The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman レビュー 403

Waste of time. They take forever to get back to you and immediately side with the furniture company without giving you an opportunity to respond. Emails from a no reply email and no portal to follow up on.

Spent £7000 in a sofa from SCS which showed advance signs of wear on the seats in under 2 years and apparently this is fine as its not a manufacturing fault.

Told report from a technician for visited which was arranged by SCS as bible and the only evidence. If I knew that I would have paid for my own survey to be done. Waste of time. 100% going to side with furniture company. I don't think as a consumer we really have anyone to stand up for us.

I filed a complaint about Magnet (kitchen fitting) in August 2025, which included a stack of evidence demonstrating the risk to my life and home, damage to my furniture (hall way), along with inadequate and unfinished plumbing and electrical works, as well as parts of the kitchen unit. Despite following up with various emails and telephone calls for months, FHIO has still not responded properly.

I have had trouble with my dealings with Scs furniture suppliers since my suite was delivered in July 2025. Without the help of the furniture ombudsman I do not feel that I would have had the outcome that I did without having to go through court procedures.

They have yet again not followed their own procedure as they are meant to contact the complainant to obtain their views-this did not happen they have gone straight to report without even contacting me.

They have totally disregarded that the company actually LIED when they said they had contacted me about the furniture-THIS DID NOT HAPPEN.

They are a totally useless organisation it doesn't matter what you present they always side with the company-FACT

Took 2 months to investigate the fact we were sold a inferior sofa. Never conducted a full investigation, looked a few photos, did not contact me once in 2 months and then just closed the case siding with the retailer. DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME. Completely useless and biased.

A company supplied faulty goods and refused to refund the item until I returned it (even though they agreed that it was damaged).

The FHIO basically, without reading my evidence, agreed with the supplier, as they had 'offered me a store voucher' that I will never use!

Do the FHIO know anything about the law, specifically, the Consumer Rights Act? I think not.

A complete waste of time and effort, and now I have to take the suppler to court.

Incompetent doesn’t even describe the performance of these people! Elizabeth Dennis is slower than a sloth to respond and as useful as a chocolate teapot. We got our own independent assessment of the quality of the kitchen supplied and fitting (Kutchenhaus Isle of Wight/Bournemouth and recommended fitter) and FHIO commissioned their own expert to attend our home to assess. Kutchenhaus even provided their own assessment of the fitting which pointed out many unsatisfactory issues with the installation. Both assessments showed the quality of the Matt black doors were unsatisfactory and pointed out many issues that are still present 2 and a half years after installation. The adjudication from Elizabeth Dennis was not in favour of us the consumer even tho the independent report commissioned by the FHIO showed Kutchenhaus and the fitting to be negative. After I pointed out that Elizabeth Dennis had contradicted the report another adjudication was sent out even tho apparently after a decision is made this cannot be changed. A complaint was raised regarding how badly Elizabeth Dennis had handled our case and how incompetent she had been throughout our case. This was another waste of time as the FHIO did not even follow their own guidelines with timescales during our case and complaints procedure. DO NOT THINK that these people will help much if at all. Those that may have had a positive experience with the FHIO are very very very lucky. I am sure the FHIO will post a response to my review and probably will say they did all they could but they have not considered my family and the quality of life since our nightmare began by even trusting Kutchenhaus in 2023. It is now 2026 and the kitchen is still not up to satisfactory standard with quality and fitting

They are completely rubbish and impotent. They dont answer calls. Take forever to reply to an email, and even then , the content of the email is pointless and proves they've done nothing in the interim.

The process should take 3-4 months. Mine took 9 months and they acheived nothing.
I cant stress how ineffectual they are.
All they have done is increased the stress of an already stressful situation, by their poor customer service. Thanks god I didn't have to pay for it.
I would suggest anyone who entertains using this pointless organisation, forget it and pay the money and go to a small claims lawyer.

I very rarely leave reviews but as this was so bad an experience, I felt compelled to do so.

Don't believe me? Check out their 62% of 1star reviews

I was struggling to get a refund from Wren for approx 6 months, who had charged me for an item I hadn’t ordered - over £1500.00 worth. They absolutely refused to take the item back even though it hadn’t been opened and I had proof it wasn’t ever ordered. Within weeks the Ombudsman had sorted issue & I received a full refund. No apology from Wren obviously but that was never really on the cards!

These are shockingly poor and are clearly paid by the furniture companies. We have a few months old reclining sofa from SCS that is unusable (and it wasn’t cheap) after being fobbed off by SCS e contracted the ombudsman… despite never actually seeing the sofa they have decided to side with SCS ( no surprises there)… in conclusion i would say please be very careful before spending money at SCS and don’t hold your breath for the ombudsman to help if things go wrong.

I would like to thank personally Mathew Dowdall of the Furniture Ombudsman team who dealt with our complaint. He worked silently in the background, listening to our complaint, then an answer from the retailer. He kept us informed all the while it was ongoing. He looked at the evidence and agreed that we should have a full refund. We thank them for their help with our complaint. Please use this service, if you have any problems with your furniture purchase.

The ombudsman (Matthew) I had was very helpful - he took on board my views and explanations of my complaints against the company. I would rate him personally highly.
However, the time it took to resolve my claim was far longer than stated - and the form asked me to put in for everything I was claiming for, including emotional damages. Then at the review I was told that this wasn't compensated for!

I have seen so many bad comments and to be honest after looking at their pictures I don't blame them to feel unprotected by the company.

But I had an issue with housing units and this company got in touch and I got my refund back. Now Housing Units was horrible and I won't buy a thing from them again.

