Trying to cancel furniture order - where do I stand?

MartyM

Hi All

I'm hoping someone here can help us out!

In late October myself and my girlfriend put down a deposit on some furniture for our new apartment.

Last week the store called to say that they needed authorization to debit my card for the full amount before they could arrange a delivery date AND guarantee pre-christmas delivery, if this was done before December 1st.

I authorized then and there, and they managed to give me December 1st as a delivery date.

Due to unforseen circumstances, we now are not in a position to accept the delivery until Thursday 6th December, or some suitable time shortly after.

The store are now telling us that they will not deliver the furniture until after christmas, and they are going to charge us 8 Euro a day for storage.

Its bad enough that they cannot deliver the goods at any stage between now and Christmas, but to then turn around and say they will charge storage for goods they will NOT deliver is ridiculous!

I then said I wish to cancel the order completely and I did not mind losing my deposit. The assistant manager then said this was not possible, and later in the day when he heard we had paid the full amount (when chatting to my girlfriend), said we definitely could not cancel the order!

Its now a case of, "we've got all your money, so tough"!!!

All we want is some flexibility on their part and arrange a date before christmas, but they will not budge......I would also gladly pay their storage rate in that case!

Can they keep all our money, even though we have not received any goods from them?


Tomorrow we get to talk to the manager, as she was not available today, but I doubt things will improve any and all Consumer Affairs lines are closed for the weekend!!

Thanks!

jackofalltrades

What the name of the company?

Is "guaranteed for xmas" or anything to that effect written on the docket?

MartyM

not sure if i can name and shame on here, but we have also bought from another of their branches in dublin and they were more than helpful....they could not understand why they would not be able to deliver AND even phoned up the other branch on our behalf!

No luck though!

No, the docket does not mention pre-xmas delivery.....but it does state 5 weeks delivery time from late october...

its now sitting in their warehouse in blanchardstown, waiting to be delivered, so it all seems crazy!!.......we're only 14 miles away!

antoinolachtnai

Probably better not to name and shame, but I think I know what store you mean. They can act the jerk sometimes and be great at other times. It does seem to depend which store you end up dealing with.

If they really can't deliver (which I find hard to believe) I would suggest that you tell them that you plan to pick the item up (hire a van) from the warehouse on 6 December or shortly thereafter.

It really won't cost you all that much more than their delivery charge. The 8 euros a day seems a bit petty, but don't get too upset about it. It does actually cost them quite a bit to store furniture in the run up to Christmas.

It may be that they won't be able to produce the goods on the 6th. If this is the case, it probably means that they have accidentally or otherwise sold the item to someone else. This is not really allowed, because you have paid for the item in full. You own it and they are charging you storage for it and they therefore have no right to sell it. (This is also the reason why you have no right to a refund.) I don't think it would be reasonable for them not to produce the item if they have it (although you would have to give them some reasonable notice).

I would try to sort this as fast as possible, don't let the whole thing fester because it will get harder to deal with as Christmas gets closer.

MartyM

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

If they really can't deliver (which I find hard to believe) I would suggest that you tell them that you plan to pick the item up (hire a van) from the warehouse on 6 December or shortly thereafter.

I'm sure they can deliver because the goods are already in their warehouse, but they are simply being stubborn. We are still waiting on goods from their other store to hit the warehouse, yet this will definitely be delivered before xmas, so it does not make sense!

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

The 8 euros a day seems a bit petty, but don't get too upset about it. It does actually cost them quite a bit to store furniture in the run up to Christmas.

Thats why I would have thought they would still be eager to get it delivered before xmas, rather than say they will not deliver till after xmas and charge us 8 euro a day.....seems like a nice little scam!

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

It may be that they won't be able to produce the goods on the 6th. If this is the case, it probably means that they have accidentally or otherwise sold the item to someone else. This is not really allowed, because you have paid for the item in full. You own it and they are charging you storage for it and they therefore have no right to sell it. (This is also the reason why you have no right to a refund.) I don't think it would be reasonable for them not to produce the item if they have it (although you would have to give them some reasonable notice).

