FDF Global Reviews 2

After purchasing over 2000 pounds of dining furniture we decided to add a console table, a decision which I now sincerely regret. The table arrived with a clear manufacturing flaw. I contacted the company who took 10 days to reply - then dismissed my concerns as "normal". They failed to answer a follow up email, wouldn't help at the store where I purchased the item, and told me to call back later when someone was available. After much protesting, someone handled my case, again dismissed my concern and insisted on a 50 pound re-stocking charge if the item was to be returned. After sales service was a shambles and they do not comply with their own stated service standards. Buyer beware.

We ordered a Toledo oak bed on the last day of the clearance sale from Oak Furniture FDF. We noticed that a new clearance sale started immediately after the end so I did start to wonder if we'd actually got a bargain.

We asked for the delivery drivers to phone to give us an estimated delivery time but it just arrived with absolutely no warning. Fortunately my wife was in to take delivery, the delivery drivers would only deliver to the front door. There wasn't room in our hall for the 3 packages weighing a total of 90kg so they suggested my wife (who is pregnant) carry them upstairs on her own! I know this is stated in their delivery terms but my concern was that it was not very sensible to make a suggestion to a pregnant woman which could have caused her to have a miscarriage. In the end they left them in the kitchen but being large packages they did block the room until I could get home to move them.

I then found the bed was damaged with a large crack along the headboard. I reported this to FDF with pictures and they (being Tom Dollar who appears to have posted a review on this site posing as a customer) agreed to replace it with a new bed. To the credit of FDF they were very responsive and we did receive a new bed in a reasonably quick space of time, however, again we asked for the delivery drivers to call us and they just turned up unannounced. The damaged bed has been collected separately and was due to be picked up last week but my wife waited in all day and they didn't turn up. It was eventually collected the next day after much chasing which to be fair to FDF they did help with chasing the delivery company several times. We did just ask to have replacements for the damaged parts delivered rather than a whole new bed and this would have avoided all the extra hassle in terms of the collection of the complete bed. I had also called the delivery company to ask for an expected time but they said they couldn't give a time and that the delivery drivers wouldn't be able to call if we did go out because they're not allowed to phone whilst driving and they probably won't have signal at our house (in a town)! I understand FDF are addressing these issues with their delivery company so hopefully this will not be a problem in future.

We are a bit disappointed in terms In terms of the quality of the bed itself and we found the bed very tricky to put together. I would just say that it is good advice to go and visit the store before you buy which we wished we had done. Overall, I think 3 stars is fair based on our view of the quality, the difficulty in assembly and the delivery troubles but I would say that the customer service has been very responsive and helpful.

Note: the company reacted very badly to my initial review but the accusations that we threatened them with bad reviews are simply not true, nor is there any reference to any threats in the emails I sent. Nonetheless, I have amended this review slightly to acknowledge that quality is subjective and this review does reflect a very fair and reasonable account of our experience. I would just recommend that you make up your own mind by visiting the store if possible.