Littlewoods - missing parts saga!!!!

chasm

Sorry guys but this is a long one!

I ordered an overbed unit and matching robe from littlewoods on 7th July 2009.I received the order on 24 July, proceeded to erect firstly the wardrobe, and then on the 25th, the overbed unit. The boxes for the overhead were all labelled as to the order they were to be erected, so by the time i got to the 3rd and final box i already had 1 side robe and the overhead part of the unit put together and glued. I opened the 3rd box and find there are no handles for the 3 drawers.

I contacted littlewoods straight away who said the parts dept was closed(saturday) and as it was a B/H weekend they wouldnt be there till tuesday- she said she send through the parts request and someone would ring me. Never happened.

I phoned them a few more times but as i was still not getting anywhere i emailed them the following:

Sir/Madam

I ordered a Prague overbed unit and matching robe from your company on 7th July 2009.
I received the order on 24 July, and upon inspection it became apparent that parts were missing. (3 x drawer handles/fixtures)

I phoned your company on 25th July to request that the missing parts be sent on to me. I was told that the matter would be logged and someone would be in contact with me. After hearing nothing from your company i rang a number of times and eventually received a letter stating that i should receive the parts within the next 21 days. I have not received these parts.

I informed your company, and asked that it be noted on my account that once i had received the parts for this order i will be making full payment for it, but had no intention of paying for incomplete furniture on the off chance that you MAY send me the parts. Since then i have received my statement with interest added and a reminder. I am fully aware of the amount owed and have not overlooked it.

I feel your company has had ample time to provide the missing parts, and due to these parts being missing i have not had full use of the furniture. Yet your company has not even offered an apology. The suggestion by one of your employees that i re-order the furniture and then take the parts required out and send the furniture back is a unbelievable and it is obvious that due to this sort of advise, customers like myself are supplied orders with parts missing.

I have now been in contact with your company as i have still not received these parts and i feel i should not be expected to continue to wait for these parts. If i have not heard from your company by 3pm today i shall purchase these parts from my local hardware store, and deduct the cost from the amount owed to you.

Please note that as the hardware store does not have the exact handles i shall have to purchase 6 drawer handles and 3 door handles, as i have a matching wardrobe.

I await your reply

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They replied with the following:

Hi there
I have tried to contact you on 0********. However this number is unobtainable. If you would like to call in on 0844224680 I will call you straight back. I have received your email and the information regarding return and re-order is correct. The spare parts department are unable to supply the parts. I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused.

C****** M*****

Part Items
Aintree

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Annoyed that they had pulled the old "we have the wrong contact number" stunt, i emailed back, somewhat slightly rudely i must admit:

Sir/Madam

This situation is totally unacceptable.
Firstly the parts dept sent me a letter saying the missing handles would be sent to me within 21 days, they were not, and now you are stating that you do not in fact have the parts, so i have been misled.

Secondly, my contact number that you have quoted in this email is incorrect, despite the fact that during a phone call to littlewoods yesterday they were able to quote the correct number. I have read on numerous websites that this is a common excuse/reason for supposedly not being kept informed.

I do not wish to deal with this matter over the phone anymore as i have contacted littlewoods via phone as regards this matter numerous times already and it seems that they will say anything just to get the person off the phone. I can be contacted on this email address and i feel that that is sufficient.

I assume as you can no longer supply the parts that were missing out of my order that you are agreeing to my purchasing of said items from local hardware store and subtracting it from the total owed. I shall then email receipts for same to you. I shall be purchasing these items tomorrow, as i think 5 weeks is long enough.
I would also expect a discount on price of this purchase due to the inconvenience this has cause me.

I await your reply

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Received this reply today

Dear Madam
regarding your email.If you buy the parts locally you will need to send a copy of the bill to us for reimbursement.You cannot just deduct the price from your account.The advice you have been given is to return and re-order Or take out the required parts and return the rest as faulty.
many thanks.

