“Our experience with DFS has been exhausting and deeply disappointing.
We purchased a San Mateo sofa before Christmas 2024, and it arrived damaged. Despite repeated promises — including a refund offer that was later withdrawn — we were left for months without usable seating. We continued paying finance instalments for a sofa that wasn’t fit for purpose, while DFS stalled, deflected, and refused to escalate the matter, even after explaining that there was a disabled person in the household. It ultimately took the Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman and our finance provider (who were excellent and recognised DFS hadn’t upheld their own contract) to bring the ordeal to an end”
“Went to DFS Shrewsbury as we have been a loyal customer for many years
Saw Helen and processed the order for a sofa and footstool and then be told there would be a extra £129 delivery charge and we live one mile away. She said I'll speak with the manager and get it wavered but came back and said he wouldn't do anything
He didn't have the manners to come over and explain. Poor poor service and we left unimpressed and didn't place the order”
“I purchased a sofa from DFS (value £4,572) in April 2025. From the day of delivery, the sofa was faulty and unfit for use. Despite repeated attempts to have the matter resolved, it took almost five months before the repairs were finally carried out.
Being left without the proper use of a major household item for nearly half a year caused significant inconvenience and frustration. Under the Consumer Rights Act, repairs must be completed within a reasonable time and without causing substantial inconvenience — five months is neither reasonable nor acceptable.
When I raised this with DFS, instead of offering fair compensation, they offered just £148.82 as a “goodwill gesture” or to collect the sofa for a refund. Neither option reflects the serious loss of use or the distress caused.
I calculated fair compensation of £2,055 (based on loss of use and inconvenience), which is in line with similar Ombudsman rulings. DFS has refused to consider this and has dismissed my complaint with a “full and final” offer far below what is reasonable.
In short:
Faulty sofa delivered.
Nearly five months delay in getting it repaired.
Poor customer service throughout.
Compensation offer that does not come close to addressing the inconvenience suffered.
I will now be escalating my case to the Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman and, if necessary, the Small Claims Court.
I would strongly urge others to think carefully before purchasing from DFS, as my experience has been extremely disappointing.”
“The in store experience was actually quite good but that’s where it ended. We paid £3k for our sofas, got a delivery date scheduled and the old ones were collected the day before. I took time off work on the day but the delivery was cancelled and rescheduled for 2 days later on a Saturday. I cancelled my weekend plans to again wait in for the delivery. We didn’t receive a text with the delivery window so called up again on the off chance to find delivery is yet again cancelled. No one bothered to call or message us to let us know. By this point we’ve been without anything to sit on for 3 days. No one can give us an answer as to when our sofas will be delivered. I said I would collect them from the depot but they won’t let me do that. We’ve been left with no furniture and no clue of how long we’ll be left like this. Not ideal for a family. Terrible customer service and clueless staff.”
“DFS is an absolute con! Sofa delivered on the 27th June and faulty. Still not fixed, fabric quality is appalling with a random seam and has frayed and bobbled already, no indication of when the mechanism will be fixed and won't provide a refund. You talk to a million different customer service reps, none of whom seem to know what's going on and no one can tell me what happens if my sofa will never function as it's intended - but out of pocket. Absolute joke. They take your money and send products not fit for purpose. They lie and deceive, send faulty goods and don't care about the financial and emotional distress they cause. Strongly advise no one gives this poor excuse of a retailer their hard earned cash.”
“I had a very disappointing experience with DFS. The product description on their website was misleading. After purchasing, we were away for a while, and only later realised the product did not match the specifications advertised and would not fit in our room. When we contacted customer care, they said a refund was possible—but here’s the catch: they would deduct an unbelievable £130 for return transport.
This feels like a trick hidden in the small print. The advertisement was incorrect and misleading, and the so-called return policy comes with hefty hidden costs. My advice: read every detail carefully before buying from DFS, because it’s all too easy to be caught out by their misleading ads and expensive return charges.”
“Spent almost £4,000 on a leather recliner sofa and armchair. The items stank of chemicals for 6 weeks but now, four months after purchase, the seats are sagging at the back as badly as our old one (20 years old) which gives us bad backs. No point complaining as will be all our fault!”
“For 30 years, we had only bought sofas from DFS. We ordered our sixth sofa last year from the Measham store. When it was delivered, the leather was markedly different than the one in the store. It would not let you ‘slide around’. Your clothes were gripped and rode up your back when reclining. Furthermore, it was very uncomfortable creating lower back pain. We raised the issue but after two visits they simply declared it was not faulty (which we never claimed) so they would take no action. Two emails to the CEO meant nothing with no shift in their position. I raised a complaint with the ombudsman who took three months to eventually side with DFS - who I’m sure pay for their existence along with other furniture stores.
We will never buy from DFS again. They have lost all our future business which could be many thousands of pounds. This is simply a bad business result.
