Or wouldn't you want payment first for a £700 sofa?

[pookamoo]

Trying to order a new sofa but the company selling it doesn't seem to want payment until after it's delivered.

All seems a bit fishy but I can't put my finger on it, especially as it seems to be in my favour!

Here's the tale: Saw a sofa online that we liked, decided to order. Telephone orders only, so rang them up. The man said he'd get a price for delivery for me as we're not local to them. All ok.

So he rings back, confirms price, and I say ok, I'd like to order. He won't take payment then, saying he will check when it will be available for delivery.

A few days later he calls me to ask if the couriers have been in touch to confirm when they are delivering to me... I say no (they hadn't) and he goes off to sort it out, but STILL hasn't taken payment.

So today I had a call from the courier company (not a big name one, sounded more like it would be a man with a van) to confirm delivery tomorrow between 3.30 and 5. Fine for me (perfect in fact!)

So I rang the sofa company back, expecting to pay, but he says he doesn't want payment until after delivery. He said he "knows he can trust me!!"

All seems too good to be true, and I can't quite work out why.

I don't really want to name the company on here as it could out me in a google search, but they are based in Manchester, and trade under two names, which they are totally open about as one is a leather furniture shop, and one specialises in "classic" kind of furniture.

Any thoughts?

Oh and I will NOT be giving them my bank card details. This one's for DH's credit card, with protection.

that's just couriers beings couriers though, isn't it? changing delivery time unlikely to be connected to payment method.

Can you link to the website? We might be able to go through the T&C with a fine-toothed comb

The comment about knowing he could trust you would make me feel slightly uneasy too OP and the subsequent faffing around with delivery times is annoying.

That said though I think some companies do seem to run in this way i.e. no payment till item is delivered/installed and you are satisfied....We've just had some new windows fitted and the company openly market the fact that customers pay nothing - no deposit, nothing - until the windows are actually installed. We have ordered, signed form, had surveyor round and now windows fitted and I am sitting here with £2k worth of brand new windows in the house and have yet to pay a thing (DH will do a bank transfer tonight).

Difference here though is that this is a well-established local company, registered with Checkatrade and loads of online reviews available for the reading.

Hopefully all will work out for you!

Think I have found them (I won't link) and their T&C seem to indicate they won't normally deliver till they have received payment, unless it is finance/instalments, in which case you would know surely.

Ring up again and ASK why they don't want to be paid yet.

I think that's the simplest way.

Fwiw they look totally above board. Tis a bit weird.

I think because it is contract/trade, they are not allowed to sell to you as retail, and they are putting it through in some other way.

This would make me very suspicious esp if they are avoiding giving you a straight answer.

Don't they just, Rooners ? They have some gorgeous furniture on there!

Update... so I waited until 5pm to take DD1 out to Rainbows, and just as we were coming downstairs to leave, my phone rang. Courier driver... sorry, can't come yet, will be between 6pm and 7pm, is that ok for you? Well, what else am I really going to say... uh yes, I guess. Whatever you like, really!

I just rang the company, told them I'm not very impressed with their delivery arrangements and asked them why it is, as it says on their website they usually want a 30% deposit on order, that they haven't taken any payment from me AT ALL?

The short version is they have changed from manufacture and retail to just manufacture. They haven't yet taken their website down. i.e. they are not currently taking more orders from the public.

Anyway, here's the tricksy bit... instead of payment by card, he wants a BACS transfer, after delivery and inspection of the sofa, as they are no longer taking credit cards. Feels like another red flag to me, but I've checked with a friend who works in banking and she says BACS is secure.

I won't hold my breath, but will update you all later!

I'd rather do bacs than cash - bacs is traceable and you'll have proof of payment.

When we bought 2 new sofas from a local independent shop they didn't want payment until delivery. IIRC the delivery men had a credit card machine or you could phone it through.

In the end when they delivered and unpacked them they discovered the manufacturer had made a mistake with our order so they agreed to leave us with the sofas until our ones were remade - that meant we had 2 brand new sofas for which we had paid nothing for 6 weeks until the correct ones were delivered.

Very trusting, especially as anything could've happened to them in that time (red wine spillage, vomiting child etc!!).

I think that BACS is secure in the sense that it is traceable and it doesn't give the seller any sort of access to details he should not have, iyswim.

BUT there is obviously FAR more protection with a credit card.

I would be highly suspicious about all of this. Have you verified his info with anyone else?

Not sure who you could ask but it is all a bit 'fell off the back of a lorry' for my liking.

I wouldn't be able to sleep - and if the sofa had some fault develop over time I would be really worried about sorting that out.

He should have told you from the start that you couldn't use a credit card.

Tell him to take the bloody thing away. Don't get involved - you can buy nice sofas in hundred of places that won't be as odd as this.

So presumably the transfer will be to a company/person with a different name? Or is that just me being ultra suspicious!!

I think you would be right to insist on either paying by CC or cancelling the whole deal.

Did you discuss payment methods at all? If so they should have flagged the issue then. Sounds like they were avoiding it.

Can you contact the 'proper' side of the company and ask them as well? Just to verify?

Well, it's here now! So far so good. It's the one we were expecting, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it.

I think I'll wait for the invoice to arrive, then decide what to do.

(And keep the DCs off it in the meantime!)

Oh that's good..Try not to worry, I have had bad experiences with sofas so don't listen to me

Let me worry on your behalf and just enjoy it!

Pookamoo, I don't know if you saw upthread where I posted about the Distance Selling Regulations and the protection that affords you? Please look them up at Citizens' Advice.

Secondly, apart from the further protection a Credit Card payment affords you I would say to them that
a) your credit card pays you 1% (or whatever) cash back on purchases, so you would be losing out on that if you pay BACS transfer
and
b) the credit card companies charge them a percentage fee of takings (not sure how much these days) which they would now be saving

So all being well with the sofa, you are expecting a discount on the purchase price for not paying by card.

It all seems above board. Why are you worried

enrique Thanks, all noted. They are giving me a discount anyway.

puddings I can't put my finger on it, hence this thread. Although it all seems fine so far...

Happy lounging about then Pook

Very often people dealing with trade don't accept credit cards, as the associated costs are far greater than bank transfers.

Just for your own peace of mind, ask for a receipt once ythey have received payment.

I'm sure its all fine though.

Pookamoo still happy with the sofa? was it all resolved ok?

Can I ask where you got your sofga from?