I dont think they have accidentally sold the goods because they were very insistent that they deliver as arranged on Dec 1st.

I still dont understand why we could not get a refund (less deposit) because its their policy that you have to pay in full before they will deliver. If what you say is true, then this policy allows them to completely mess their customers around, and the consumer has no come back!

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

I would try to sort this as fast as possible, don't let the whole thing fester because it will get harder to deal with as Christmas gets closer.

Yeah, we are trying to contact the manager (2 days and still no joy!), because they seem to be the only people you can apply common sense in these situations!

Thanks for your response. much appreciated!!!

antoinolachtnai

The issue they appear to have has to do with delivery slots. They may just not have any delivery slots between now and Christmas, or they may be holding them back for other people. You have missed your slot and they don't have another. Even if they have 10 trucks on the road (I have no idea how many they actualy have but I'd say it's less) that's only 1000 or so delivery slots available. They can't just get extra capacity - it's Christmas and they need people who are trained to deliver/install their way -.

Now the sensible thing would be for them to consolidate your two deliveries. I'm sure this is possible if you can find the right person to talk to. For a start, get the friendly store to check in the customer order management system that you both orders are linked together, i.e., both are linked to the same customer reference number.

On the other hand, the bureaucracy may just make this impossible for them. That is why I am telling you to go and pick the goods up yourself. This will cost less than the storage charge for sure.

Remember, these are your goods, not the company's. You have no right to force them to take them back and refund you. On the other hand they have no right not to give them to you (and your interests are also protected in the case of a liquidation or bankruptcy, not that that should be an issue, though it has happened in the past with furniture retailers.)

Please note that these are general observations, I have no special insight into this company beyond my own experience as a customer and general logistics experience.

BC

You agreed a delivery date and then you changed your mind. Thats your problem not the furniture stores. Having said that I would have expected the store to try and accomodate you from a customer service perspective. It could just be that they are too busy, there are waiting lists for everything between now and christmas.

I agree with antoinolachtnai that you should go and pick the furniture up yourself. Hiring a van for a half day or something would be much cheaper than paying for storage.

MartyM

Thanks for the replies!

I agree the cancellation is our fault and would gladly accept the storage fee and re-delivery charge IF they deliver before xmas.

We did not change our mind, we simply had to cancel, it was totally out of our control. Its not like the delivery date just didnt suit us. We would love to have the furniture now!....we are effectively homeless until after xmas now because our rental accomodation is up this week!

From the legal perspective, I'm sure they are in the right because they deal with customers every day of the week! Its their lack of understanding or flexibility that annoys me.

You only see how good a company is when you have problems!!! Up until now we were delighted with them (bought from 2 of their stores) and have purchased all the furniture for our new apt with them.

The Dublin store has been excellent by the way, they have tried to look beyond company policy and treat the situation as an individual case. Their staff appear to be more empowered than the other store.

We're new to all this, so we've learned a good lesson.....dont put all your eggs in one basket because the stores dont appreciate your business regardless how much you spend with them...

antoinolachtnai

I agree with what you say about this company (if it's the same one i'm thinking of, but it may not be) as regards dealing with problems. They are basically a good company but they are not the best at dealing with dumb stuff that comes up.

My issue with you is that you want them to be flexible, but you aren't being flexible in return. I would see if there is anything you can do on your end, i.e., pick up the furniture.

It's not really a question of appreciating your business. At the end of the day, you are a very small customer indeed in their firmament, like most of their customers. These companies are really like machines. There are good things and bad things about them. Sometimes they work well, sometimes they don't. At the end of the day though, people go to them because they sell fairly good furniture fairly cheap.

cormie

Have you paid them for delivery charge yet? Why not ask them to knock that off and just get somebody else to deliver for you?

