“Sofa-Gate - How a £3,300 purchase turned into a comedy of errors
After waiting something like 8 weeks for our £3,300 leather sofa (which I understand is a normal-ish time frame), one cushion had really bad stitching so a hole was there, and another looked as though the leather had been left in the heat (it looked a lot more tired and worn than the rest of the sofa). We were also given the wrong legs to put on the bottom. Consequently, we called up to get this rectified.
I wouldn't have written a bad review on that alone because mistakes happen and it's how companies deal with those mistakes that I judge them.
Firstly, they told us new legs would be sent out immediately and the cushion with the hole would be collected, repaired and sent back to us. The other, worn, cushion they'd look at, but likely won't do much with as it looks like "leather variance". Sort of fine at this point, I appreciate the willingness to rapidly fix 2 of the issues but I really don't agree with the "variance of the leather". We paid £3,300 for this sofa and one cushion looks significantly different from the others.
The first problem here is the multiple calls I had to put in to make sure things were happening. I must have called 3 or 4 times to be told the manager would call back but never did. Consequently, our cushions were picked up a few days later than I wanted. When those cushions were picked up, we weren't told they needed to be wrapped or packaged, nor did we have any packaging to send them back in (they're large cushions). So parcelforce refused to pick them up meaning more delays whilst we cut a load of bin bag liners to wrap them up.
Whilst all this was happening, we've had new legs sent out, but they're still the wrong ones.
Long story short, it's been another week and we have half a sofa sitting in our lounge, have invested a lot of time in speaking to staff, sending photos, and wrapping cushions and I'm still not even sure if they're going to repair the one cushion which looks really worn.
If the sofa had been cheaper I'd have lived with it, but it's absolutely not been worth the money.
Consequently, I've asked for some money off for the inconvenience and all they can offer is £89... 2.7%. I've said it's likely I'll just the sofa back then as the experience really has been bad and the response has basically been "okay then". I find it bizarre that:
A) They think £89 off is worth all the hassle
B) It's going to be more cost-effective for them as a business to come to London and pick a bespoke, handmade sofa back than, say, offer 5-7% compensation back.
But there we go.
TLDR - wouldn't buy from here again and may end up sending the whole thing back anyway.”
“Did not deliver on time . Did not keep me informed . When told the sofa was ready it still did not arrive . Do not answer calls . Do not return calls . Very very poor service .”
“It's a lovely product. The cushions could be a bit firmer but apart from that it's great so far. A bit of a wait with delivery but communications good and all arrived on time. Assembled quickly by delivery men.”
“It is simply a very beautiful piece of craftsmanship and we are loving the sofa's look and feel as well as quality. It is a bit of a wait from order to delivery but communication is great throughout.”
“Cannot fault our sofa from the English sofa company. We ordered in the middle of lockdown but were kept up to date throughout the process, our order arrived on time too. (The delivery guys were also incredibly helpful)
The quality of the sofa is excellent, and we are thrilled. The price we paid is so reasonable for the quality of the product. I searched many companies before deciding on this one and we were not disappointed. We would 100% recommended The English sofa company.”
“We spent quite some time looking at different sofas but settled on the English sofa company’s analine leather vintage truffle 3 seater, it was the shape, colour, finish and quality at a competitive price that we wanted. After taking delivery we have found it comfortable and smart looking.”
“We love our 2 new leather sofas. Exactly as ordered and very pleased with the quality. We visited the sales room, where the helpful salesperson spent time with us on the options available. Delivery was on time and efficient.
We spent a lot of time looking at sofas before choosing the English Sofa Company and are pleased with our choice.”
“We are very happy with our new Chicago 2.5 seater leather sofa. It looks great and is extremely comfortable.
Delivery was very efficient, thankfully it arrived just before Lockdown started.
It has made a huge difference to our living room and will shortly be looking for something else from The English Sofa Company to complement it.”
“Apart an admin. confusion at the start, everything went smoothly.
Delivery was well organised & efficient & importantly the finished sofa is excellent, just what we wanted!
It’s very helpful to ask for sample swatches, since colours / textures in brochures can be misleading?”
“The catalogue was lovely. The request for samples received a prompt response. My 2 leather settees were amazing and the price was right. A firm and product to be recommended.”
“Delighted.
Great product and services from start to finish.
Furniture looks good, feels comfortable and is proving good value.
Saw the ESC on line and after spending a considerable time looking through their literature and samples sent to us, were able to order exactly what we needed.
Living in Cornwall, a trip to Manchester was impractical and we were a little concerned regarding dealing with a company so far away - however we need not have worried as the company’s customer care department proved more than helpful.
The furniture was delivered sooner than delivery promise and expertly installed in our home (in the pouring rain).
I would have no hesitation in recommending the ESC to anyone and would certainly deal with them again in the future.”
“I put my trust in the English Sofa Company and they haven’t disappointed. I found their online store by searching for a very particular leather sofa style and they came in tops. The leather covering is as the sample sent in advance of ordering, the lead time from order to delivery was accurate, I was kept advised by email of progress and delivery was on the day and at the time the delivery agent said. When it arrived I can only say I am extremely happy with the quality and finish.”
“We feel that we have had an excellent experience - the showroom was good, the ordering process was simple and direct and the delivery was precisely on time/date. The build and finish of our two sofas are of high quality and very comfortable.”
“Excellent experience, kept informed from order to delivery and delighted with our sofa! Would definitely use you again and would recommend without hesitation. Thank you Andrew & Fiona”
“Excellent service, my 2 new matching sofa's were delivered well inside the timescale given despite an initial delivery problem which was immediately solved. Very pleased with the quality and glad to be supporting a British company making good furniture, having almost purchased very similar from SofaItalia.
Many thanks,
Regards,
Mike””
“Excellent service, my 2 new matching sofa's were delivered well inside the timescale given despite an initial delivery problem which was immediately solved. Very pleased with the quality and glad to be supporting a British company making good furniture, having almost purchased very similar from SofaItalia.
Many thanks,
Regards,
Mike”
“UPDATE - STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY! After posting this review, we finally got a response from customer service saying our sofa would go out the next day. Ten days later, no sign of the sofa, so we called to be told that it still hadn't been wrapped. Will not be handed to their carrier until next week. More than two weeks after we'd been assured it would be delivered. No communication, no ability to meet expectations. Awful. ORIGINAL REVIEW - Terrible customer service. Bought a sofa in their sale. Took our money effeciently enough. Called a number of times to arrange delivery. Then told someone would call back to arrange delivery. No one called. Told someone would call the following week. No one called. Phoned again. Promised a response by a certain date. No response was received. Called again. Told the order wasn't on their system. Called again today, told someone would call us back. Not holding my breath. Been waiting almost a month to hear from someone.”