Bernhardt Furniture
Reviews and Complaints

i purchased a Bernhardt leather sectional sofa from Dillards.. it sits in my living room with no direct sunlight...and has never had any cleaning solution applied...the cushions are peeling away in flakes...The ottoman also did that so i sent it to the junk yard.

Dillards local store manager gave me the "brush off"., , , , , "never have seen this problem...call bernhardt...they dont make furniture...they farm it out to china. he lied about never seeing this problem as he has been at this store for 15+ years as furniture dept manager.

The sofa looks like "spray on tan"---not fine leather.

i expect to junk a $3500 sectional...

Bernhardt furniture is trash.

bob
humble, texas 77346

We purchased two leather recliners. After less than a year's use the brown leather is wearing away. These chairs were not cheap. When we complained, we were told to go and purchase a brown pen for leather from Home Depot and try to fix it ourselves.
We caution anyone to refrain from buying any leather furniture from Bernhardt as it is quite inferior and will not last. It should be noted that we also have Pennsylvania House leather recliners that are over 10 years old and still look like new.

We purchased our leather sofa & love seat by Bernhardt 2.5 years ago. One of the seat cushions has several spots that are peeling. All five seat cushions have been treated exactly the same as I rotate them monthly and condition with a leather conditioner. I contacted Bernhardt by email as there is not a person you can talk to. After a couple of weeks of sending pictures, gathering information, etc. I was told today that their "leather professional" said this problem came from an animal and Bernhardt cannot help. She went on to say that my couches are top grain leather and they do not peel. With only this one cushion peeling, it is obvious to me that they used a lesser grade of "leather" on this one cushion. Didn't even ask me if I had any animals...and then went on to say that this sofa has been discontinued...Well...I wonder why? No more Bernhardt for us nor will I ever recommend this brand to anyone.

We ordered a small table that arrived damaged. It took over two months (and incessant follow up on our behalf) to get the replacement. Because they won't ship direct to a residence, we had to use a receiver warehouse. The damaged table sat in the warehouse (where we were being charged) for over a month until they finally (again, after incessant followups on our behalf) sent a truck to pick it up. HOWEVER, instead of picking up the small Bernhardt item, they picked up a large 200 lb box from a completely different company - which happens to be a very expensive custom cabinet. This cabinet is now sitting "somewhere" on a truck and they refuse to locate it, saying we just "have to wait until the truck is unloaded to locate it." TWO WEEKS LATER and it's still sitting on the truck while the "customer service" reps and even the sales rep claim there's nothing they can do. Not a single apology or sign of sympathy toward our situation. I'm not exactly sure what these people get paid to do, but clearly it's not their job. The furniture they sell may be pretty on the outside, but it's a lemon - because underneath is hands down the worst excuse for customer service I've ever experienced (at any level). Save your money and sanity and purchase from any of their competitors.

We purchased this product a number of years ago, and unlike most of these complaint, ours is based on very, very poor design and construction. While we were told the frame was constructed of solid hardwood, come to find out (after the damn thing breaks) it's actual construction is plywood, of the pine type, and the grain is orientated in a way that provides the least strength. Basically a piece of crap for a bunch of money. If you consider purchasing one of their products, while the look nice, and cost a lot, they're build like something you'd find at a low end store. Just keep looking, and don't spend you money on such trash.

I originally ordered furniture in JUNE from Mathis Brothers (5 months ago), knowing I needed it before the holiday. I thought 5 months would be plenty of time. Bernhardt never told me that the fabric would be backordered. I should have been told in JUNE so I had enough time to order something else. Instead, I did not find out until SEPTEMBER after I kept complaining (and calling CONSTANTLY) that they did not have it in stock. By then, it would not have mattered if I ordered something else because it would have still taken the 8-12 weeks. It is now later November, still no furniture.

We also bought two Castleton leather sofas by Bernhardt at Havertys in Florida, 9/2015. Not only did we get the bait and switch after paying to find out the product was not available for a month, received them last week and they immediately smelled like cat pee upon taking off the wrapping. The leather does not seem very luxurious and I certainly would not recommend this product to anyone. My family will not even sit on them. I thought maybe after a few days the smell would go away but its still just as strong 3 days later. Just walking thru the room is overwhelming. These are definitely going back to Havertys for a refund. Buyer beware.

