Oakfurnitureland - Don't use - warrantee woes

steveoldguitarist

Beware buying anything from this company if you expect to have any sort of guarantee or acceptable customer service. They are simply appalling, totally unreasonable and very arrogant.

We spent over £3000 with them on various items, including a dining set consisting of a table and 6 chairs. After approx 5 months one of the chairs broke with a front leg becoming loose. We used the dining set approximately 6 times during this time. The chair in question was used for the purpose it was bought, as a chair that gets sat on! There was absolutely no "event" that would have caused any damage, we don't have children and anybody who had used the chair was an adult with years of experience sitting on chairs (do you detect my sarcastic bent when making these comments?).

Anyhow, when following Oakfurnitureland's warrantee procedures, I took photos of the chair and made a claim for a warrantee repair/replacement. What I got back was what can only be described as ridiculous. I was told over the phone that I had abused the product and that the warrantee did not cover the item as, "if it was faulty that would have been evident when it was delivered", also "that I had been using it on a wooden floor" (in fact it was on carpet), and that "I hadn't removed the shipping blocks on the chairs" (there were none and there were no installation instruction to say to remove any such item). Nobody has inspected the faulty chair and there is absolutely no acceptance that the product could have failed after delivery. The fact of the matter is that the chair was only ever used for the purpose it was purchased and the build quality of the chair means that it most certainly is not fit for purpose.

Oakfurnitureland's warrantee states that goods are guaranteed for 12 months and that they reserve the right to inspect goods. Nowhere are there any clauses (that I can find) about chairs being exempt from this warrantee after delivery inspection. Nobody has asked to inspect the chair.

The most arrogant aspect of their response is that they are sticking to the line that "you have abused the item", with absolutely no evidence to back up that claim.

To conclude, their product is not fit for purpose, is of poor build quality, their commitment to their own warrantee is non-existent and their customer service is extremely poor. I will be seeking redress elsewhere, I'm sure there must be some way of tackling this situation.

battleborn

Thank you, i was going to buy from them but now i definetly will NOT.

Hoof_Hearted

I think their stuff is very good value for money for solid oak. We have bought a few items but we haven't had cause to complain and it does sound like their response is hardly good enough.

daveyjp

Are this lot in anyway part of DFS? The way they advertise and operate suggest they follow their model very closely.