Sofas- Sofa.com / Barker and Stonehouse? Anyone bought?

[IslandsInTheSunshine]

Looking into buying a new sofa and it will be close to £2K.

I like Sofa.com Bluebell and perhaps B&S Durant, Sloane and one other.
Neither is in my area so we'll have to make a long trip to the stores.

Are there any nightmare scenarios with these companies?

My parents used to buy B&S decades ago as they are based in the north. So I know they are supposed to be reliable.

I do like a couple of J Lewis sofas but they get terrible reviews.

anyone?

I have barker and stone house corner unit and chair. Had it 6 years nearly and it’s wonderful still. Also have kids and dogs and it’s still lovely

There’s a thread here in 90 days about sofa.com - I’ve got no experience with them so can’t comment on it from my perspective
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/ninety_days_only/4852462-sofacom-the-game-is-up

We have one from barker and stonehouse (down south not up north) and it’s really great, plus excellent customer care and delivery services etc.

Thank you! @Talipesmum @JonjoMonjo21
I knew I'd seen something inthe press about one sofa company struggling and wasn't sure which.

We have a Sofa.com armchair that we got from a seconds place. I don’t find it comfortable at all - really hard. I personally wouldn’t buy a sofa from them - I see a lot on some of the seconds sites, which makes me wonder why so many are available/returns..

I recently bought an Izzy sofa ex display from sofa.com after trying out many many many sofas. It's gorgeous and I got it at a massively reduced price.

My parents have a Barker and Stonehouse sofa and it has worn well. I really recommend Sofas and Stuff because they have the most amazing clearance section online and lots of stores to try out the sofas. The quality is a step up from the alternatives I tried out.

I have the bluebell sofas, they are very comfortable & are still in excellent condition but they are nine years old, so was surprised at the sofa.com thread a shame if the quality & customer service has gone to pot since we bought.
yy Sofas and Stuff again were excellent quality would have bought from them but delivery time was long & we needed sofas quite quickly.

Posting this in case anyone is looking at Barker and Stonehouse sofas. Please avoid B&S. The quality is disappointingly poor.

We ordered an Ebben corner sofa from Barker and Stonehouse in Guildford and it arrived with a very obvious height difference where the two sections join. The base did not line up, so the whole sofa looks visibly misaligned rather than like one proper corner sofa. It is also uncomfortable to sit on because of the level difference.
We checked all the feet were fully screwed in and the same height to make sure it wasn't an installation issue.
we then contacted B&S to ask them what had happened, confident that the nice people in the store would see our predicament and offer a fast resolution. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Barker and Stonehouse After Sales were awful. Nobody called us to discuss it, despite us asking. There was no apology, no initial offer to inspect it in person and no practical solution offered. We were just told it was “by design” and therefore not faulty.
The frustrating thing is that the product specification and website images show a level sofa, and the Ebben model in the Guildford showroom did not have the same visible height difference. Staff in the store also did not seem aware of any “by design” height mismatch, so it certainly was not explained when we bought it.
An inspector eventually came out and, while in our home, identified a clear visual and measurement issue. He left our house saying "yeah that's not right, but don't worry they will replace it". We felt vindicated and happy that things would finally be resolved.

fast forward 10 days and we receive the call from Barker and Stonehouse. Unfortunately they began by saying after the initial report there needed to be some back and forth with the manufacturer and despite what the inspector said when he was in our home, the conclusion had changed and the sofa was now considered within specification. A specification which of course was never shared with us.

Barker and Stonehouse closed the case and offered no refund, replacement, repair, goodwill gesture or any other resolution. We are not exploring a section 75 claim through our credit card.

Please do not think the premium prices denote high quality furniture or that the service you will receive will be great. You will be very disappointed. I would look elsewhere for furniture.

Would not recommend Barker and Stonehouse, not a great experience buying furniture from this company

I’ve had several excellent experiences with the Guildford barker and Stonehouse, sofas chairs and other furniture, and v good customer service too, but fair enough if that’s not been everyone’s experience.