Help with Laura Ashley furniture ordering

wik79

Hi,

Long time user, first time poster!

My housemate has just bought her first home and ordered some furniture for it. She has spent a small fortune (as you do at Laura Ashley) and was told that she would start getting it delivered in May. She moves into her home at the start of July.

Now Laura Ashley have said that they made a mistake when they told her about the original delivery date and that it will now all be delivered at the end of August. This obviously is a problem because, among the many things she has ordered, it includes a bed.

Laura Ashley admits that they have made a mistake but there is nothing they can do about it (she has spoken to several 'senior' Customer Service people). They say that as she has paid for it all up front, she can not have a refund and she must wait. They have said they will offer compensation but not until all the items are delivered. They have not said what the compensation will be, but obviously this does not help her at all when she won't have a bed to sleep on.

Can anyone help? What are her legal rights? Surely she is entitled to a refund if she is not happy?

Thanks in advance.

boonkoh

Just had an encounter with Laura Ashley customer services myself relating to a sofa delivery, and as you said, they’re professional – but extremely unhelpful and a bit arrogant.
Basically, the van turned up, but couldn’t deliver because it was too big for the road, and for health and safety and insurance couldn’t leave the van unattended. I’m annoyed because I had to take a day off work. They want to charge me £60 – said it was in their “Terms & Conditions”, which is 2,600+ words long. Said I should have known of any delivery van restrictions on the road and the fact that they can’t leave the van unattended.
WHAT!!!
So they’re now expecting the consumer, who probably doesn’t have a clue about big delivery vans, if it can fit on the road and also details of the delivery company not allowing them to leave it unattended? Also I was told “well, the van size was in the T&Cs” (not even sure if it’s actually there) and basically implied that I had to work it out myself if the van could fit.
Surely you should train your delivery team, who are the experts, to confirm over the phone when setting the delivery date if the van is able to fit on the street or not.
The fact that Laura Ashley are still trying to wrangle £30 after all the inconvenience and unhelpfulness is making me think of going all the way to court or OFT and not accept a compromise.