France & Son

After purchasing a dining room table, the table legs arrived damaged - it appeared to have been damaged in shipping. When I took pictures of the legs and asked for a replacement, F&S refused offering a 5% credit on the table (which cost me $1900) rather than replacing it. When I stated that this solution was unacceptable and said I'd just return the table, France and Son prepared a return that discounted $300 for my purchase price (for "free shipping") AND expected me to pay the full return fee (another $300) through a vendor of my choice. In fact, here is an excerpt from the email that I received authorizing the return. Note the conspicuous condescension and total absence anything resembling customer care:

"We recommend packing well and insuring your return package. Our packages are only designed for safe shipping in one direction. The package integrity may not be stable enough for the return shipment, so do what you must to insure the package(s) safe return: double box, add bubble wrap, add foam filler... this is up to you."

Essentially, I was to pay $600 for the mishap of ordering France and Son's damaged product. Sounds fair, right? I cannot speak ill enough of France and Son. You'd have better luck getting furniture off the back of a truck in dark alley from a mustachioed guy wearing a beer stained wife beater.

I was so excited when I found the Rattan Tropisk Daybed. I had been searching for the prefect one for almost a year and found it on the France & Son website. It was a bit pricey for me at $1,699, but it was exactly what I wanted so I decided to splurge. I hadn't heard of France & Son but France & Son received good reviews so I felt comfortable purchasing from the site. I had a very poor experience with their delivery partner Bestway. I was informed they would be delivering my daybed on Wednesday, and I would receive a call from the driver an hour prior to their arrival. I hadn't heard from them by 4 PM, so I called the delivery company. They said "oh, we had difficulties with our delivery truck today so it won't be coming until tomorrow." Well, it would've been nice to get a phone call from somebody. Also, "tomorrow" I had a day off of work and had plans to meet with a friend who was in town from out of state. So I had to cancel those plans. The gentleman I spoke with from the delivery company assured me they would give me a call an hour before arriving, and the delivery company would be arriving sometime after noon. Well, I did not receive a phone call, and they showed up at 9:20 AM. They dropped the box off at my door. I asked if they were bringing the daybed in. They said it's "curbside service only". That may have been my fault,. I don't recall seeing this was "curbside service" only, but I may have missed that. Then they tried to get me get me to give them a tip to bring it inside for me. That is 100% unacceptable and inappropriate. The box was also falling apart and damaged even though it had a fluorescent orange "fragile" sticker on it. It wasn't even packaged in a whole box. It was different pieces of cardboard that were taped together with very cheap clear packaging tape. See pictures. I did not cut any of those pieces of cardboard. I only cut through the clear tap to open the box. That is exactly how it was delivered to me.
I live alone, and I finally figured out how to get the rattan day that into my house by myself. However now I am extremely disappointed with the daybed mattress. It is a cream color and there are dark dirt stains ALL over it. BOTH SIDES. There is even a handprint black dirt stain on it! I took pictures and video. It was covered with some very thin plastic, but was obviously not stored IN the plastic since it is so dirty. It truly looks like a dirty person slept on it for weeks. The ends of the plastic were ripped. Some clear packaging tape was used on the plastic that was covering the mattress. Even the packaging tape was dirty on the adhesive side (see pictures). One of the pillows I received had a twig and dirt inside of the plastic it was packaged in (see picture).
When I contacted customer service via email they were quick to reply. However, they offered me a "10% discount on the mattress, or have a professional upholsterer cleaner dispatched to my address to perform a deep cleaning on the mattress." I just paid $1,699 for this daybed, and they wanted me to keep a dirty mattress which I have no idea what or who was on it? And just offer to clean it? No. I deserve a new, CLEAN mattress... I have no idea where it was stored and since it was so dirty obviously it wasn't store with any plastic covering on it. How do I know it doesn't have bed bugs? I told the customer rep. I wanted a new mattress. She agreed to perform a "swap out" on the mattress. However, the item itself is currently sold out and won't be restocking until the end of January. She said they can arrange the swap for the next available truck upon restock... Roughly about mid February. I was told I can keep and use the dirty mattress until I receive the new one... 3 months from now. I understand and am aware of the current supply and delivery issues, but this is unacceptable. They want me to use a dirty mattress for 3 months? Or pay out of pocket to get it professionally cleaned when I just purchased a brand new daybed and new mattress for $1,699? I don't even want to get it cleaned. I have no idea what is on it... or IN the mattress itself.
I'm sick to my stomach over this. Not acceptable or ethical at all.

