Anyone used www.oakfurnitureland.co.uk?

teresakelly

Don't use Oak Furnitureland
[FONT=&quot]On 31 August I placed an order on line for the following items with Oak Furnitureland; Bella Brushed Oak Bedside Cabinet, Bella Brushed Oak Four Drawer Chest and 4 Scroll Back Sage Fabric Chairs. These items were delivered on Tuesday 8 September. None of the items I received were perfect, both items of furniture had minor faults. However, the four chairs arrived with faded and discoloured fabric and poor stitching. They were not of the quality I expected from the pictures and information on the website. They looked like seconds. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I contacted Customer Services via phone immediately on the afternoon of delivery. I was told to take photographs of the items and send an email. I did as requested and forwarded the email that afternoon with 12 pictures zipfile attached. These pictures clearly showed the marks and fading.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] I received no acknowledgement, or reply, from Customer Services. I was concerned about the deadline for returns having read the terms and conditions. On Friday 11 September, I had to make another phone call. I spoke to Alistair Kennedy. He was polite and apologetic and explained that the photos attached to the email had not been seen. He said the photo file would be opened but requested further pictures of the underneath of each chair because this would show the quality mark details. He said that the company took quality very seriously and my concerns would be followed up. In addition to this request, I took further pictures, bearing in mind that the chairs had now been unpacked for 4 days so any packing or compression issues would normally have disappeared. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]On Monday 14 September as promised, I was contacted by Hannah. She (supported by three discussions with her supervisor) informed me that despite all the photographic evidence the chairs I had received were deemed acceptable quality. Her supervisor advised that I should ‘place a wet cloth on them’. Disregarding my concerns about fading and stitching, I was told that the chairs were ‘not faulty’. The issues were due to packing, they were compression issues which would resolve themselves. I was told I could return the chairs but £50.00 would be deducted from my refund for the collection fee. I said that I objected to this charge because I was paying for the company to take back poor quality items. I did not feel that this cost should be met by me. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I was phoned by Marcus Berry who confirmed the position stated by Hannah. I asked was there someone independent who could assess the quality of the chairs, he said no. I asked could I return them to a local outlet, he said no. I asked could we compromise i.e. I pay £25.00, he said no. I asked for the name of the MD and his manager. Marcus explained that he had looked at the pictures submitted by me with his colleagues. There was nothing wrong with the quality of the chairs. He explained whoever I addressed my letter to, it would come back to them and the reply would be the same. In other words, there would be no point in me going any further with my complaint. He said he could give me a date for collection, I agreed the date and put the phone down. I felt this was an appalling response. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I sent a further letter to the Custom Services Manager Marcus Berry quoting the Sale of Goods Act 1979 which makes it an implied term of the contract that goods should be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. If the pictures of the chairs I received had been on the internet I would not have bought them. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I explained that any policy that says I have to cover the cost of returning items must only relate to the situation where I change my mind about the item ordered and not where there is a problem with the item. I should not lose out financially as a result of the company’s breach of contract and accordingly all costs of returning the items should be met by the company. I also requested that the decision to charge me be confirmed in writing.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I received no written response.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I took legal advice and sent an e-mail prior to the collection of the chairs on Monday. The e-mail explained that it was not my responsibility as a customer to prove poor quality at this early stage of purchase. It was the company’s responsibility to explain why they believed that the chairs were acceptable. I asked for written confirmation of the decision. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I received no written response.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] In my absence, someone else from the Company phoned. He told my husband that these chairs were sold in large numbers and he would be very interested to see them when they were returned on Monday. He explained that I could return the call. By this time, I had spoken to four people who had all said the same thing. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I was confident that, like anyone else who had seen them in my home, he would accept that they were extremely poor quality when he physically saw them. My husband asked me to return his call but I said let’s wait until he sees the chairs on Monday. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The outcome, a standard email, informed me that the purchase price minus £50.00 would be refunded with no explanation.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] I have not received any written response to my letter or the second e-mail sent after seeking legal advice. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I would really like to see how many other customers have been treated in this way and to look at the legality of this practice.[/FONT]

Poppy9

I don't understand why people don't take them to the small claims court.

