A family were left sitting on inflatable sofas for 17 weeks after a delay to their new DFS sofa.
The dad, who asked to be named only as Matt S, 29, ordered a new two seater sofa recliner from DFS on July 10, 2021 after deciding he needed a new one.
At first the company told him it would take between six and 12 weeks to be delivered, but Matt noticed the delivery date creeping up by three weeks at a time.
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He told The ECHO : "Tracking the order online they kept adding three weeks on to the expected date, the next date would come and they would add another three weeks, the next date came and they added another 3 weeks.
"At this stage I was extremely upset still with no sofa at home and two children, so I emailed to complain."
The family had sold their old couch before going to DFS to buy a new one, meaning they were sitting on inflatable sofas while waiting.
Matt sent DFS an email explaining how disappointed he was. The next day he received a message arranging a delivery date, but just days later this was cancelled.
After 17 weeks Matt still hadn't received his sofa and called customer service to ask if he could cancel his order.
After being advised by customer services to go to Speke DFS, he says staff there told him there would be a 20% charge, which came to around £500.
Matt said: "The manager emerged from the back office and advised me that she would check where it was. Which she tried to, but still no sign that my sofa had even entered the country.
"I thought oh no, that's expensive [the 20% charge for cancellation], I might be best just sticking with my order. I left the store wondering what the hell I was going to do."
After looking into DFS' terms and conditions, Matt said he found no mention of the 20% fee and returned to the Speke store to speak to staff.
He said: "The manager stated 'we do not accept cancellations', I said 'you have had 17 weeks, you don't accept cancellations but you will let me if I pay 20%'.
"I asked her to show me in the terms and conditions where it stated that I need to pay for cancellation, she showed me a box that says 'there may be a delay'."
Matt then received a phone call saying his order could be used for somebody else and they would be able to cancel his payment free of charge.
DFS has since said there is a clause in its terms and conditions mentioning this.
A spokesperson for the company said: "At DFS, we are committed to providing excellent customer service and we're sorry to hear that Matt was unhappy with his experience.
"DFS sofas are made to order and our terms and conditions do include a clause which states that customers may be required to pay a cancellation fee on a purchase if they have a change of heart prior to the estimated delivery date – this is to cover costs incurred.
"However, due to the current global supply chain issues some customer orders are being delayed and in Matt's case we have been unable to meet the estimated delivery dates we gave him at the time he placed his order. Therefore, we have agreed that a cancellation fee would not apply.
"When Matt came into the store to cancel the order, the team initially requested time to check with the supplier to ensure the sofa was not available for imminent delivery.
"Once it was clear that the sofa was further delayed the team agreed to cancel without any additional charge. We apologise for the delay to Matt's order and for any confusion caused regarding the cancellation terms."
The 29-year-old said: "I just want people to know their rights in situations like this. Always check the small print and ask those extra few questions for cases like this."
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