The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman Opiniones 

Emailed case handler several times - NO RESPONSE.
Spoke with Wren team (dept that deals with Ombudsman disputes) who know when the case handler goes on lunch, knows when case handlers day off are.
This company is nothing short of COWBOYS, and has a speed dial for their mates at the companies we complain about.
Waste of time.

Unlike some of the reviews here, I had a positive experience of the Furniture Ombudsman and in particular Hannah Young.

While the process was long and drawn-out, 27 December 2023 to 14 March 2024 with SCS, then 14 March to 14 June 2024 with the Ombudsman, I believe we came to a reasonable settlement in the end.

SCS had been; intransigent, uncommunicative and unhelpful, from the start. A plan, I’m sure, designed to deter the customer and avoid responsibility. So, I know I would not have got anywhere near a fair settlement, without the Ombudsman’s help.

The process, I think, was helped as I had kept all the original paperwork and had copies of the emails between SCS and I, and had done (exhausted) due process with them before going to the Ombudsman.

Thank-you Hannah for your diligence and professionalism. I would, should the need ever arise again, use the services of the Furniture Ombudsman again however, I will never, ever, shop with SCS again.

Anna Matthews assisted me in coming to an agreement with Wickes after they messed up a bathroom installation. Sadly Wickes failed to meet the terms of the agreement and the dispute continued for a further 7 months. Anna's support during this period was invaluable. The only improvement in service I can suggest is to communicate with the complainant more effectively about what is discussed and agreed between the Ombudsman and the business involved. I could see that effective steps were being taken by the Ombudsman because of the actions that Wickes were taking at various stages, but could not see 'behind the scenes' as such, which I found rather frustrating. However I remain convinced that without Anna's support Wickes would have ignored me in the hope that I would just go away.

Ms El Falah kept us informed throughout the process. Without her help I have no doubt that our complaint would not have been resolved.
It was only when she became involved that the complaint was dealt with to a satisfactory result.

Might as well not exist.

Apparently these highly trained and experienced legal professionals believe that a company's terms and conditions can override the law.

I fully agree with other reviews that say they are more interested in the money they get from the companies than ensuring fairness.

I'll be speaking to my local MP instead to see what he thinks of this "Ombudsman's" understanding of the law.

I looked at reviews before I approached this ombudsman and was not impressed but thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt, I made a mistake, previous reviews more or less said that as they are financed by the businesses that they investigate, they are not willing to bite the hands that feed them, from my own experience, I cannot help but agree.

I would give NO STAR if I could. SCS should be closed down. For the last six months I have been on the phone and in the the blackburn store complaining about my sofa. Now they want to change the cushions. But with no better filling in. And the colour may not be the same.. I think when a customer has completed within three weeks of get the sofa. They should get there money back. And who ever goes to the manufacturers buying these sofas should be sacked. The filling is rubbish and they should put better quality in the cushions. Not cheap rubbish they should not get away with this.

I submitted an application (with photos) on 13 June 2024 and on 19 June 2024 I was advised by Hannah Young that collection of the damaged sofa and a full refund had been agreed by DFS.
What a surprise - here is why!
Received sofa on 29 April. Service engineer visit 8 May who repaired what he could. Second visit 23 May when I was advised that DFS Area manager would make home visit on 9 June to assess sofa. His decision was that no replacement or refund would be made - just repair and adjustment and as far as he was concerned I had to accept that decision as final.
Discovered Furniture Ombudsman online and best result ever due entirely to their intervention.
In the space of six days during which I was kept fully informed by Hannah, I can only assume that DFS decided to do the right thing on advice from the Ombudsman - I tried for six weeks to get the same result and failed.

We have had an ongoing case with The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman, and our experience has been exemplary. From the outset, they have been very fair and transparent, ensuring that every step of the process was clear to us. They arranged for an independent inspector to view the furniture we initially had issues with, which was a very professional and thorough process.

Throughout the entire journey, we were kept up to date, and communication was excellent. The retailer refused to take any action regarding our complaint, (Sofology) so we decided to escalate the matter to the Ombudsman. Thankfully, they approved our complaint and we have been offered replacement furniture.

The whole process has been fair, and we genuinely felt listened to. A big thank you to Anna, who supported us during this time. She always replied to our emails in a timely manner and provided us with much-needed reassurance and guidance.

We highly recommend The Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman to anyone facing similar issues. Their fairness, professionalism, and excellent customer service made a difficult situation much more manageable.

