Paying on the doorstep

Buying a sofa online normally means paying several hundred pounds to a company you have never dealt with, for an object you have never touched, and then waiting weeks to find out whether that was a good idea. We do it the other way round. Nothing leaves your account until the sofa is in your house and you have looked at it.

Nothing upfront

There is no deposit. You place the order, we confirm it, we deliver it, and you pay the driver on the doorstep. If you never open the door, you have lost nothing but our time.

Delivery to a UK Mainland address is free with no minimum order, and the sofa is brought to the ground floor, or to a ground-floor room of your choice — not left on the drive.

Most UK Mainland orders arrive in two to four working days. Some Wales and Scotland postcodes take five to seven working days. Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Scottish Islands are not refused — we just do not quote for them automatically, so get in touch before ordering and we will arrange it.

Cash or bank transfer

Two ways to pay, both on the day: cash, or a bank transfer made while the driver is there. A transfer from your phone on the doorstep is completely normal and most people do that rather than keep several hundred pounds in the house.

We do not take cards, and we do not offer finance. That is a real limitation and worth knowing before delivery day rather than on it. If spreading the cost is what you need, we are not the right shop, and we would rather say so now.

Look at it before you pay

This is the actual point of the whole arrangement, and the part people forget to use.

Have a proper look while the driver is still with you. Not a glance at the box — get the wrapping off and look at the piece. Check the fabric across the arms and the seat, check the frame sits square on the floor, check the colour is the colour you ordered. Only pay once you are happy with the condition it has arrived in.

If something is wrong at that moment, nothing has been paid and there is nothing to claw back. That is a far better position than being right and out of pocket.

The optional extras, and what they cost

Standard delivery covers a UK Mainland ground floor and costs nothing. Anything beyond that is chosen at checkout and added to what you pay on the day, so there are no surprises at the door:

• Upstairs delivery — £20 for the first floor, or for any floor where there is a lift.
• Each additional floor without a lift — £10 on top of that.
• Assembly in the room — £20.
• Taking your old sofa away — £30, indicative. A very large item can cost more, and the team confirms with you before delivery rather than on the doorstep.

All three are booked when you order and cannot be added at the door, because the visit is planned around what was booked — that, and the rest of the preparation worth doing before the van arrives, is in getting ready for the van.

Full detail, including the areas outside the standard mainland service, is on delivery and returns.

If you find damage afterwards

Sometimes something only shows up once the sofa is in place and the light is different. Email us within 24 hours with photographs. The photographs are what let us settle it quickly instead of going back and forth about what happened, and there are three outcomes:

• Minor, and the sofa is usable. We log an incident report with your photographs and recommend you carry on using it. That record stays on your order in case anything develops later.
• Considerable. We offer you a replacement.
• Beyond repair. We collect it and issue a full refund, with no collection charge.

Separately from all of that, a 1-year guarantee covers structural faults in the frame and the springs.

Changing your mind is a different thing

If nothing is wrong and you simply do not want it, you have 14 days from delivery to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations. It applies whatever your reason and you do not have to explain yourself.

The part people are genuinely surprised by: on a change-of-mind return you arrange and pay for the carriage yourself. Sofas are large and awkward and that is not a cheap courier job, so get a quote before you commit to it. A faulty sofa is the opposite — we collect that ourselves, free. And note that a made-to-order sofa built to your own size and fabric is exempt from the 14-day right altogether, which is covered in made to order, explained.

Why we sell this way

Partly because it is the arrangement we would want as customers. Mostly because it removes the single thing that stops people buying furniture online, which is not price — it is the gap between paying and finding out.

It also disciplines us. A shop that only gets paid if the customer is happy with what came off the van has a very direct incentive to make sure what comes off the van is right. There is no deposit to keep and no card payment to argue about afterwards.

If you would rather see one in person before any of this, the Blackburn showroom is open by appointment, and we are easy to get hold of.