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So there you have it. I am off to the hardware store shortly to replace these handles, this whole situation has really annoyed me as the plan had been to order the bedroom set, avail of the free delivery and pay off in full when the first statement issued. I plan to buy the handles, send receipt to littlewoods for reimbursement, wait for their response and then pay the difference to settle the account.( I doubt they'll give a discount for the hassle somehow!)
I have absolutely no intention of paying their interest fees as i feel that they are partially at fault here, but i think littlewoods may have other ideas!!

chasm

Ok, so i bought the handles, after trying 3 different Hardware stores, couldnt get an exact match but had been willing to make do, but ive decide why should i "make do"? The wardrobe cost over E600.

Littlewoods led me to believe that they would send out the missing parts to me, tell me it may take 21 days, and then when they discover that they do not it's suddenly a case of return the item. They have blantantly lied to me and their complaints procedure seems non-existant, well i think its a case of like it or lump it.

So ive decided they can have it back, but there are a couple of issues i am unsure of
1, The item has been erected and glued and there is no packaging as it was recycled. They have been informed of this.

2, Ive heard stories that they can take ages to collect items, Thing is my house is small, (and i mean small!) so i will not have room to store their wardrobes once i buy replacement, so where do i stand as regerds the storage issue?

eth0_

You'll probably find the instructions say you should check you have ALL parts BEFORE beginning assembly.

You might want to check this before taking any further action against Littlewoods.

chasm

Actually it doesn't!
It did state on the boxes to assemble this box first, second etc, and i checked each box as i opened it. When i got to the final box and realised the handles were missing i phoned littlewoods straight away and they told me they would send out the drawer handles so i continued on with the last box.
I received a letter from their head of customer services saying i should receive the parts within 21 days. Unfortunately i made the mistake of believing them!

smelltheglove

I cant understand their problem here, I worked as customer service in Atlantic for a good while, many many flatpacks, all we would do is open a box, take the parts out, give them to the customer with sincere apologies and then send the boz back to the supplier. How hard is it?

You are unlikely to get them to take the furniture back though that is the only problem. They do not have to take it back, repair refund replace, they get to choose. Thing is, it will cost them a lot more to send you a complete set and then take it back as a return!

chasm

Thanks smelltheglove, as regards returning the wardrobe, it is littlewoods that have told me that i have to "return and reorder"- seems to be their mantra!! I am sick of the flippin thing now and am very annoyed that they seem unwilling to show even just a little goodwill for my hassle.

smelltheglove

chasm wrote: »

Thanks smelltheglove, as regards returning the wardrobe, it is littlewoods that have told me that i have to "return and reorder"- seems to be their mantra!! I am sick of the flippin thing now and am very annoyed that they seem unwilling to show even just a little goodwill for my hassle.

Customer service is brutal nowadays. It is shocking the stories some people have and these companies become so large that a few annoyed customers wont do them any harm and they are aware of that so keep trading the way they do! Sure if I was you, I'd re-order, when the delivery comes just tell the guy you are not accepting it all, open box 3, take your parts and send the rest back off with him, then job done, hassle over, nice big delivery charge for Littlewoods! And under no circumstances would I pay interest, you cannot be expected to pay in full for an incomplete order!

chasm

I cannot reorder until ive sent this one back though because of the credit limit on the account! Nothing is ever straight forward is it?!

chasm

Thought id let you know the outcome of this issue:

I emailed Littlewoods, and informed them that if they were unwilling to offer me some form of discount as a goodwill gesture for all the hassle etc, i would purchase alternative furniture elsewhere and in doing so i would not have space to store their furniture. I also informed them that if i was to follow their advice and "return and reorder", the furniture was likely to be damaged while disassembling as it had been glue and this would render it useless.

Anyways the short of it is that they have apologised and offered me the purchase price of new handles plus E50 as a gesture of goodwill, Which they are knocking off the price of the furniture. Am pleased it's finally sorted and i can pay off the balance in full tomorrow.

MOH

Glad to hear it's sorted. Pity they couldn't have been reasonable 3 weeks ago.