A FORKLIFT driver has been left furious after his brand new £2,000 sofa arrived – in the wrong colour.
Alan Ratcliffe ordered a light grey L-shaped sofa for his Bradwell home in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, back in June last year – but is still waiting 14 months on.
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And the 48-year-old said he had been begging for the issue to be resolved with furniture company Cousins – but it was still yet to be resolved.
He said: “I am very disappointed and we will never go there again, not for anything. There’s not been proper communication from them.
The nightmare began when he and wife Victoria splashed out nearly two grand on the set of seats with the furniture company Cousins over a year ago.
But they couldn’t believe it when the sofa arrived with a “slit” on the corner piece.
A Cousins employee came round to assess the damage and promised the couple a new corner piece by November.
Finally, four months later, the sofa was delivered – but it was the wrong colour… brown.
Alan said: “The delivery driver said that’s not the right piece at all. My wife saw it and she just couldn’t believe it.
“She rang me and told me and we were both furious. We got back in touch with them and they said they will get it sorted.”
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Until last week, the couple had been kept in the dark about where on earth the missing part had got to.
Over a year after the original order, Alan is outraged that they are still waiting for the settee they paid so much for.
He said: “We had a letter last week saying they’ve had confirmation that the corner is being built. I’m like ‘you’re only having it built now?’
“We haven’t had a date as to when it will arrive but I reckon it will be around September time.
“By that time the sofa we have got would have sun faded and it’s going to be totally worn – when we have this new piece delivered it’s going to be totally out of place.”
Now Alan is angrily demanding a new couch.
“I’ve been down in the shop and they are still selling the same settee so why can’t they make ours or give us a corner?
“We’d like a new piece or a new settee. It’s the least they can do for what they’ve done, their lack of sympathy is disappointing.”
Cousins have refused to comment on this case to “protect our customers’ privacy”.
But a spokesperson said: “Cousins Furniture is a member of The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman, who are independent, not-for-profit organisation specialising in dispute resolution services for consumers and businesses.
“As a local independent family-run furniture retailer in the Midlands, we take each issue and complain seriously and always work with customers to try to come up with an acceptable resolution.
“With that in mind, customers can raise their concerns with the Furniture Ombudsman, that provides independent mediation and legal advice on any matters raised and ensures that all concerts are resolved in a correct manner.”
Alan’s false order follows another man’s disappointment to receive a completely different package from the one he was expecting.
The online shopper was left fuming after Evri delivered the wrong parcel after he had sent out a PS4 and headset – but the buyers got something very different.
Liam O’Rourke, from West End near Woking, sold a Playstation 4 and a virtual reality headset on eBay and sent them off to the buyers in Sheffield and London a month ago.
But he was left unimpressed when the people buying off him told him they had actually received an Asos t-shirt and a Boohoo jacket.
Another shocked customer got more than he bargained for when he opened a parcel delivered by mistake – and found a 14-inch sex toy.
Luckily there are some things customers can do if a company messes up their delivery order.
Lucy Alderson looked at the five biggest delivery blunders and explains how to fight back when it goes wrong.
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