again. We were told that the Nest of Tables and Coffee Table were available, but we (typically) would have to contact a sales manager to arrange a part-delivery. So we did, and it was arranged, but now we were told it could “only be on a Wednesday” and that you don’t deliver on any other day.
I contacted *** as I cannot take a Wednesday off work, and nor could my partner. He said that he would organise for you (Gallows Corner branch) to take delivery by email. He also told me that he wasn’t allowed to phone the delivery company, so I would have to chase them up. I did this, for 3 days, and they didn’t answer. I’m sorry that I find this beyond belief.
Unsurprisingly, at this point, my partner was in tears and said she “didn’t want to deal with them”, and that is a direct quote. I thought buying furniture was supposed to be a pleasant experience. I asked *** to ensure all phone calls from Harveys went to me. Since *** had offered to take control of my order, I presumed this meant that Harveys would only phone me.
Insufficient flexibility, lack of communication (again):
On Tuesday 30th March 2010, my partner (despite the requests) received a phone call from your warehouse/ delivery people phoned and said they could deliver on Wednesday 31st March 2010. Just in case you missed this, this means the next day. We said there was no way we could possibly do this, and the warehouse said to my partner:
“we’re not supposed to tell you this, but Harvey’s have told us we have to clear all the current orders out of the warehouse this week, and if we don’t, it may be months before you get your furniture”.
We did not get offered the opportunity to have it delivered to Gallows Corner, as arranged, and as you can see, they took the opportunity to put pressure on my partner. I still do not understand why it would be several months, but she accepted.
The reason was that the terms and conditions on the sale say we will be charged £25 per week if we don’t take delivery “within 7 days” of the delivery date, but when your delivery company contacted us, they offered us “the next day” and we were told that we were only allowed every other Wednesday, meaning if we didn’t accept the date you gave us (the next day) we would, according to your terms and conditions, we charged.
Poor service (second delivery):
My partner had taken a day off work, but in the end was able to get her retired, elderly parents to travel to our house to take the delivery. We were told we’d get an hour’s notice. We then got a phone call saying “be there in half an hour” – which was very stressful for them. Then, the delivery arrived over 90 minutes later.
The nest of tables, and coffee table were delivered. We were left with them wrapped and bound. The terms and conditions say they should be left unwrapped and packaging removed.
Ironically, the sales manager at Gallows Corner, ***, stopped returning my calls. He was, on four occasions, “on another call” that day, and despite promises, I never received a return call. In fact, over the next few weeks, I could not get in touch with *** on numerous occasions.
No wardrobe
I did contact *** next approximately a week later, as our wardrobe has not arrived when I spoke to him as he was unlucky enough to have answered the phone to me. He told me that he had asked a colleague to “sort me out”, and was surprised and shocked that they hadn’t. I am sure you don’t need me to tell you that I was tired of being told it was someone else’s fault. *** also repeated that I should “pop into the store and we’ll sort out some compensation”. This is as patronising an attitude as I’ve ever had – the same line he used two months previously!
Unsurprisingly, when *** found out what had happened, it was someone else’s fault. Apparently a new wardrobe hadn’t been ordered when the other one was damaged. However we would be contacted on 28th April 2010 when the wardrobe would arrive in the warehouse.
Poor communication
I don’t think I need to tell you that we were not contacted on 28th April 2010.
Your website suggests we can cancel the full order if it is 5 weeks later than on the delivery note. It is now the 19th week of waiting, and we were quoted, I’ll remind you “4-6 weeks” and on the delivery note “6-8 weeks”.
I do not want to cancel the order. I want my wardrobe.
I am presuming you will refuse to deliver on any day except a Wednesday again. This is something you do not state at the point of sale.
I would like a written response to this letter, detailing
· when our wardrobe will arrive
· what compensation we can expect
· why I was lied to at the point of sale (delivery date changed overnight)
· why we have not been contacted once without first contacting you
· why the blame is always someone else’s
· a very significant apology for the stress caused to a pregnant woman.
Do not telephone me with a response. You can telephone me to arrange delivery of the wardrobe, and I expect such a telephone call the day you receive this letter.
Incidentally, if the wardrobe is not delivered soon, we will not be in a position to accept delivery as our unborn child will need to undergo surgery and we will both be in the hospital for a large proportion of the coming months.
