Dear TRS readers, please be careful of this furniture store called LUSH

Dear TRS readers,

* Very long post ahead, but to all potential buyers, BUYERS BEWARE.

LUSH furniture is a furniture store part of the Luxur Homes Group, which also sells furniture brand, Moreless. They brand themselves as upmarket, selling designer pieces at affordable prices. They also brand themselves to providing good customer service so as to give customers a peace of mind with their shopping experience. 

- However our experience was a totally different & traumatising one.

1.  Before reading this post, please read it with an open mind.

2. Please note that when you visit the showroom, the staff there would tell you that all the problems people are facing and ranting on this forum is because these customers are fussy and it is not the company's fault.

When we first visited the showroom, we were approached by one of the supervisors, we were hesitant because of what we have previously read on the forums, about:

1. Long delays in delivery

2. No follow up customer service after purchase

3. No flexibility in purchase

4. Delivery of a product different from the one agreed during purchase

5. Delivery of a display product to customers

After our conversation with the supervisor, we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and purchased a leather sofa from them. The lead time as advised by them was between 8-10 weeks, however the supervisor told us that since we are in a hurry, he will make sure the sofa arrives to us no later than 8 weeks. (He said this was his personal promise to customers, to always under-promise and over deliver). So we went ahead with the purchase. The supervisor said that should we not receive the product within the promised lead time, they would offer us a refund. (Although the receipt says no refunds allowed). He said that was for formality sake, just so that people don't take advantage of the refund policy in case they regret their purchase.

They said we had to make full payment during the purchase, but we said no, therefore they agreed to 50% payment which was $1200.

After our purchase, we did not hear from any of the representatives.

We called 4 weeks into the purchase and was told that the item might already be half way sailing in the ocean, therefore they are unable to check status of the product.

8 weeks in, i called again and spoke to the same supervisor(Please note that i had to call 4 times on two separate days to get hold of this person), and was told that shipment might be delayed. For how long they are not sure, but estimated could be another 3-8 weeks. Reason being- They need to consolidate all the items to fill one container before shipping, therefore to save shipping fees for their company.

10 weeks in- I called again after receiving no updates from them on the shipment delivery, by then, it has been over the lead time. Each time i call, i would be forwarded to literally every single person in the company, who would push away responsibility and for some reason, the person in charge would ALWAYS BE IN A MEETING. 

So as you can tell, by then we were getting VERY AGITATED, because, not only our item delivery is late, nobody seem to be able to give me a fixed delivery date as to when my item would be arriving. And whoever i spoke to kept trying to buy time, by saying they will call me back within the day to give me an update, but would be MIA for the next 2-3 days.

FInally, i spoke to the customer service officer and was told that my item would not be delivered to me on time because the item is port-side in China and has not even been shipped (10weeks in).

She said that i should speak to the accounts manager if i had any problems.

Therefore i got hold of the accounts manager's contact number, sent her 2 smses and called her nearly 10 times- NO ANSWER.

Next day i had to call the office and finally got to her by chance- She acknowledged that the number given to me was correct, however she said she never received any smses from me. 

First thing she said to me was:

1. Your item would not arrive because our shipment is delayed, no apologies nothing.

2. She then claimed that maybe she can get the item expressed shipped to me, i asked her how long it would take, she said a few days because it is VIA AIR SHIPMENT- At this point, i felt like this company thinks I'm an idiot, for a company that is trying to save on shipping fees, would they ship an item via air just for 1 customer? Air shipment for a sofa is very expensive. 

3. When i mentioned that since the item would not arrive on the promised date, and would be further delayed for unlimited time, i would like a refund, her exact words to me was I REJECT YOUR REFUND. THERE IS NO WAY I AM APPROVING A REFUND.

To me, this is unacceptable, because firstly:

1. Your company screwed things up, by delaying the shipping of my item so you can save costs.

2. How can a company tell customers that since the container is not full, they have delayed other shipping to make sure they save on their shipping costs.

3. She told me that should i want a date as to when my item would be delivered, i would firstly need to make the balance payment.

4. She said that as their company does made to order products, they DO NOT have any spare sets other than the display piece at the showroom- at one point she even offered us the display piece to us. 

5. When i mentioned that since they are late (Beyond 10 weeks delivery as promised), i want a refund, but she says that under a "hidden" terms and condition which was not made known to us when we purchased the item, their company reserves the right to take another 4 weeks after the promised lead time in case of any act of God/delays- WE WERE NOT MADE KNOWN PRIOR/felt somewhat cheated.

- Please tell me who in the right frame of mind would make extra payment, after knowing that the item would not arrive any time soon, and at every stage you are being lied to and told a different story by a different person as to where the item is and when it will arrive.

(Please note that at this point, i was going through emails with the accounts manager back and forth, and throughout all our conversations she refused to give me any black and white confirmation as to when my product would arrive, subsequently she stopped replying to me, even when i told her we would be proceeding with the small claims tribunal.

We decided to proceed with legal proceedings- We went ahead and applied for a letter with the Small Claims Tribunal.

Only after they were served with our letter from the Small Claims Tribunal, they replied. All of a sudden, they magically have a sofa to be delivered to us!! ( What a shocking revelation, that they suddenly have an item to be delivered to us, after countless emails back and forth).

After reading further reviews on many renovation forums, stating that customers receive old display pieces delivered to them with scratches and dents, we were very cautious and told them to show us the custom billing forms to show that item has indeed been shipped to us and is NEW. They refused. Therefore as there is no way to prove that the product that they are offering to us is new, we rejected the offer.

They finally set a date for item to be delivered to us for us to check and accept it (Only when we are acceptable, we can make full payment upon delivery), it sounded fair to us, so we waited patiently- come the day of the delivery.

1. I waited from 10-6pm for the delivery as told via email.

2. No one called and I HAD TO CALL THE SHOWROOM to leave a message for someone to call me back

3. I did not hear back from the accounts manager despite many calls to her office mobile and personal mobile.

When i heard back from her the next day, she said that we did not confirm the delivery time with her and that she was waiting for a confirmation via email. And that she WAS IN A MEETING WHOLE SATURDAY (delivery day).

- If the company is really sincere about delivering the product to us, why is it that we have to be the ones calling them to chase for the item.

- And shouldn't the delivery man be made known of the delivery? No calls, no show, nothing.

YET ANOTHER ONE OF THEIR DELAYING TACTICS.

In the end after wasting about 10 hours in total at the Small Claims Tribunal ( 1.Mediation 2. Consultation 3. Hearing)

We managed to get back about $1000 and $200 was awarded to them for their costs which they said they have incurred.

So please, for all you guys reading this forum, PLEASE SAVE YOURSELVES THE TROUBLE.

For us, first time home owners, this process gave us so much stress and in the end we were left without a sofa for our house warming.