Whatever you do, DO NOT TRY and RETURN AN ITEM!
France & Son won't send you a return label, and they won't give you all the necessary details about returning an item, or any other assistance at all to return an item. You will pay for their "free shipping" by having to pay not only the shipping to your home (that was supposed to be "free"), but also the shipping back to the store in case of returns. For example, I bought a lamp that was just way too overbearing for my living room (ok I misjudged by the photos on their website). The lamp cost $714 initially, and their "free shipping" will be deducted from my return ($157 - they get a discount as a business that ships often, but I do not). I paid $215 to ship it back, so now I've paid a total of $372 in shipping costs, and that's only of they decide to refund the item "as long as it is in the original packaging and there is no damage" per their "customer service" person, with whom I've spoken 3 times now. Each time he adds on something else to the requirement for refunds. In other words, I've committed some kind of crime to return an item to an online store, and they won't take responsibility for any of the charges at all! He didn't even throw a bone, like maybe offering to have it shipped back at their discounted rate. The last time I spoke to him and confirmed there was no damage and it was re-packaged exactly as received, he states "yes we'll refund the item as long as UPS doesn't damage it". WHAT?! I said, "you should have told me I would be responsible for any possible damage in shipping it back as well, for I would have bought insurance on it!" So, if there is any damage at all in shipping, or F&S isn't happy with the re-packaging, I'll be out almost $1000!
Terrible customer "service" experience, and lots of hassle and run around to return an item to an ONLINE store, who should be better prepared for possible returns as there is no way for customers to SEE the item first. So, of course, they will be dealing with returns! Wow, I will never ever shop at this ONLINE store again!

In March I ordered a chandelier from France and Son and France & Son sent the wrong one. After multiple attempts to get this resolved and get the correct one I just gave up. All I wanted was to return the one they had sent me (by the way not the one I ordered), and now they tell me I have to pay $600 shipping fee to return. Now I am dealing with FedEx freight trying hard to get this huge chandelier picked up and I will take the financial hit. However I am on a mission to let folks know they won't talk to you on the phone, only email from a different representative every time, and never once a person with a resolution. I am in customer service and never write negative reviews, ever, however I am beyond frustrated that I am paying for their mistake.

I feel like I have to fight your website in order to use it. It opens new pages over and over again, clutttering my desktop; the chat pop ups are so large and intrusive that France & Son make it difficult to see the merchandise; the one time that I did decide to engage with the chat, the person responding had no idea what automated chat prompt I was responding to in my message; the "are you sure you want to leave now" box gets triggered way too easily, putting another obstacle in the way of looking at your merchandise; and the sale code you advertise on the opening page then comes up as expired during checkout. I gave up and purchased anyway, but only because I've put off dealing with your site for so long that it wore down my patience because I want to just get the item.

I purchased a $1030. 00 mid-century table from F&S in September. I attempted to get eta on delivery and I was told it was on schedule and was leaving a warehouse soon and I'd get a notice. It's now been almost a month and no communication from F&S. Today I called to speak with a live person, Alexis who told me that my item was out of stock when I purchased it and France & Son should get it around Nov? I said Nov? Alexis responded that it's October now so not much longer if a wait. Like I'm smart enough to be able to afford a $1000 table but I'm not smart enough to know it's the month of October. Very snarky and immature responses from customer service and no one else to speak to. Didn't apologize or anything. I was appalled.
I will never purchase an item from this store again. Be very careful buying as they're selling items they don't even really have and they don't seem to care that their customers are not satisfied. Requesting a manager to call me and update me. Total unprofessional company.