For the benefit of anyone else reading this letter, in the time that we have been waiting for you to deliver some furniture, we have replaced a bathroom and a kitchen, replaced a boiler, laid flooring in two rooms, plastered and painted four rooms and had a sofa, bed, white goods (dishwasher, freezer, fridge, washing machine, tumble dryer), oven and garden furniture delivered by 6 different trades people or companies. I am happy to act as a reference for these companies.
Incidentally, the full amount we paid, that you have held on to for this time, on my crude calculations, would have accrued £101.71 in interest in my savings account to this day. I refer to this in expectation of it being on top of the promised compensation from your sales manager.
I reserve the right to distribute this letter as I see fit as an example of the service you have offered. I have already published this on the moneysavingexpert.com forums online, which has over 670,000 members and a long thread devoted to Harveys, and will be doing so further, both online and with physical copies. The commonly held view that is “if you have a bad experience you tell 6/7 people”. I can assure you we have already told many multiples of 6/7 people, and will be continuing to ensure we do so.
For the benefit of anyone else reading this, if you are, we still haven’t received our wardrobe.
Yours sincerely
****** ****"
Here's the letter I wrote. Ironically I tried to send it to the sales manager at the branch, but when I phoned them I was told, again, that he's in a meeting. He didn't call me back.
"Reference: Order number 754*****
Dear Sir/ Madam,
Reference: Excessively long delivery times, lack of communication, lack of responsibility, poor service
For the benefit of anyone I choose to distribute this letter to, I would like to point out at the outset that we ordered this furniture when we announced my partner is pregnant. She now has 8 weeks to go and we do not have the furniture.
I refer, as indicated above, to order number 754***** placed on 27th December 2009 at your Romford (Gallows Corner) Store with salesperson *******. The order was for £3***.00 and we paid the full amount in full immediately.
The order was:
· 1 Toulouse Extended Dining Table
· 3 Pair of Toulouse Ladder Back Chairs
· 1 New Toulouse Storage Coffee Table
· 1 Toulouse Nest of Tables
· 1 Toulouse Large Sideboard
· 2 Toulouse 3 Drawer Bedside Cabinets
· 1 Toulouse 2 Door 1 Drawer Wardrobe
· 1 Toulouse Bedroom 3+2 Chest
· 1 Toulouse Bedroom 6 Drawer Chest
The first thing I have to say is that on this day, 4th May 2010, the order has not yet been fulfilled.
Delivery times:
******* stated to us on 26th December that delivery would be “within 4-6 weeks”. However, when we returned on 27th and had paid, he changed this to “6-8 weeks”. I challenged him on this and he said that Christmas had left a big build up, though he could not explain to me why this would have happened. What he was saying made no logical sense and I actually left the store, angry, as it was clear he was not telling the truth. We were told we would be contacted “within 4 weeks” to arrange delivery.
Lack of communication:
Nobody contacted us as promised, and hence we phoned Harveys on 1st February 2010. We were told that our entire order was in the warehouse and we would be contacted imminently with view to arranging delivery.
On 5th February 2010 we phoned again. No-one could tell us anything. We continued to try to contact someone, to no avail.
First delivery:
I made a complaint on 3rd March 2010 and on the same date I managed to contact a sales manager at Gallows Corner, named ***, who told me he would get onto it. Your Gallows Corner number is well hidden, incidentally.
It turns out that a number of our items weren’t available at all. After many phone calls and complaints, to several people, we were told we had to contact a sales manager to authorise a part-delivery, and that is the circumstances upon which, as above, I first contacted ***, over a significant period of time, we managed to take delivery of the bedside tables, the dining table, the dining chairs, the two chest of drawers and the sideboard. This was after 3 months, or 13 weeks, from the order (and full payment). *** said “when this is over, pop into the store and we’ll arrange some compensation”, with no hint of irony in his voice.
The wardrobe was also delivered but we sent it back, as it was damaged. We were assured that we would receive a phone call the very same day, to arrange delivery of a new wardrobe, and the nest of tables, and the coffee table
Phone call later that day:
We were promised one. This didn’t happen.
I contacted *** on the Friday (two days after I was supposed to receive a phone call), and was told the wardrobe had been delivered. It took some time for us to establish that it hadn’t.