I bought a beautiful Bernhardt sofa several years ago. At first when I sat on it I noticed my eyes burning, so I limited my time on the sofa and thought the problem will go away in time, and give it a chance to off-gas. Fast forward to today, the sofa produces a persistent unique smell. To mask the smell I place blankets over the sofa. After a couple weeks the smell is in the blankets. I wash the blankets and put them back on the sofa. This has been going on for years. Bernhardt has now given me a resolution that and I am happy with it. I wish I could have returned the sofa sooner though. Lesson learned, when you buy from a store that sells only as-is but the product is still new, you still have the right to exercise the product warranty, with recourse through the manufacturer. If you have a customer service issue with this company then don't give up. They only have one person fielding the customer issues, and she is very busy. For me, it's not that easy to sell a used sofa and it is not cool to have to take a loss on it when it's clearly defective in that it should not stink. I have had it cleaned even though it was clean, and covered, and I placed it on my covered patio to air it out. I have tried everything. It's only fair that Bernhardt make good on this since they may have used burnt foam or too much flame ###ant or something unknown which has affected this sofa. At least they did honor their warranty.

In November of 2006 I bought a Bernhardt couch from the Bernhardt Outlet store while visiting Hickory, NC. Within several months of buying the couch, the leather started flaking off. This seemed extremely strange since we have never had a cat, dog, or other animal. Now it is about 7.5 years later and the couch is horrible looking, even though we have never had any animal in the house. We have had a cover on our couch over the last couple of years since it is such a mess. The flakes of material on the couch get all over our house and we literally have to sweep or vacuum around the couch every day. As you can see from the pictures, the couch is in horrible shape. Today I realized there is a hole in the material as well. I will NEVER buy any piece of Bernhardt Furniture again. The quality of our Bernhardt couch is unacceptable and I wasted a lot of money on this purchase ($835 to be exact plus a hefty shipping fee). I called the Bernhardt outlet in Hickory and was able to get copies of the receipt from them. They also sent me my "Terms and Conditions" file copy which I NEVER SIGNED! (Pic of unsigned document is attached).

If I had not bought the couch "as-is" I would have immediately contacted Bernhardt to notify them of the problem. I know there are no guarantees when you buy an item "as is" but I feel that Bernhardt should have been up front with me and told me that the issue with this couch was related to the quality of the actual material. They knew there was or could likely be an issue and did not tell me. I assumed that the couch was on sale since there was a minor scratch or since the bottom of one of the couch legs looked slightly different than the others. Little did I know the couch would become a major health hazard. I have two small children and am constantly worried about my children putting the couch pieces in their mouth or accidentally ingesting them while on the couch. The couch is also a terrible eye-sore. Additionally, we have to sweep around the couch at least twice a day and have done this for years. Once the couch developed a rip in it on the cushion (the rip is currently several inches long and is shown in one of the photos) I felt compelled to contact Bernhardt Customer Service. It is unethical for a company to not share information it has on their products, especially if a product is damaged in some way that the customer does not know of if the product could cause a serious health issue. After numerous emails back and forth with Bernhardt Customer Service, they have offered me a discount on SHIPPING ONLY of a new couch IF it is shipped to a location in NC, and IF I am willing to purchase another terrible quality from the outlet which I will most definitely never do.

This is the worst quality of any item furniture or otherwise that I have ever purchased. The quality of our Bernhardt couch is unacceptable and I wasted a lot of money on this purchase. If anyone is purchasing furniture, I strongly recommend staying away from Bernhardt. Do not make the same mistake that I did.

5/16/2014 - DO NOT BUY BERNHARDT junk! We purchased an expensive Bernhardt leather sofa and ottoman from Haverty's in Altamonte
Springs, Fl just over 8years ago. This sofa is in our front room and
almost never gets any use. I just noticed that the leather is peeling
and cracking on the seat cushions. Realizing that all warranties had
expired, I called Haverty's to see what could be done to repair the cushions, but was told to contact an independent company that reupholsters furniture for any recommendations. I even asked for a simple phone number
for Bernhardt but was told that they only had a post office box address.
Reading all the complaints on line re:Bernhardt leather peeling, I think the problem is a major manufacturing issue and Bernhardt should be required to do a recall for that issue (as well as other common complaints). Unless Bernhardt suddenly changes and offers a resolution for their many problems (I doubt it) I would never, never, never, buy any of thier prodcuts again. And now I wouldn't even recommend Haverty's if they can't provide any more help than I received or even a customer support phone number for their vendors. D Mccartney 5/16/2014

I just read some of the complaints about bernharrdt furniture and wish I read them before I purchased my TERRIBLE Foster 5177L couch! It is now three years old. It sinks between the first and second cushions. It was purchased at Raymour and Flannagan. We've had them come and look at it twice. Both times they say the problem is the cushions and they will replace them. We replaced them once and it took about six months for the problem of sinking to return. We were also told that maybe we shouldn't sit between the two cushions. This is one couch that I consciously try to sit as close to the arm of the chair so I don't sink into the hole that is where the two cushions meet. So I could spend more money for new cushions because I'm told there is nothing wrong with the frame of this god awful couch. Why would anyone want to do that! Can't wait until I can save enough money to get rid of this piece of trash. I would put it out on my front lawn for free or even put it on Raymour and Flannagan's parking lot for free, but who would honestly sit on it and want It. Please buyer be aware of these two companies and not purchase from them. I bought three rooms of furniture that day and this couch has been a problem within six months from the day it was purchased! BUYER BEWARE!

