The Commerce Commission has received 13 complaints about Freedom Furniture this year.
The Commerce Commission has received 13 complaints about Freedom Furniture this year.
Freedom Furniture's managing director has finally responded to the swelling number of unhappy customers and complaints the retailer has received.
The Commerce Commission has received 13 complaints about Freedom Furniture this year, most relating to issues around its delivery time or non-delivery of products.
In February, the commission spoke withFreedom Furniture around compliance as part of a wider project it had been undertaking relating to stock availability and delivery issues in relation to disruption and global shipping delays bought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Commerce Commission told the Herald that the managing director of Freedom had "outlined steps they had taken or would take to address some of the concerns raised", and as part of its follow up process, it had issued an Information Passed to Trader letter in March.
A spokeswoman for the Commerce Commission said this letter gave Freedom Furniture further visibility of the complaints received, and "provided guidance to assist them to comply with the Fair Trading Act 1986".
However, she confirmed some of the growing number of complaints were received only recently and were currently being assessed.
Following request for comment about the complaints last week, Freedom Furniture provided a statement in the form of a letter from the company's managing director- but it did not provide a name of the author.
It has not yet responded to the Herald's request for confirmation on who the managing director is that wrote the letter.
"We have let our customers down, and it is really bothering us," the letter began.
"After 40 years of giving great service, we are currently working around the clock to deal with a number of factors impacting the retail supply chain in New Zealand and the delivery of some customer orders that have been problematic – we know that we are letting some of you down.
"Global shipping closures and bottlenecks in manufacturing and shipping hubs such as the recent lockdown in Shanghai, the challenges at the Ports of Auckland and its knock-on effect to other NZ ports and land-based freight capacity, congestion at Freedom's local Distribution Centre, and compounded by staffing issues due to the current Covid wave and the current labour shortage in the country, are unfortunately all causing ongoing delays in the processing and delivery of customer orders," it continued.
"Despite Freedom being a large importer, which means we have the scale and connections to 'do better', some of our shipments have been held up both at local and international ports for considerable periods at a time due to circumstances beyond our control."
The company spokesperson said it was "constantly reviewing lead times" to ensure they were as accurate as possible at the time of purchase, but said the global situation was volatile and therefore further delays could not be ruled out.
"We are working hard and are committed to resolving every customer issue. We also want to be clear that this is not how we normally do business, our management, and our store and support teams are doubling our efforts to restore customer faith in Freedom.
"These are extraordinary times and Freedom apologises for any inconvenience delivery delays may be causing. Our teams continue to work with customers that are facing delays to find suitable solutions, including the right to cancel and receive a refund."
Freedom Furniture has recently updated its website to include a note by company chief executive Blaine Callard acknowledging the global shipping delays.
The sheer volume of unhappy Freedom Furniture is rife on social media and has caught the attention of Consumer NZ, who warns Covid supply issues don't remove retailers' duties to be upfront.
Last week Consumer NZ said it too was racking up a string of complaints from its customers over "lengthy wait times, poor communication and broken promises".
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy. Photo / Supplied
Consumer NZ has advised shoppers not to put up with delays or poor communication.
Chief executive Jon Duffy said businesses that provided timelines for delivery of goods were expected to honour those guarantees as part of obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
He said Freedom could be liable to customers for extra expenses incurred due to delivery delays.
"Freedom Furniture also risks misleading people by representing items will be delivered within certain time frames and regularly failing to meet these," he said.
"This could breach the Fair Trading Act and may be of interest to the Commerce Commission."
He said retailers were expected to be transparent.
"Delays happen and that's understandable, especially in the current Covid climate, but we are calling for retailers to be upfront and communicate with their customers, so they can make fully informed decisions."
One customer who spoke to the Herald said he bought a lounge chair from Freedom Furniture in the company's recent sale - only to find the chair would not be delivered until December.
"The fact that delivery might be so long was on the sale info but it was sufficiently hidden that we didn't find out until after we actually bought the chair," the Auckland man said.
"I know there are supply chain issues at the moment but having a sale for something that you can't deliver for six months feels like it is pushing things a bit far."