I have a TV cabinet from OLF and it's fine but it was given to me by a family member who found it too big for their room. Considering buying matching side board.

When we bought new dining table and chairs last year we did look at OLF but didn't like the quality of the tables in the showroom. They said they had been pulled to extend more than a table normally would and the imperfections were natural flaws in wood. There were sharp splinters on the showroom table just waiting to enter your fingers!

So we went to a local retailer. Found a table we liked and then the helped us room the store for chairs that matched, carried loads over for us to choose a style, seat fabric etc. Table and chairs delivered and assembled in the room. When I sat on sofa later and looked at the table it wasn't sitting right. They came out within days agreed it was warped and apologised and replaced it. Not a huge difference in price as they gave us a discount to get the table and 6 chairs under £1k

kpwll

I haven't used oakfurnitureland so can't comment on their service but in 2010 bought solid oak furniture (large sideboard, extending table and chairs) from oakfurnituresolutions.co.uk, 5 years later the furniture still looks good. The customer service, delivery and quality were excellent.


Customer service was only used for advice and queries prior to ordering, not for any complaints.

Money_Saving_Newbie

Visited Oak Furniture Land today with the intention of buying some dining room furniture. We made our selection and began processing the order, but declined the extended 5 year warranty - which would have added and extra 12 or 13% to the total cost. We also decided against paying £15 for their wax/oil product. We were then informed the products would have no guarantee whatsoever, unless we bought OFLs treatment products!

Found this to be a shocking business practice (and would question the legality of it) so we left without completing our order.

From reading this thread, I'm glad we did.

borntosave

Well for what it is worth here is part (2) and after all this time and effort, I am afraid the conclusion is not very encouraging for anyone else! Just hang on for a second, while I take another Valium tablet before I recount this sorry saga (which are just the edited highlights by the way, as any more than that is just too painful to write).

As I am sure you are probably aware by now, this companies customer service department is like no other. Although initial contact with customer service is always sweetness and light (providing you do exactly as they suggest) but this is only a very thin 'veneer' and their true colours are revealed when you request an item to be replaced. In fact it is a misnomer to call it a customer service department, it is in fact a customer dis-service department, whose sole purpose is to prevent customers from being able to return faulty or damaged goods.

However, after much ranker and many hours of frustration on the telephone, Oak Furniture Land finally relented and agreed to send me replacements for the damaged/faulty items I received and yes, true to form you guessed it, the replacement table was delivered damaged and structurally faulty. The sideboard was also damaged as well, not as badly as the first but none the less noticeable so and back on the merry-go-round we go, back to customer services again and as you speak to them you can almost hear them ticking their check list of stock answers to the questions that they are so well versed in hearing and the more you speak the more condescending their tone becomes and of course by now the penny will have finally dropped and you now realise what a mistake you have made purchasing from Oak Furniture Land, that sinking gut wrenching feeling of screaming frustration at being well and truly conned.

They will try in any way they can to circumvent the sale of goods acts and prevent customers from receiving a full refund of any delivered items that are damaged or faulty. This is because they are fully aware that any replacement items they might send to you are more than likely to be faulty as well, which indeed they were in my case. I wonder what sort of quality control checks they have, if any.

Their next ridiculous tactic is to try and force you to have this item repaired as well, because now they are only prepared to offer a partial refund for the second faulty item. Which in my case is an extending dining table and 6 chairs. Their reason being that as only the table is damaged, they want me to pay them to collect the 6 chairs! Or alternatively, if I keep the chairs they will then reduce the refund even further and charge me full price, as they say I purchased the chairs at a discounted rate with the table. So it seems whatever scenario they come up with, it always ends up costing the customer money. So the conclusion must be they are simply unable to deliver any goods as you see them in their show rooms, one way or another you the customer are forced to accept faulty or damaged goods because that is all they sell, most of the time!

First and foremost, there is a lot of emotion content involved with this type of purchase, at least there is from the customers point of view. All we are asking for is that they deliver all the items to you that you have purchased “as you viewed them in the showrooms” undamaged and structurally sound, is that really too much to expect and if they are not then please at least try to put them right to your customers satisfaction with good grace and far less hassle!!