The reason why this is not a 5* is because I had to call them 3 weeks later for an updated and it had been sorted but no one contacted me to let me know

I shared details of a dispute with Wren Kitchens. I took time to compile the evidence, however the Ombudsman allocated ignored my information and referenced back to Wren's original response which is proven to be inaccurate and false. The case was closed with no direct conversation with me and did not take into account any information i provided. When trying to get clarity on the response I have not been able to talk to anybody or get a response to any emails. The issue has simply been closed without any discussion with me and the Ombudsman has taken the retailers response as the only truth. Complete waste of time. Its been 2 months and have never been able to get an email or conversation from the Ombudsman.

If you ever want to see evidence of the complete waste of time FHIO are see there response to my complaint. These free services are funded by the retailer and are far from impartial. Honestly do not bother they hold no bearing or protection to the consumer. Its now been nearly 6 months since raising the query with them, They have never spoken to me directly (they do speak to the retailer) and have never returned any phone calls or emails. My case had clear and unarguable evidence yet they still hold no interest. Don't waste your time

I felt that my ombudsman was pleasant and made himself available to speak to me. I felt that he has made a decision in favour of a large company rather than supporting adequate compensation when due to the huge incompetence of B and Q I ended up with a bathroom that I did not design. I feel that I should have used a consumer watchdog instead.

Smeg UK made a vindictive and unjustifiable demand that I pay over £300 for a repair that they instigated, and that was unsuccessful in solving the fault with my cooker.

I am grateful to The Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman for persuading Smeg UK to withdraw this vindictive and totally unjustified demand.

Smeg UK presented the withdrawal of their demand as a "goodwill gesture", but it wouldn't have happened without the intervention of the Ombudsman.

Smeg UK, however, lived up to their name and would not admit that they had been in the wrong all along...

If I could give ZERO STARS, I would. This company is an absolute fraud, and they have zero regard for their customers' hard-earned money. They have no interest in independent investigation.

I was lied to by a salesperson at the store on a Saturday evening. My cousin was present and heard the salesperson guarantee certain sofa features. Less than 24 hours later, I called the manager to report the false claims. His response? He called me a liar!

I escalated this to the FHIO, only to be completely let down. Despite submitting a clear witness statement and evidence, the "independent" FHIO sided with the store manager—a man who clearly benefits financially from denying my claim! Can anyone explain why the manager's word trumps my witness?

Now, to add insult to injury, they are offering to cancel my order but will keep my £1,000 deposit as a cancellation fee. They are penalising me £1,000 for their salesperson's lie, on an issue raised within a day of purchase! This is theft. How can a £1,000 loss be justified in under 24 hours?

At a point when it seemed like I was not getting anywhere where with a well-known furniture outlet the Citizens Advice sign posted me to the Furniture Ombudsman.

I was advised that the process wasn’t quick as you might expect or desire it to be. However, I am totally grateful and impressed by the support I received from the beginning to the conclusion of the matter.
A big shout out to Summer for walking me the process and presenting my case to the furniture outlet in question. An amicable settlement was reached. Totally satisfied.
THANK YOU

First, I think Trustpilot should let people uploaded photos to Trustpilot to their reviews! Photos are proof!

I have made two complaints via "The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman"

First Complaint! I purchased a power recliner from Furniture Village which robbed me! A full refund I was told I would get by Furniture Village. Complained to Furniture Village and they told me to speak to the ombudsman. I got £989 refunded. When I paid £1,224 I was told by "The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman" that because I took a refund my case is closed!

2nd Complaint! I purchased from SCS a power recliner costing £1,577 when the sofa was delivered the stitching was not in line, and the left side was 1.5 inches lower than the right! The delivery drivers complained for me at my flat. SCS sent out a technician (same company that Furniture Village uses) they lined up the stitching but caused another issue of crinkles in the sofa back. I signed the technician tablet "NOT HAPPY" I didn't sign the 2nd box. SCS sent a 2nd technician, and both technicians agreed it was a manufacturing fault. I refused to sign his tablet. I complained to SCS and because I opened an ombudsman complaint they told me to talk to them.

Today I got the resolution from "The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman" and my complaint was refused due to a dressing issue and I should spend 5 minutes a day to puff up the backs and seats. It's not a manufacturing fault! OMG!!

DO NOT BUY FROM THESE TWO COMPANIES! DO NOT USE "The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman" YOU WILL GET NOWHERE!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

Ombudsman decision is too large for me to add to my review. I find that a joke as well!! Trustpilot needs to sort this out!

My complaint related to damage done to my property by the DIY Kitchens team delivering kitchen worktops. When I logged the issue I got an email explaining the Ombudsman process - attempt mediation, then if that fails, make a decision. My next email from them was their final decision - in favour of the retailer, case closed. So there was no mediation step, and I had no opportunity to even ask questions about the decision reached. They said they believe the retailer unless proven otherwise, and my photographic evidence wasn't sufficient because 'anyone could have come into my home and caused the damage in the 48 hours it took to report it in writing'. So only video evidence of the damage being done would have been acceptable, and how many customers video their deliveries? I actually reported the damage to the delivery team on site at the time, but they denied it and the Ombudsman choose to believe their lies over my photographs and written reports, which were made well within the retailers Ts&Cs timescale to report damage. And basically accused me of lying as well because their assumption is I invited someone else into my home to cause the damage. I did point out that if only video evidence is acceptable the retailers should state that in their Ts &Cs and the Ombudsman said that's an issue for me to take to Trading Standards. Not their remit.
I don't mind a judgement not in my favour providing the Ombudsman follows their own process (what happened to the mediation step?), and you should assume truth on both sides unless you have evidence to tell you otherwise - which in my case was a lot of photographs and a full written account from me, and as far as I know from the retailer, was nothing. So an upsetting experience and the lesson is, apparently we all have to video all deliveries!