Ordered three Laora 4 drawer cane chests of drawers, along with a dressing table and two bedside tables. Upon delivery, one of the chests was badly damaged. It did not appear to have been damaged in transit as the box and internal packaging was fully intact. It did not appear to be damage caused by a knock or drop. Some of the wood was split and one of the drawers would not open. This was reported and we were told to arrange collection in order to return it, which we did. However, rather than simply send another, La Redoute insisted on us ordering and paying for another another. They would refund the original price on receipt of the damaged goods. This seemed to be a ridiculous policy as we were now paying out another £500, having not already received a refund. We then had the inconvenience of repacking, waiting in for a day for it to be collected and another day waiting for the new delivery. We were also living with the contents of what should have been in the drawers, stored in bags in our bedroom.
When the replacement arrived, to our dismay, it was also damaged. This time, the wood was split in different places. Again, it does not appear to have happened in transit and was purely down to poor construction or materials and obviously, no quality control. Again, this was reported and again, we had to follow the same process. So now, we have spent an additional £1000 whilst waiting for refunds. Again we repacked and waited in for it to be collected and again, waited in on the day of delivery.
When the third replacement chest arrived, to our horror, it was also damaged! This was now beyond belief and the anger and frustration I have towards the company cannot adequately be expressed here! The damage was not as severe as the previous two and furthermore, we were fed up to the back teeth with the situation and the company and frankly, could not be bothered in going through the whole repack, return, reorder, refund, redelivery process again. By rearranging the positioning of the three chests we have, some of the damage could be hidden from view. However, there is a clear split inside one of the drawers which is visible each time it is opened and also some damage on one of the corners, which cannot be hidden. A split in the wood on one side has been hidden by placing the chest alongside one of the others.
However, having spent £500 on a simple wood and cane chest of drawers, this is not acceptable, nor expected.
The only positive is that the customer service team, whom we spoke to on the phone and conversed with by email were apologetic and very efficient and the complaints were dealt with swiftly. Each time, someone called us back within 24 hours of sending an email. They provided a 15% refund after the second damaged delivery. I requested a full refund after the third set, not only as compensation for the damage, which we are now living with, but also for the inconvenience. They refused and after some negotiation, increased their offer from 20% to 25%, which we have accepted in order to put an end to the debacle.
I cannot and will not recommend this product or the company as a whole. I would add photos of all of the damage, but I can only upload six, which would not do it justice!
The worst thing - I was sent an email by La Redoute with a link to leave a review. I wrote exactly the same as above, but the responded, stating that they were not going to publish it! Outrageous dishonesty - hiding bad reviews!!!