When me and my partner had found a flat to move in to in Summer 2011 my Mum very kindly offered to buy us a bed when I saw a pink faux leather one on the Dreams advert. I love pink and she knew I had already planned to make the bedroom a pink paradise so she knew I would love the bed! She went online and paid £89 + £30 delivery for the frame only that was in the sale at the time. We ordered it at the end of July and were told that we would receive a call to arrange delivery within the next few days and it could be delivered within 7 days. As we weren't actually moving for another two weeks we emailed Dreams and asked if the bed could instead be delivered on the day we moved in. We received a phone call saying they couldn't deliver that day but could deliver it 4 days later so we agreed as sleeping on a mattress for a few nights wasn't the end of the world.

We then received a phone call telling us that the bed was currently out of stock and would be delivered as soon as they had it. I felt a bit put out by this as they had already taken my Mums money - therefore in my opinion my bed should have been reserved for me, after all it was supposed to be being delivered in a matter of days. We explained to them that this was not good enough as I had recently been diagnosed with mental illness and depression and therefore me getting a good nights sleep was very important, and sleeping on a mattress on the floor every night wasn't exactly ideal. We were assured they would telephone the following day with further details, however they never called.

A few days later my Mum rang them and was told someone would call her back as soon as they had spoken to the warehouse to determine when we could expect our delivery. However, this phone call never came either.

A few days passed with no phone call so my Mum called their customer service department again. It is worth noting here that when she did phone them she was kept on hold for half an hour or even up to an hour. When she finally got through she was told they didn't have any more information. She requested to speak to a supervisor and initially this was declined saying nobody was available but after persisting she was put through. The supervisor told her the bed was out of stock and there would be no delivery for at least six weeks. My Mum enquired why the website still said the bed was in stock and available delivered within seven days, he told her it must be a mistake and he would see it was put right immediately (but when we looked a few days later the bed was still 'in stock'). The supervisor suggested in the meantime that they could deliver the same bed but in brown rather than pink and then swap it when the pink one became available, my Mum reluctantly agreed as she didn't want me to continue sleeping on the floor. He told her he would call back within an hour to arrange delivery.

He rang back well over two hours later to inform us that the brown bed was actually out of stock too. We were offered a refund but I really had my heart set on this bed and had decorated my bedroom so that the bed would look perfect in there, we couldn't find anything similar for a reasonable price as we had already looked so I assured my Mum I could wait (much to her dismay)! They did refund the £30 delivery she had already paid and said he would ensure it was arranged for it to be assembled free of charge upon delivery.

A few weeks later whilst still sleeping on a mattress, me and my partner popped into a local Dreams store when we were out shopping so I could show him the bed as he had not actually seen it yet. The manager there offered to help and when I explained I was just showing my partner the bed he said that he was surprised as all the pink beds they were selling in store were being delivered as normal.

Delivery day finally arrived in October - two and a half months after we had ordered and paid for the bed. We were told it would be delivered between 8am and 6pm - they couldn't give a more specific time so I ensured I was up and dressed and had moved as much as I could from the bedroom so there was room for them to assemble the bed when it arrived before 8am. My sister kindly waited in with me for the delivery as I suffer with an anxiety disorder and I would not have been able to deal with a delivery alone. 6pm came and went with no sign of the bed so we tried to call customer services, but they shut at 6pm on a Saturday. I was very annoyed and upset at the thought of spending another night on the floor.

At about 6:30 two men pulled up in a white lorry, parking over a neighbour's driveway. They brought the bed in and went to leave. I told them that they were supposed to assemble the bed too because Dreams had taken so long to deliver it. They told us they didn't actually work for Dreams so there was nothing they could do and promptly left.

My partner was supposed to be working that evening but he had to call in and tell them he wouldn't be able to go in because he needed to put the bed up.

The boxes containing the bed were broken and one of the sides of the bed actually had a scuff mark on, luckily I managed to get most of it off. I did contemplate requesting a replacement but decided it wasn't actually worth it if I wanted a bed before 2012.

The bed is of average quality, it looks really nice and in that aspect I am glad I waited as it really sets the room off but the stitching is quite poor and the slats are not supported in the middle and are quite flimsy so we had to wedge something under it.

I would not recommend Dreams online. Customer services were unhelpful and unreliable and quite often rude, calls were not returned as promised. Waiting 10 weeks for delivery of a bed that was supposed to be available for delivery within 7 days is not acceptable. When the bed was finally delivered, the delivery was late and was not assembled as promised, leaving us still putting the bed together at 9pm on a Saturday night. I'm glad I don't live alone as I wouldn't have had a clue where to start putting up a bed.

I do like my bed but the trouble we had actually getting it makes me certain that I will never order from Dreams again.