On their website it states that the customer is at the heart of their business. Poppycock.”
“The delivery was loud rude inconsiderate and incompetent customer service
Drivers registration BJ19ZFV
As for there furniture it's rubbish
They are very perfidious indeed.
I will never buy any furniture from dfs
The furniture looks really nice on the outside but underneath the outside the interior is of poor quality and doesn't last long you can't even sell the furniture after us because they're in such poor condition they don't last very long on afraid”
“Lie after Lie. Ordered couch back in May, 6-8 weeks, as we were on hold until 31/07 asked not to be delivered until that day. Still no couch, dates stared to change, called and was advised they do not have transport, told them I don't believe they can't arrange this within 10 weeks notice, so they said it was fabrics issue, again extra 4 weeks they had and it turned to be a lie also. date was moved by another 2 weeks, 12 weeks later. CS advised they will get Dublin manager to call me, he stated staff should advise better but they are in contract and he will send me compensation... prosecco and box of chocolates and will call me Friday (week ago to confirm delivery time) didn't happen! now go email with another delay when their transport and as they get their transport on Wednesday they booked delivery on Sunday. CS copying and pasting delivery email, insane and disrespectful. Pay for it and you're on your own.”
“Bought a leather recliner sofa, spent £4K and only realised after a number of weeks that one of the recliners had been patch repaired. A truly dishonest company who are happy to take your money and send you 2nd hand/ damaged goods”
“I payed for 2 man delivery and instalation and was shocked when the delivery team refused to assemble the very heavy ceramic dining table and left the very large box lying on the floor. I made a complaint and after weeks of no contact I asked for an update on my complaint. I then had the salesman ring me to say that I hadn't paid for installation. I think if you check on my invoice you will find that I did.. Yet another unhappy customer.”
“Terrible QC. They should’ve caught all this before delivering but here we are. We have an appointment with the engineer on 1st August. Will update the review when a resolution is reached. I’m not sure how they’ll fix this without replacing the affected units.”
“I had a positive in-store experience when purchasing a sofa from DFS Poole, but unfortunately, everything that followed has been nothing short of a nightmare. When the sofa arrived March, it came with two visible stains, a broken storage compartment lever, a cracked footstool, and the wrong care kit (leather instead of fabric). It was clear the delivery team hadn’t checked the items properly before assembly. I reported this to the store immediately, and to their credit, they arranged for a technician to come out that same week. He did an excellent job removing the stains, ordered a replacement lever, and arranged for a new footstool. He also mentioned we might be eligible for a partial refund – which we appreciated – but unfortunately, he didn't bring the correct care kit. Weeks passed, and we still hadn’t received the care kit, meaning we avoided using the sofa in fear of damaging it. The technician returned with the new lever and footstool (again, appreciated), but still no care kit. Despite several follow-ups, it wasn’t until a month after delivery that the care kit was finally posted out, only after I escalated the issue again and mentioned a refund. During the next phase of communication, I spoke to two different members of staff at the store, none of whom would put me through to a manager – which was extremely frustrating. One assistant offered a hamper valued at well over £100 (I was told multiple times) as a goodwill gesture, which I declined (I didn’t feel a hamper made up for the hassle). Eventually, I was able to speak with the manager, who initially offered a £60 refund, which I found wholly inadequate given the issues. I proposed a 10% refund (roughly £200 on a £2,000 sofa) or at the very least, the footstool (which arrived broken) free of charge at that was valued at around £300. After further discussion, the manager increased the offer to £120 refund on our finance, which I reluctantly accepted just to move forward.However, the situation got even worse from there. Despite being told the refund would be processed within 10 working days, nothing appeared on our finance or card. I contacted DFS customer service, who said someone from the store would get back to me – they never did. I chased again, and was told the refund hadn’t even been processed and it would now take 21 days. At this point, it was already over a month since my conversation with the manager (15 May). Eventually, on 12 July, I was told the refund had finally been processed and should be returned within 7 working days – over two months after agreeing to it. The manager later emailed me claiming she thought I was chasing a card refund (which I never requested), adding to the confusion.
This entire experience has been frustrating, confusing, and incredibly time-consuming. I've received conflicting information from every department I’ve spoken with. The lack of internal communication and accountability has been shocking – and this is still unresolved as of now. I have all dates, names, and an email trail to support everything in this review. For a company as well-established as DFS, this level of service is simply unacceptable.”
“I faced a tough situation when my account got blocked following a withdrawal request. I was concerned about losing my investment. Thankfully, Mrs. Mercy and her team provided excellent support. They kept me informed, worked fast, and helped me recover my money without any issues.”
“I faced a tough situation when my account got blocked following a withdrawal request. I was concerned about losing my investment. Thankfully, Mrs. Mercy and her team provided excellent support. They kept me informed, worked fast, and helped me recover my money without any issues.”