How about trying to deliver the goods in showroom condition and not attempting to restore them after delivery, now surely, that would be a winner all round?

But take heart, a glimmer of hope could be on the way because now I am able to tell you that my experience, together with a number of others, will be shown in an expose on BBC Watchdog on Thursday 19th November 2015 at 8pm. I hope they are able to fully represent the true nature of the many problems with Oak Furniture Land (OFL) and that natural justice does indeed prevail.

borntosave

Milkbubble wrote: »

That's just the point - they don't replace. My goods were in a shocking state, I called them and was first offered £45 to go away and shut up (not an option) then they offered me my money back. I said I didn't want my money back, I wanted a replacement. They would definitely not replace. So I am having my money back AFTER they have got the item back. I only received the goods yesterday. I have 28 pics of quite a few big faults and numerous not quite so big faults. Anybody know how I can put them online as a warning?

Put them on Twitter and tag @ofloakfurniture, @ofloakfurnituk and @ofloakfurnishit
You may be interested to know BBC Watchdog are covering them tomorrow night at 8pm :T

traciey2kbabe

Oh dear... if only i had read these trails sooner....

I ordered a sideboard, table and 6 chairs from OFL, they tried pushing me to pay £39 delivery fee (to get the items within a week), to buy their additional cover and to buy their £20 tin of wax. All of this was refused by me and i paid in full for the items.

Within a couple of days i had a delivery date (total from ordering to delivery 1 week), so would have been a waste of time paying the £39!
I got my delivery albeit my table top was given to the previous customer so they had to go back for it, i checked all the boxes and found the table box had impact damage (dropped on the corner), giving it the benefit of doubt i opened all the boxes. Yep you guessed it the table top had impact damage on the corner. I phone CS, they asked me to email photos (which i did) and they arranged for someone to come and repair (24/11/15 today). Whilst waiting for this date to come;

Reading their lengthy "after sales" booklet i decided to buy their wax afterall so that if i had any future problems i could prove i was using theirs. I popped down to a different shop who asked me for £15, i said really your other store wanted £20. She informed me they sell it at £15 (again other store trying to rip me off). In the end after telling her my problems, she gave me a free tin of wax that had been dropped and couldn't be sold on, albeit she told me not to say anything to HO as she wasn't supposed to do that.

Today the repair technician has come, with a STEAM IRON to repair the table corner!! Unbelievable, but ok whatever so long as it gets repaired back to how it should be....nope i was wrong, it's a little better but still damaged. I've got photos of the repair. I called CS again and was told i would have to wait til tomorrow for the technician to submit his report. The technician told my partner he was the third person to reject their repairs today (you arent joking!).

We will see what tomorrow brings, but i believe this is just the beginning of a never ending battle...

ricardo_inuk

This is just to share my experience.
I order over £2000 of furniture from Oak Furniture Land five months ago and last week I noticed one bedside table with a split/crack at the front.

I called the numbers I had to report it as I also paid for the 5 year accidental and structural protection but I am told as I didn't apply the wax on arrival my warranty is no longer valid and they would do anything about it.

I am completely disappointed and feel cheated by Oak Furniture Land.

wealdroam

ricardo_inuk wrote: »

This is just to share my experience.
I order over £2000 of furniture from Oak Furniture Land five months ago and last week I noticed one bedside table with a split/crack at the front.

I called the numbers I had to report it as I also paid for the 5 year accidental and structural protection but I am told as I didn't apply the wax on arrival my warranty is no longer valid and they would do anything about it.

I am completely disappointed and feel cheated by Oak Furniture Land.

Wood is a natural product.
Why didn't you apply the wax?

Why have you now posted exactly the same thing three times?

Hoggy69

My stuff arrived yesterday - table & chairs, small sideboard, tv unit and nest of tables.

No damage whatsoever. Obviously, the timber isn't exactly English seasoned oak, but you get what you pay for. It'll be interesting what happens in the next 6 months as it settles, but it's been waxed (5 hours work) and it looks fine.

One thing I noticed is that contrary to their "there's no veneer here" advert, the table legs are block oak with a thin veneer to make them look like a solid piece. Cheeky, but I'm not bothered - it's still heavy enough to hit a burglar with!!!