The ultimate resource for help assembling flat pack funriture in the UK.

Delivery

Delivery Service


Sadly delivery is probably one of the most variable of services. There are a wide variety of companies involved in the supply chain, the level of service you receive is generally based on cost spent by the retailer on delivery and not necessarily related to the amount you paid for your furniture. The industry details are not necessary here but these are the facts you need to establish:

  • Does the supplier have its own delivery team or does a third party deliver, if so who?
  • Do two men deliver or just one?
  • Will the items be placed in my room of choice, left in the hall, outside my front door or at the foot of my drive on a pallet?
  • Will I get a delivery time, a morning or afternoon slot or anytime on a specific day?
  • How long will I have to wait for the delivery to be arranged?

Remember you could avoid all this hassle and buy from Andre Victoire, they deliver, assemble and remove all waste packaging.

Some delivery men will go the extra mile and all your new furniture will be placed where you want it by two people with the minimum of fuss. At the other end of the spectrum, one guy may be dragging your heavy and expensive new furniture across your gravel path and leaving it in the pooring rain outside your front door. Find out what you can expect, so you can have an extra pair of hands or two available if required.

No matter how good the delivery firm is, congestion and problems on the day mean a delivery may be late. I would therefore never recommend to arrange help to assemble the furniture on the same day it is to be delivered. Otherwise you may be wasting their time, patience and good will. This is a fact of life in the UK and planning same day delivery and assembly can be fool hardy.

In general, an in-house delivery team will provide a much higher level of service than a large delivery firm, who will approach it from an 80:20 i.e. provide a service that will satisfy most customers, but not specifically you.

Delivery Receipt



When you receive the goods check the packaging is in good condition before siging the delivery note. This is the single biggest indiciator of whether an item has been dropped and its contents might therefore be damaged. Make a note of any damage on the delivery sheet, if need be open it there and then and check it. Don't be shy, you've paid for it, you ought to be diligent.

  • Bashed corners of boxes, are often suspect, some suppliers re-enforce boxes in this area, but not all.
  • Tears in packaging along the flat surface of a box, often indicate another box or item has been dropped on it.

The packaging usually does its job and damage to the packaging does not necessarily indicate a problem, but it is something to look out for.

The majority of companies both large and small that I have seen will replace any damaged goods without question. In some cases, they offer compensation in the form of vouchers or a refund, if there is damage and this is mutually beneficial and acceptable. However the process with some of the larger firms can be laborious, so it is well to know your statutory rights and stick to your guns if you have a problem. NB: Many retailers offer "terms and conditions", "guarantees" and "warranties" all claiming to be in addition to your statutory rights, but these often offer lower levels of redress than your statutory rights, so do not get fobbed off by these if there is a problem. Be aware also that furniture is heavy and expensive to move, and if the goods do not meet the conditions of the sale you are in a very strong bargaining position.

Furniture Deliveries



In our opinion if you are delivering large bulky items, such as furniture, whether it is pre-assembled or flatpack furniture ready to be assembled. If the packages are large the delivery team should consist of two helpful men, the advantages are:
  • Two experienced people carrying the box ensures the furniture will not get damaged
  • Two helpful men who will carry the furniture to the room of choice and not whinge about extra flights of stairs and so on.

In my experience the market leader in providing this two man furniture delivery service is Network 4

However you could avoid all this hassle and buy from Andre Victoire, they deliver, assemble and remove all waste packaging.