Lack of communication (again) and us having to do the organising:
We didn’t hear anything for some time. In fact, as has become routine, we have never heard from Harveys unless we have contacted you first. On Thursday 18th March, we phoned you again. We were told that the Nest of Tables and Coffee Table were available, but we (typically) would have to contact a sales manager to arrange a part-delivery. So we did, and it was arranged, but now we were told it could “only be on a Wednesday” and that you don’t deliver on any other day.
I contacted *** as I cannot take a Wednesday off work, and nor could my partner. He said that he would organise for you (Gallows Corner branch) to take delivery by email. He also told me that he wasn’t allowed to phone the delivery company, so I would have to chase them up. I did this, for 3 days, and they didn’t answer. I’m sorry that I find this beyond belief.
Unsurprisingly, at this point, my partner was in tears and said she “didn’t want to deal with them”, and that is a direct quote. I thought buying furniture was supposed to be a pleasant experience. I asked *** to ensure all phone calls from Harveys went to me. Since *** had offered to take control of my order, I presumed this meant that Harveys would only phone me.
Insufficient flexibility, lack of communication (again):
On Tuesday 30th March 2010, my partner (despite the requests) received a phone call from your warehouse/ delivery people phoned and said they could deliver on Wednesday 31st March 2010. Just in case you missed this, this means the next day. We said there was no way we could possibly do this, and the warehouse said to my partner:
“we’re not supposed to tell you this, but Harvey’s have told us we have to clear all the current orders out of the warehouse this week, and if we don’t, it may be months before you get your furniture”.
We did not get offered the opportunity to have it delivered to Gallows Corner, as arranged, and as you can see, they took the opportunity to put pressure on my partner. I still do not understand why it would be several months, but she accepted.
The reason was that the terms and conditions on the sale say we will be charged £25 per week if we don’t take delivery “within 7 days” of the delivery date, but when your delivery company contacted us, they offered us “the next day” and we were told that we were only allowed every other Wednesday, meaning if we didn’t accept the date you gave us (the next day) we would, according to your terms and conditions, we charged.
Poor service (second delivery):
My partner had taken a day off work, but in the end was able to get her retired, elderly parents to travel to our house to take the delivery. We were told we’d get an hour’s notice. We then got a phone call saying “be there in half an hour” – which was very stressful for them. Then, the delivery arrived over 90 minutes later.
The nest of tables, and coffee table were delivered. We were left with them wrapped and bound. The terms and conditions say they should be left unwrapped and packaging removed.
Ironically, the sales manager at Gallows Corner, ***, stopped returning my calls. He was, on four occasions, “on another call” that day, and despite promises, I never received a return call. In fact, over the next few weeks, I could not get in touch with *** on numerous occasions.
No wardrobe
I did contact *** next approximately a week later, as our wardrobe has not arrived when I spoke to him as he was unlucky enough to have answered the phone to me. He told me that he had asked a colleague to “sort me out”, and was surprised and shocked that they hadn’t. I am sure you don’t need me to tell you that I was tired of being told it was someone else’s fault. *** also repeated that I should “pop into the store and we’ll sort out some compensation”. This is as patronising an attitude as I’ve ever had – the same line he used two months previously!
Unsurprisingly, when *** found out what had happened, it was someone else’s fault. Apparently a new wardrobe hadn’t been ordered when the other one was damaged. However we would be contacted on 28th April 2010 when the wardrobe would arrive in the warehouse.
Poor communication
I don’t think I need to tell you that we were not contacted on 28th April 2010.
Your website suggests we can cancel the full order if it is 5 weeks later than on the delivery note. It is now the 19th week of waiting, and we were quoted, I’ll remind you “4-6 weeks” and on the delivery note “6-8 weeks”.
I do not want to cancel the order. I want my wardrobe.
I am presuming you will refuse to deliver on any day except a Wednesday again. This is something you do not state at the point of sale.
I would like a written response to this letter, detailing
· when our wardrobe will arrive
· what compensation we can expect
· why I was lied to at the point of sale (delivery date changed overnight)
· why we have not been contacted once without first contacting you
· why the blame is always someone else’s
· a very significant apology for the stress caused to a pregnant woman.
Do not telephone me with a response. You can telephone me to arrange delivery of the wardrobe, and I expect such a telephone call the day you receive this letter.
Incidentally, if the wardrobe is not delivered soon, we will not be in a position to accept delivery as our unborn child will need to undergo surgery and we will both be in the hospital for a large proportion of the coming months.
