Countless parts arrived damaged. Manufacturer does not want to acknowledge damage and even calls me a liar.
I am writing the below review as a customer from Austria who shopped with the regional website Faktumonline.com. It is operated by the same company who also runs Faktum.co.uk for UK customers and Smålandsluckan for Scandinavian customers.
It is fair to assume that all websites use the same producers of the kitchen parts. As the product quality issues I experienced were on the production side and not damage caused by a freight forwarder my review applies to all of Faktum's legal entities and websites.
Due to the unforgiving and unreasonable response I received from the manufacturer about my reviews I left for their other entities I have therefore decided to now also post my review for Smålandsluckan.
Of the three IKEA FAKTUM cabinet replicas that we ordered, countless parts were damaged and the laminate and pressboard were broken. This was clearly not due to transport damage (otherwise we would have seen debris and chips in the parcel), but to production faults that the manufacturer refused to acknowledge. Initially I was told that it was "impossible" that the damaged parts on my photos could have possibly passed quality control, suggesting that I was lying. Later on this position was given up.
To our great disadvantage, we had allowed the deadline for checking the consignment to pass, as the packaging was undamaged and we could not imagine damage on this scale from any reputable manufacturer (and not at this price!) to happen. We only discovered the damage when opening the package for assembly. We had no choice than to continue the assembly and hope for an accommodating solution with a price reduction, as we had a kitchen counter top delivered just 2 days after, so we couldn't wait for a replacement to be shipped to us.
Regrettably I took the photos of the faults during and after assembly, which the manufacturer jumped on immediately to fend off any claims. The CEO of the company, Hakan Ingemarson, who at some point took over the communication himself, insinuated that I had probably been clumsy during assembly and had damaged the parts myself. The absolute cheek!
The manufacturer had previously sent us a wrong consignment and, in order to save costs and effort on its own side, wanted to pass on the responsibility for disposal or recycling to us, as the return collection by GLS would obviously not have been worthwhile. in the end I agreed to dispose of the parts for a discount on my purchase, which was more than fair to the manufacturer to save them considerable costs.
With that experience I would have hoped for a courteous solution to my complaint about the faulty parts, outside the returns policy which only gives you a few days to inspect the parcels. All I was asking for was another discount which would have come so much cheaper for the manufacturer than asking for a replacement shipment.
The manufacturer keeps referring to their clear returns policy and that they would have send replacement parts for my order without hesitation had I just a) kept to their (very restrictive) time frame for flagging up damages and b) had I not taken pictures during but before assembly.
I am even ready to believe that the severe product quality issues I have experienced is not a permanent issue of the manufacturer. But the whole stubborn and unforgiving way my complaint was handled compels me to telling other potential customers.
I can only recommend to everyone ordering to inspect the contents of the parcel immediately and relentlessly demand any damaged parts to be replaced with another shipment and not release the manufacturer from their obligation to deliver flawless parts.
Reply from Smålandsluckan
Ja, den här gången blev det inte så bra.
Situationen hade enkelt kunnat undvikas om du bara hade hört av dig. Idag har alla en mobilkamera i fickan och om skåpen verkligen var helt kaputt när du packade upp dem hade det varit den enklaste sak i världen att ta några snabba bilder och skicka över till oss. Men istället gjorde du dig besväret att montera ihop alla skåp och först därefter ta bilder som visar trasiga skåp med monteringsskador. Samtidigt förklarar du att du gärna behåller skåpen om du bara får 50% rabatt i efterhand. Och om vi inte går med på dina rabattkrav hotar du med att skriva dåliga omdömen.
Ja, någon enstaka gång per år blir det fel och då är vi måna om att snabbt göra om och göra rätt. Men det bygger naturligtvis på att kunden hör av sig i tid så vi får chans att agera. Normalkunden monterar inte det som är trasigt och normalkunden gör direkt en reklamation och begär ett avhjälpande. Och om du kunde ta bilder sen när alla skåp väl var ihopmonterade så hade det varit lika enkelt att ta bilder redan vid uppackningen om de verkligen var trasiga redan då. Vi är uppriktigt jätteledsna över allt detta.