Anyone managed to get a deal from Oak Furniture Land?

Broadsword

The question was discounts. They have regular sales (don't they all?) and the Quidco cashback varies from time to time. We have had a good experience with them for lounge/dining room and a bed frame. All delivered on time very helpfully and a year and more on, no defects or problems other than handles twirling round- must get round to tightening them. The furniture is sturdy and better than stuff several times the price. We often compare it even now elsewhere and ours is far better. An important factor is that it is ready assembled except for the bed frame which did take an evening to put together. We bought this last and thought it would come complete. I accept this is unrealistic as most beds have to compact to get up stairs etc.

No interest in the company just an honest view :j

Stooby2

We've just got a new dining table & chairs and a dresser from OFL and had no problems at all. The furniture is good quality, well put together and very solid. We went to a store, ignored the idiot salesman, found the stuff we wanted, went home and phoned an order from the number on the website. They happily matched the instore offer of free chairs with the table and a free mirror. They did push their polish and insurance, but I knocked the polish down to half price. Wasn't having the insurance. I find if you're fairly blunt with salespeople they get the message - "if you mention the insurance again, the order gets cancelled." He was fine after that.

They kept me bang up to date via email and texts as to when it arrived at the warehouse, booked a delivery and it turned up on time. The delivery men brought it all in, helped unpack and set it up with me - they were very careful in bringing it in. It was very, very well packed and they inspected each piece with me.

Having looked around I think we paid a reasonable price for the furniture we've got and apart from the idiot salesman at the Croydon store (the west country bloke who doesn't understand the words "go away and we'll ask if we need help") we got very good service.

randomnut

Thanks for the input everyone.

Ended up placing an order online last night, 4 chests of drawers and pushed the boat out and went for a new matching bed frame as well.

Got a free £250 mirror which will be going in the living room too.

5% quidco tracked, and went for the 18mths interest free, i'll be having the sum sat in my bank account earning 5% interest over that time

randomnut

Just in case anyone finds this thread looking for info on OFL, just thought i'd share some thoughts on them now that i've had the stuff delivered.

Delivery was fast - was delivered on Tuesday so about a week after it was ordered. Everything is packaged in an astonishing amount of cardboard and polystyrene. It is a shame that the drivers did not unpack any of it and take some of the rubbish away as it was a good 2 trips to the tip to get rid of it. Then again delivery was free and they made it clear beforehand that the drivers took it to a room and that was it.

The quality of the stuff is good, its obviously not master craftsman quality but for what you pay it is good quality furniture made of solid wood and better than the stuff at Ikea etc. Given this isn't all that much more expensive than some flat pack stuff i've bought in the past which hasn't lasted, i'm happy.

I received a free mirror with my purchase, although it was cracked on delivery so i've just opened up a customer service ticket to get it replaced so will report back how I find their customer service.

Overall would I recommend them? Yes. It remans to be seen about their customer service or if the furniture warps or changes over time.

Quidco was paid on the day of delivery which was nice!

Also, they really really try and push their polish and insurance plan. I had to get quite angry with the guy to get him to stop mentioning it. They could improve on that.

randomnut

Just had a word with their customer service about the cracked mirror and they will be arranging a new one to be delivered soon.

They offered me the option of either having the old mirror collected and taken away or keep the broken one as well for no charge , which I think I will do so I will just take the glass out and use it as a big picture frame or something as the oak frame is very nice.

Have to say I don't have any complaints about Oak Furniture Land so far.

Dollykins

I am absolutey fuming with this company. I recently went to the new store in Preston and spent £1100. It's more than I wanted to spend but I was impressed that I would get a free mirror. The delivery came last week and three of the five items were damaged. The solid oak blanket box could not be blamed on the delivery guys because it had split were the hinges had been screwed in. The mirror was cracked and even the frame was broken. The bedside cabinet was not too clever but we chose to ignore that as you can't see it without looking for it.

So as advised I took pictures and uploaded them to the website and waited for a response. I got a phone call asking if I was willing to accept £100 discount for the blanket box. The mirror was so damaged it was beyond repair so I asked to replace both since I've got to take another day off work for them to collect anyway.

One week later my replacement arrives and the mirror is cracked again. You are clearly told the delivery guys will not assist in opening the boxes. As I'm 36 weeks pregnant I could not check myself quickly before the guys went because it's far too heavy.

So when my husband got home from work to check he was fuming that yet again they are wasting our time. So again I took pictures and uploaded to there website and waited for a response.

Can you believe the cheek of this...... The manager said this will be the last time that they send another mirror because it must be the delivery guys who are breaking it. They will put the mirror through quality control before sending it from the warehouse. I said surely under the sale of goods act 1979 you are not allowed to leave me with another broken mirror. Oak furniture lands response was the mirror was for free! How cheeky when I purposely spent £1100 to get the mirror.