For the benefit of anyone else reading this letter, in the time that we have been waiting for you to deliver some furniture, we have replaced a bathroom and a kitchen, replaced a boiler, laid flooring in two rooms, plastered and painted four rooms and had a sofa, bed, white goods (dishwasher, freezer, fridge, washing machine, tumble dryer), oven and garden furniture delivered by 6 different trades people or companies. I am happy to act as a reference for these companies.
Incidentally, the full amount we paid, that you have held on to for this time, on my crude calculations, would have accrued £101.71 in interest in my savings account to this day. I refer to this in expectation of it being on top of the promised compensation from your sales manager.
I reserve the right to distribute this letter as I see fit as an example of the service you have offered. I have already published this on the moneysavingexpert.com forums online, which has over 670,000 members and a long thread devoted to Harveys, and will be doing so further, both online and with physical copies. The commonly held view that is “if you have a bad experience you tell 6/7 people”. I can assure you we have already told many multiples of 6/7 people, and will be continuing to ensure we do so.
For the benefit of anyone else reading this, if you are, we still haven’t received our wardrobe.
Yours sincerely
****** ****"
Can we just take it as read I didn't mean to offend you?
0
Comments
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I've been messed about by companies before but in terms of incompetence and poor service, this is an award winner! Hope you get sorted in the end .. and hope this thread rises up through Google. Guess where I won't be buying any furniture ..0
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Great letter!!0
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Update
4th May 2010
Sales manager **** called from Harveys’ Lakeside store, to inform me that the wardrobe is now due into your distribution centre on the 14th May. **** was very polite, and I said I need him to have the wardrobe delivered now. He replied that he can’t, but it will be on “about the 14th May”.
They will then contact me and arrange delivery. I was told that *** is not often able to call me back because he only works “about” 2 days a week, which fails to explain why he’s always on a phone call, or in a meeting and will call me back. Nonetheless, this means it is likely to approach 5 months since I ordered the wardrobe.
**** advised me to phone customer services, who would have “much more information”. Of course, they didn’t.Can we just take it as read I didn't mean to offend you?0 -
Nothing today at all. But it's raining, so I'm not standing outside their store!Can we just take it as read I didn't mean to offend you?0
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What a nightmare.
Look on the bright side, perhaps Harveys are doing you a favour, because as soon as your wardrobe arrives, I'm sure your wife will need some new outfits to put in there.
I hope everything works out. Just keep pushing them for your furniture and compensation.
Also, fingers crossed for your new arrival (the baby, not the wardrobe).0 -
Thanks. The baby has a diaphragmatic hernia, which is very worrying. And she'll kill me if I don't point out that she's not actually my wife (both been there, done that!)Can we just take it as read I didn't mean to offend you?0
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Thank you for your email To Customer Services regarding the furniture that you purchased from our Romford store. Please accept our apologies for being unable to supply your goods within the expected time scale given for your delivery period.
We aim to complete all our orders within the quoted time but occasionally we are unable to do so. Manufacturing and transportation delays can extend this time and whilst we work with our suppliers to forecast demand and prevent this occurring; unfortunately it is not always avoidable.
We will do our utmost to ensure that the furniture is delivered as quickly as possible but we would ask you to bear with our suppliers and us until the furniture is received into our Distribution Centre. . I have checked with our Supply Team who have advised the goods have a approximate date of arrival of the 14/05/2010
I have also spoken to *** at the store regarding compensation, he as advised me that he as spoken to yourself and advised you that once the replacement wardrobe as been delivered he will then discuss this matter with you. Once again please accept our upmost apologies for the inconvenience this matter as caused you and your partner.
Your business is important to us and we trust that once your furniture is delivered it will give you many years of good service. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to show you our preferred level of service the next time you wish to make a purchase for your home.
Assuring you of our best intentions at all timesCan we just take it as read I didn't mean to offend you?0 -
That was, obviously I hope, a reply I got today.Can we just take it as read I didn't mean to offend you?0
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After tonight's watchdog, it's clear I'm not alone!Can we just take it as read I didn't mean to offend you?0
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Great letter. I can't believe you've been waiting this long! I was contemplating buying a new sofa from Harveys but think I may see if anywhere else does a similar sofa.
That's potentially one customer lost thanks to this letter so you're having an impact!This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.0
This discussion has been closed.
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