Buyer beware (DFS Sofas)

Member Name: jasminesarah

Product:	DFS Sofas
Date:	02/08/08 (1478 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sofas are ok

Disadvantages: Horrible customer service, cynical money grabbing

I moved house a year ago and my old sofa did not survive the move - I set out to find a gorgeous replacement. This wasn't as easy as I had expected, especially on a budget. To cut a very long story short, I settled finally on DFS.

To be honest, I didn't enter the store actually intending to buy, but having asked a few questions about a sofa my daughter and I were interested in, the salesperson was going nowhere until I had made a decision. I felt slightly pressured into choosing, however, having done that, I felt very pressured into agreeing to extras such as a stain proof coating. I initially said no, and the salesperson implied I was mad or foolish not to buy it, at an additional £80. I am ashamed to say that I agreed to it. If it is so fantastic and 'must have' why doesn't it come as standard?

I had chosen quite a large sofa so I made a deliberate point of asking if it would fit through a standard doorway. The salesperson brushed off my question, saying 'Oh, they'll get it in, our delivery men can work miracles!'

Delivery was 7 - 10 weeks. This seems to be fairly standard for sofas and I do find it annoying, it means that the company can sell you a product before they pay for it themselves. I received a voicemail informing me when it was ready, with a request to call back to arrange a time. I did this and was told that the following day had already been agreed. I explained that it couldn't have been, as I hadn't called, and that tomorrow wasn't convenient. The person I spoke to was really rude, she said that 'someone' in my house had agreed to this, as it wouldn't be on the file otherwise. I explained that no one was home, I was calling from work. There was lots of sighing and finally she agreed to change the date to a Saturday morning. I was furious, this was their mistake, and anyway surely not a big deal.

The delivery slot was from 7am to 1pm.
7am!!! And no, of course they couldn't be more specific about when it would arrive. The delivery men were friendly enough, although they did both ask to use my loo and I thought this was quite unprofessional. They took payment of the balance of the cost of the sofa before bringing it into the house. When they did bring it in, of course, it didn't fit. I repeated what the salesperson had said, and the delivery men told me that the salespeople always say things like that just to get a sale. They said 'In the stores they say we can do miracles' - I replied 'YES! That IS what they said!' The delivery men just shook their heads - it was clearly a situation they were familiar with.

After much manoeuvering the delivery men explained that they thought they *might* be able to get the sofa through the doorway if they forced it, but they couldn't guarantee it and any damage to both the sofa and my hallway paint work would be my responsibility. Resentfully, I agreed.

The sofa did make it in to the house, and luckily only a small mark on the wall was the evidence. Only then was it explained to me that had they not been able to deliver the sofa, I would have been liable for several hundred pounds of the cost of it, as it would then be taken back to the shop to be sold at a reduced price. Despite having been told categorically not to worry about whether it would fit, the responsibility was all mine.

Again, I was upset and angry at this, I felt conned. It really took the joy out of what should have been an exciting purchase. A year later, the sofa is fine, it is how I expected it to be. When it wears out, DFS is the last place I will go for a replacement.

Summary: Avoid at all costs