I purchased a beautiful Bernhardt leather sectional sofa from a couple that lived in a town an hour away from me. The sectional was three years old and when I bought it, it was gorgeous. It is indeed Bernhardt because I checked and did my due diligance before purchasing this. I still paid $700 for this three year old sofa knowing I was paying for the name. Im a single mom so that's still an expense fo rme. Within 2 months my sofa started peeling slowly and now four of my cushions are utterly disgusting! i can't even sit on them without the leather pieces comign off on our clothes and skin. Underneath the peeling is still leather. I saw the invoice and receipt of the lady's purchase of this and it was from Weirs and was indeed Bernhardt. I can no longer find their phone number and I guess their gain was my loss. But Weirs carries this exact sofa and it's 4k. This sHould not be happening. utterly ridiculous workmanship!

I purchased a Bernhardt panel bed in May 2010 for about $2, 000. Within a few months a crack started to appear in the bottom panel, and after a few more weeks the crack had progressed to a large jagged crack. It was very difficult to get anyone to respond to me (or even to get a phone number or email). After several weeks they said that something must have hit the bed and they were not going to repair or replace. Nothing has hit the bed...it is just falling apart because it is cheap wood, cheaply glued together. I don't think it will last much longer and I hope I can at least salvage the headboard.
So-buyer beware when purchasing Bernhardt furniture. It is not good quality for the money!

This is my experience of buying a Bernhardt leather sofa from Dillard's. I hope that my story would deter anyone from wasting their money by buying any Bernhardt leather furniture.

I purchased, in December 2005 for $2400.00, a Bernhardt leather sofa from Dillard's Department store.

In the summer of 2009, less than 4 years after purchase of the sofa, I noticed that the leather on the seat and back cushions of the sofa was cracking and splitting.

I contacted customer service with Dillard's and sent a letter Nov.19, 2009 to Mark Gastman, District Manager, explaining the situation to him.

He said he would send someone from U.S. Quality Furniture to inspect the sofa and make a report. This representative came out on Jan. 15, 2010. He said that he would make his report and that I should receive replacement covers for the seat cushions and back cushions in a couple of weeks and then he would be out to install them.

On March 3, 2010, Patrick Quinlan, Customer Service Representative from Dillard's, called me and said that their determination was that the damage of the leather was only normal wear and tear and they would do nothing about it.

On March 7, 2010, I sent a letter to each of the following persons with Bernhardt Furniture Co. of North Carolina:

G. Alex Bernhardt, Sr. - Chairman and CEO

G. Alex Bernhardt, Jr. - President, Bernhardt Residential

William B. Collett - EVP, GM, Bernhardt Residential Casegoods

Frank Cooper - EVP, GM, Bernhardt Residential Upholstery

Mark Gastman, District Manager, Dillard's Inc.

FYI, It is just my husband and myself living in our house; we also have a Lazy-Boy leather recliner purchased in 2001, that my husband sits in every day, that does not show any wear or tear to the leather. Consider this information when shopping for leather furniture.

I purchased a Bernhardt chair and ottoman. Bernhardt claims to make quality products and, therefore, the increase in cost is justified. However, the fabric on my chair and ottoman started disintegrating less than two years after purchase. The fabric has a design on it made of chenille and the chenille just falls off of it so now I have bald patches all over the chair and ottoman. In addition, the cushion on the back of the chair was never filled properly and looks like a squished brown lump - not very attractive and not easy to sit in. You can't make the cushion stay up - it just flops over. I have followed up with my salesperson and with Bernhardt to no avail. They always say they will get back to me but never do. I have shown pictures to furniture repair shops and to local furniture stores and they all say that it is faulty workmanship.

Due to water damage from a flood, we wished to replace two table leafs for a Bernhardt dining room set we purchased years ago. We sent a letter with photographs to the president of Bernhardt Company, Mr. G. Alex Bernhardt, on September 17. No reply. We then found an email address, "customercare AT bernhardt.com" and sent an email on October 15 requesting assistance to replace the leafs, again absolutely no reply.

I would advise anyone thinking of buying anything made by Bernhardt to think again, they apparently don't give a damn once they have your money. They're so big and you're so small, - well you get the message. We found that going through your local dealer is useless since we purchased the suite in another state and local showrooms ignore you.