Oh to be fair though they did offer me £35 to get the mirror fixed myself. They said it costs alot of money for the delivery drivers to come and pick the goods up.

I know accidents happen and sometimes things can't be helped, but I can't believe they expect me to get it fixed for them and tell me they are unwilling to replace if the mirror arrives broken again.

Stay clear from the spend over £1000 deal and a get a free mirror!

MoneyMate

6.3% Cash Back :beer:

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/oak_furniture_land/

Leif

leveller2911 wrote: »

Originally Posted by Leif
Quote:
It is quite common to use strips of wood glued
together,


Its common yes, but the reason is because they can use offcuts and not the decent quality Oak.This keeps the costs down but theres no excuse for using the sapwood on a piece of furniture.

I cannot comment on using sapwood, but I have looked closely at other furniture from the likes of John Lewis, Heals etc. Most consists of veneer on an unknown substrate, so it will chip and can crack. The finish is no better than OFL, and it is usually more expensive. The wood is often similar to OFL (judged by eye), and I bet they come from the same factories, or ones using the same equipment and wood suppliers.

leveller2911 wrote: »

Using strips means that it is resistant to warping.
Partly true but if the Oak is seasoned properly (kiln or air dried) then there is no reason for not using wide boards.I've made Oak tables from 9" wide boards and they haven't warped or twisted.As I mentioned the main reason is they can use offcuts,poorer quality which in teurn keeps the cost down.The OP wanted better than flatpack but not Roll Royce.I'm sure they will be happy with mass produced Oak.

I've made a mahogany table from boards which warped. Even Ercol do not use boards that wide. I've refinished two Ercol tables, a plank dining table, and a coffee table, both use ~4" boards. I do not know if OFL use poor quality boards but obviously the smaller the wood, the cheaper, as you can get more wood from the tree. Even Chris Sharp use fairly small pieces of wood glued together. Wood is expensive. The OFL kitchen table I have is very nice. My only concern is the sourcing of wood.

leveller2911 wrote: »

And it is solid wood, whereas most other furniture at the same price is a cheap
substrate with veneers, which does not last.
Much of the furniture made in the early 20th century was vaneered ply and much of it has survived.A friend of mine buys old tables/cupboards etc from auctions and sands them down and waxes or paints them to sell. Many times he starts sanding a piece that looks like solid Oak but then sands through a vaneer and finds out its ply.... Its quite funny sometimes hearing him rant......I've also seen new "solid Oak" dining tables that look solid oak, the top being a chunky 44mm but on closer inspection they were a vaneered mdf top (18mm) with a 44mm wide Oak edging glued on.It was down to cost but also to deceive.They were made in Poland AFAIA.

I have never liked veneer. Bear in mind that fancy Georgian, Regency and Victorian pieces usually use veneer. But they tend to crack and bubble. Each to their own. Ply is a good wood though, engineered, durable, attractive. I have some Ikea Poang chairs, made from ply, cheap, attractive, and comfy.

leveller2911 wrote: »

Quote:
The concern I have is that the wood is probably not sourced from well managed
woods.
Totally agree, China is the biggest culprit run close by Brazil and then Africa.

Quote:
There are other companies such as Chris Sharp Cabinets that do similar but
better quality, using responsibly sourced wood, made in the UK too, but too
expensive for the OP. And of course Ercol, but again too expensive for the
OP.


Your spot on and as I mentioned before, It would cost more to buy the decent quality timber than OFL sell the product for.
Cheap imported solid timber furniture won't necessarily last any longer than vaneered furniture.
As we all know fashions change and before we know it the furniture we once liked we now don't and its advertised on e-bay or put on the log burner.

I think you are wrong to say OFL is poor quality. The wood is on a par with loads of more expensive stuff, but not on a par with the likes of Ercol. It is good for the price, and should last ages. As far as illegal logging etc, Britain is one of the worst countries for importing illegally logged wood.

No doubt OFL do not offer the service of John Lewis et al.

Leif

Dollykins wrote: »

I am absolutey fuming with this company. I recently went to the new store in Preston and spent £1100. It's more than I wanted to spend but I was impressed that I would get a free mirror. The delivery came last week and three of the five items were damaged.

You have a right to non faulty goods. Make a record of all dealings with them, to the point and not embellished, then write to them by signed for mail, saying what they have done, what you want, and what you will do if they do not respond in a reasonable time e.g. 14 days. Say you will take them to the small claims court if they do not make good. You do not have to accept second rate goods. You might wish to contact Trading Standards for advice.