MartyM

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

I agree with what you say about this company (if it's the same one i'm thinking of, but it may not be) as regards dealing with problems. They are basically a good company but they are not the best at dealing with dumb stuff that comes up.

My issue with you is that you want them to be flexible, but you aren't being flexible in return. I would see if there is anything you can do on your end, i.e., pick up the furniture.

It's not really a question of appreciating your business. At the end of the day, you are a very small customer indeed in their firmament, like most of their customers. These companies are really like machines. There are good things and bad things about them. Sometimes they work well, sometimes they don't. At the end of the day though, people go to them because they sell fairly good furniture fairly cheap.

Hi again!

Sorry, I guess I did not address the issue of pick-up.

Firstly, I think we are willing to be flexible and would obviously consider pick-up. However, all we wanted was a conversation along the lines: "ok, we have this situation, what are our options and what can both parties do to resolve it", etc, etc...but all we get is "No, not possible, etc, etc...".

My concern about pick-up is that this company is very firm on the fact that once you sign for the goods (which we will have to do at the warehouse) your basically stuck with them.

On normal delivery, they insist that you check everything once assembled and then sign for it. Some of our goods are flat-pack and will not be so easy to check at the warehouse.

I'm sure they will be fine, but when you run into problems with the company you become very sceptical of everything...

MartyM

cormie wrote: »

Have you paid them for delivery charge yet? Why not ask them to knock that off and just get somebody else to deliver for you?

The delivery charge is negligible....20 Euro, and a re-delivery of 50 Euro. Which is good also, because we did cancel at the end of the day!

However, I guess to get it delivered myself would cost a fair bit more?

If you can recommend such services, that would be great!

Thanks!

MagicMarker

Rent a van and go and pick it up.

cormie

€20 is pretty cheap alright, they are making a good bit of profit from the furniture itself which is why they can do it at that price.

If you're asking me to recommend somebody, I can only suggest myself I've a van business, check the link in my signature if you decide to go ahead with collecting yourself.

You would still have the issue with the flat pack of checking it and everything first though so you'd still have to be at the warehouse or whatever way it works with them.

keefg

MagicMarker wrote: »

Rent a van and go and pick it up.

+1

Once you have your goods, send a letter (NOT E-MAIL) to the head office of the company teling them of the problems you have had stating that you will not use their stores again and will tell everyone you know about their bad service etc unless they address the problem (ie. your extra costs).

Bad publicity travels much further & faster than good and companies hate this, a lot of their business is probably generate by word of mouth & friend recommendations.

They may just ignore your letter but at least you can let off a bit of steam telling them what you think. On the other hand - you maybe surprised and they might give you a discount or the cost of the van rental back to you.

antoinolachtnai

If you really need the goods, i would take my chances and pick them up.

This company really is like a machine. It ships in good furniture for decent prices. The quality is very good.

It's really when you fall outside their 'system' that you get in trouble. It can feel a bit like falling out of the driver's seat of a combine harvester unfortunately.

I do think that what the guy did to you with setting up the delivery date was a bit sharpish.

You certainly are taking some sort of chance though. Check that the cartons are sealed when they are picked up. I really do think they will do their best to sort it out if there is a problem. Usually the problems come up with stuff like tears on sofas which may not be an issue for you.

You should also see if you can convince them to do the drop of the disputed items at the same time as they drop your other furniture.

I hope you get everything sorted for Christmas!

MartyM

Thanks all!

I guess we still have a bit of hope due to the fact that we have a second delivery coming.....time will tell!

I did offer extra for delivery if they manage to combine both....i guess i considered that to be the case where both parties were being flexible.

antoinolachtnai

That is good to hear.

The only thing to remember is that it's a machine. They will either do the two deliveries together for the price of one or will refuse to combine them at all. There is probably no in-between of paying them a few bob extra to sort it out. That's just not the way it works. It sounds ridiculous but that's how it is. The systems have no 'this guy's stuck, let's hit him for a few bob, he won't mind' button.

Still, it does no harm to offer to pay extra.