Thank you!

Lee H

Wish I could give no star!
My gosh I so agree with a lot of people’s reviews they are the worst to go to, they are so biased all seems to be for the companies and not the consumers?
Have been very let down by them they accepted Tapi Carpets so called report not done by an independent how is that so also tried to say furniture could have been dragged by my disabled daughter with mobility issues, disgusting 😡 they are just not prepared to listen to the consumer side of things!
This was the first time hopefully I will never ever have to use them again will definitely try other avenues, just don’t waste your time using these people as 9/10 they will side with the companies check out Consumers Rights!!

This is a complete waste of time. They sent out the same engineer to look at my sofa bed who had been to my house 3 times previously. They are not going to say yes there is a problem to them when they have fixed it 3 times previously.

I had an issue with a B&Q kitchen. So badly fitted, that the remedial fitters stated it was the worst they had dealt with. Original fitting was over £4000. The whole thing took a year to get sorted, and then I made a complaint to B&Q who completely ignored me. I wanted my fitting costs refunded. After three months I contacted the Ombudsman, and then, strangely enough, B&Q offered me £930. I rejected it as an insulting offer, and let the Ombudsman do their investigation. I needn't have bothered. Clearly a very deep and detailed investigation that took all of three days, (note the sarcasm) and then their decision was the same as the original offer. How convenient. It doesn't sound like a very impartial system to me.
Addendum: Since writing this review, the ombudsman has replied. It says nothing more than they say to everyone else who has had a poor experience. What they have not covered though was the question of the investigation. A cockup of this magnitude cannot be investigated thoroughly in three days. I do not believe their investigation was thorough, nor impartial. For starters, did anyone speak with or contact the remedial fitters? Bearing in mind I did not receive the fitting service I paid for, what evidence could B&Q possibly provide that excuses the poor service. Simple questions, but I doubt I will get an honest answer.

Went to the furniture + Home improvement ombudsman as ADR to resolve issue with Gemini Worktops. They aren't, in my opinion, independent given they didnt address all the issues id raised and the wording of their findings was as if they worked for Gemini - like "we". I believe the retailer pays for the investigation, so how is that independent? They have said the retailer can keep returning until the service they provided is satisfactory - how is that fair? How is that not inconvenient? Absolute joke

I went ahead with a claim against the trader, with them settling out of court - proving I was in the right and the Ombudsman was a waste of time

Obviously these crooks are paid off by the manufacturers of the furniture companies and make decisions on claims that favour the manufacturers before they have both sets of evidence, they don’t have any credibility or qualifications to be able to make decisions on the manufacture of furniture.
If I could have left no stars I would have !

Poor quality furniture
I was told I was entitled to a repair or replacement
Company offered a repair to very poor quality chair evidenced by independent report stating it was poor quality
Ombudsman found in favour of Company saying this is fair as they no longer stock the item
Waste of time complaining then

What a great service. I am so grateful to you for your help in getting my chair delivered. I honestly believe that I would not have been able to get this resolved without your help contacting the furniture village. It took 6 months in total but better late than never.
Thanks to you especially Hannah
Danielle

Hannah from the FHIO liaised between ourselves and the company, Wickes, who offered us compensation to get our shower repaired. We believe that it was a good offer and will hopefully cover the repair cost, and so we accepted the deal. This was a much easier process to navigate, than constantly having the run around with Wickes over the past 7 months. I would definitely recommend the FHIO, and would use them again.

We are so grateful for their customer service and how prompt they were with our case. They were thorough and did a great job in getting us what we required. Much appreciated for all their help!

Hannah Young helped me successfully receive a full refund for a sofa I purchased from SCS in autumn 2023 which I was dissatisfied with.
I found the online process to file a claim quite straightforward to use and it was easy to upload all the necessary information to help the ombudsman follow up on my claim.
Hannah kept me informed throughout the process by email.
The only reason I did not give a 5 star review was due the ombudsman stating the stalemate document had to come from the company to start the proceedings. if I had known I could have provided this document,the case could have been dealt with much quicker.

I complained to the Mobility Furniture Company about a defective rise/recline settee, just a few days after it was delivered. They refused to consider a refund.
I contacted the Furniture Ombudsman, Mr Connor Hare, and a couple of weeks later their technician called to examine the settee. A phone call the following day confirmed that the Ombudsman agreed with me and that I would get a full refund.
My advice to others would be to make a formal complaint very quickly if an item is faulty.