Laura Ashley Brompton Console Table / shop staff told wrong delivery timespan

I made this complaint against Laura Ashley and also wrote to their Head Office I have just received a letter offering me a full refund or if I continue with the order a refund of the delivery charge. It obviously pays to complain!

My partner and I placed an order for the Brompton Dining table on the 1st January 2008 with an anticipated delivery date of the first week in March. We then received a follow up letter saying that there had been a delay to our order 'due to production' and we wouldn't receive it until the end of April. With the end of April approaching we recently called to be told that it would be delivered the first week of May. This morning a further letter has arrived saying, again, that 'due to production' there wil be a further delay and we will not be receiving the table until the beginning of June.

This projected delivery date is now more than five months after placing the order and three months after the initial delivery date given. We would never have ordered this table if we had known that the process would be so shambolic. I would expect the delivery charge to be waived as a matter of course, however I am not sure how they plan to compensate for yet another month spent without a dining table and the frustration this is causing.

I am sure that this must be happening to a lot of people and Laura Ashley deserve to be named and shamed for the shoddy sevice that they are providing.

I have received exactly the same zero response following the order and full payment for this table back in mid January.
I am now about to write and demand a contractual delivery date - something I should have done at the time of placing the order - had I known about the problem.
The customer services unit is clearly briefed to prevent service. They are actually a barrier between the customer and the LA management so the blame her lies totally with the management of Laura Ashley.
You rights under the Sale of Goods Act are that you can get your money back if the delivery is beyond a reasonable time or a specified time. If you incur additional costs in buying a replacement then you can claim against LA.

Same thing!!! with the same Brompton table...
Placed an order just after the New Year, estimated delivery date was 8 weeks. Then there were several letters about delay, and this morning (May 15) got a phone call that due to "production" its not until July...

Just wonder what can go so wrong with "production" when its just a couple of boards to put together. Was there a fire that destroyed the whole plant? Or its a T5 infection?

This is familiar, I ordered a Brompton Dining Table & Refectory Chairs and the full amount was taken out of my bank account on the 6th February 2008, this was due to be delivered next week 13th June 2008 latest, yet a customer services rep left a voicemail message saying chairs delayed until end of July and no mention of the table. After I left a message for her she called back on the wrong number to say that this would arrive in August! I contacted the rep but always getting voicemail even when I've left a work number she rings me at home, however having phoned the general customer services number I have asked for a full refund and compensation. What angers me most is the website is now selling these same items at full cost (the ones I ordered were in the sale at 70% reduction) and yet the estimated delivery dates again are 9/10 weeks. When you've waited 17 weeks to be told it will actually possible arrive in 25 - 26 weeks then all confidence goes out of the window, there's no commitment to fulfill the order when they have had all of your money for months. I recommend going elsewhere even if items are in the Sale.

Follow-up:

Laura ashley refunded my account for the full amount. A gift card containing £25 and a £25 cheque was offered in compensation or a gift card containing £50. I was happy with this.

They have advised that they should be able to clear the back-log of orders shortly and this is why they are still selling the furniture on the internet with 9/10 week estimated delivery dates... I'm not convinced on this point as they've been selling these items on the internet continuously since February and others who've posted on this site have incurred delays since the New Year but perhaps their supplier issues are on the turn, who knows.

I found an alternate supplier and £60 cheaper for similar furniture, yet although their website stated goods 'in stock' actually once again are not and will not arrive until August, HOWEVER and here is the difference they emailed an option to refund the total balance paid on the items and instead debit a deposit of under £40 instead so this should be coming through now - this company is Pine Solutions.

Looks as though its not just Laura Ashley with these supplier issues then.

I'd recommend having a look at Pine Solutions for furniture as they have refunded my account - retaining just 10% with the 90% balance due on delivery of the furniture. The delivery is due at the beginning of August

My elderly mother ordered and paid in full for the same table and chairs with this company back in January 2008, it is now July and have been told a possible delivery in August.
How many more out there?

A different table but the same experience here. We ordered a Milton Table, 6 chairs and a sideboard on 9th December. Our most recent delay letter gave an estimated delivery of end July. We have still not had a delivery date. At the sam tim ewe had ordered upholstered furniture and made to measure curtains etc. Our full order was in excess of 10K but our whole experience has been totally soured by the non appearance of these items of furniture. |We are now heading swiftly towards 8 months since order! Apparently compensation will be discussed when we have received and are happy with our goods.

Hey guys,

After quite an extensive thread on this forum, do you think that someone would've picked up by now that there is an actual problem - and that if you're moaning about the delay so much - you should just cancel the order instead of all moaning about he same thing??

Follow-up to original email.

I received the dining table and chairs that I ordered from Pinesolutions at the end of August. I bought an extended dining table, when it arrived I found that the extendable part was innovatively stored underneath the table when not in use. This is great as of course I don't have to worry about finding space to store it. The quality of the furniture is very good. The delivery went without hitch, the driver rang me and advised that it would arrive between 9 and 10am and it arrived about 9:30am the day advised. The delivery men were very helpful. The customer service was unsurpassed. It was really refreshing to find them after the trouble I had with Laura Ashley and if only I had known about them I would have gone straight to pinesolutions.co.uk and not given LA another thought.

Hi Jude.
I completely agree. I have tried a number of online companies for furniture and to be honest, PineSolutions have consistently delivered above expectations. It is so difficult to go 'internet shopping' for furniture as you can rarely get a good enough picture / feel for the products online. It was a while back but I still think they do a price check too, and they match others prices if you find them better priced elsewhere. You may have to check this though as it was last summer I bought. www.pinesolutions.co.uk

Val.

Guess what?Laura Ashley has cancelled my order for a cardigan and refunded the money back to my card whith out getting a consent from me!! I have been under the imperssion that they are allocating the cardigan to me when first I was told by an agent on the customer services help line. Instead they have had it cnacelled completely and evan they did not show any courtesy to let me know about my order.

Anyone can suggest what I should be doing? This is not the only occasion they have let me down. They have had messed up my order in Jan 2008 when I ordered the Brompton Table and Camberwell bed. The goods arrived in mid August!! There customer services SUCKS!

The laura ashley customer Services are not that great. They have staff who hung up on their cutomers while talking to them.

ive just received my brompton table 4 weeks early full marks to Laura Ashley and delivery men unpacked and took all the rubish away with them ... im very pleased

I feel I have to contribute to the positive reviews of pinesolutions.co.uk...I ordered a Brooklyn Oak sideboard from them online to be delivered to the Rep of Ireland. Unfortunately I wasn't at home when it arrived, when I removed the packaging I discovered some marks on the top of it. I contacted the company via email and didn't get a reply until I emailed them again. Eventually Rachel phoned me and apologised profusely and explained that they did not receive the first email and she felt that maybe it was due to the many attached photos I had sent with it. She offered me some options - a refund, a discount or a replacement. I opted for the replacement which was going to take a few weeks as the sideboard was not in stock. She told me that I could continue to use the sideboard until the replacement was delivered!! Rachel sent me regular updated emails on the due date of delivery which made me feel confident that everything was going to be ok. I received the replacement and am very happy with communication and service. So thank you Rachel, you're a very valuable asset to your company.

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