I don't normally write reviews, but I felt compelled today. I bought a coffee table through France&Son and realized after about 5 months that the gold on the frame of the table was wearing off. I reached out to the company and told them I would happily send the item back, but I wanted my money back. The coffee table was $1000 and the quality of the item is something I would expect from Walmart. For the next long month, I went back and forth with the company (probably 20 emails exchanged) in which France & Son proceeded to tell me they couldn't refund me, they had to have the supplier do it (taking no responsibility). At one point they reached out to me and told me finally that the supplier would not refund me unless I "destroyed or donated" the item. This concept of them dictating to me what I needed to do to get my money back for a crap product enraged me, but I was nonetheless willing to donate it. A week later, literally the day I loaded up the coffee table to take to Goodwill, I got an email that the supplier would actually only refund $250 for the donation. After 30 days of back and forth, I sent the following email and here is there final response...

My note:
I need a response on this. It's been drug out long enough. I care very little about what the supplier wants to do here. What are YOU going to do to make this right? I bought this from you, not them.
Thanks

The Supervisors response:
Hello Clarice,
We can not do anything without vendor approval outside of our 30 day window. Thank you and have a great day.
France and Son Supervisor

Then they closed my ticket I've never been treated so poorly by a company before. Don't use them.

Ordered 2 lights (sconce and ceiling fixture). Arrived on time and intact. Upon installation, we found the sconce upper light to be too long and heavy to be supported by the anchors France and son provided. We then went to Home Depot and bought new larger anchors and reinstalled. Still no luck, the light was not able to be mounted flush and too heavy to be supported. When we reached out to the company, we were directed to email (no installation support via phone) and 2 days later were told (by email) that we must not be installing properly and that the light was fine. I tried contacting the company by phone but was never able to speak to anyone directly about the problem. We have had to hire an electrician who also told us that the light can not hang as pictured on France and son website since it is not properly designed. We have tried to once again speak to someone at France and son but our emails have now gone unanswered. Very poor customer service and poor product for the expensive price tag. My advice is to think twice before buying as you are on your own once product is purchased. France & Son supplied us a return shipping but charging $150 for return shipping on a defective light fixture. Will never use or recommend this company. Also filed complaint with BBB.

Purchased an $800 chair that was advertised as free shipping. This is false marketing. France & Son neglect to inform you of the return charges which came to $450! If I was informed that SHIPPING WAS NOT FREE and that I would be taking a $450 dollar gamble on a chair, I WOULD NOT HAVE PURCHASED FROM FRANCE AND SON. Their business practices are dubious and unethical. They are engaging in false advertising and extortion. If it truly did cost $450 to ship an $800 chair, they would be OUT OF BUSINESS. No issues with product quality but the company. These guys should be investigated by the better business bureau. STAY AWAY and buy from an upstanding online retailer like Overstock or West Elm.

Much like the other folks on here, I've had a tough time getting correct updates on a piece of furniture I ordered back in October. I was told that it was a pre-order and wouldn't re-stock until November, which was fine as I didn't need the piece right away. I was prepared to wait and be patient. A couple weeks later I was sent an email that the piece had shipped when in fact, it had not (false hope!). When the tracking wasn't updated, I wrote to customer service and France & Son informed me that it was sent in error and the ETA was still going to be end of November. End of November's ETA became mid-December, mid-December became end-December - and each time, I was the only one doing the follow-up here, getting responses and shoddy estimated deliveries from a customer service person that I'm pretty sure was just an avatar. It's now early January and I called CS to get an update - apparently this piece just came back in stock and pre-orders would indeed ship out next week. No apology for the back and forth of the situation, just a, "you should be getting an email next week about this." But I'm not exactly confident. I thought I'd give them a shot because I always take online reviews with a grain of salt, but it seems as though they don't have the right production or warehouse logistics to fulfill orders and/or correctly quote delivery dates. Also, the full amount was charged back in October which *was* a bit shady given that I still haven't received a product almost three months later. Save yourself the heartache and avoid this place!

Ordered a starburst wall clock from France & Son on March 5,2016. Today is March 21 and after 2 1/2 weeks still no clock. UPS tracking stated package had not even been sent and France & Son were right. Called customer service and the rep (who sounded and acted like she was 12) said it had indeed NOT EVEN LEFT THE WAREHOUSE and they would relabel and send it today. I asked if it could be sent faster (their mistake - at their expense) - NO. Would there be a discount for future purchases perhaps? - NO. We'll see (if the clock actually gets here) how long this takes and what the quality is like. After reading some other reviews here I probably should have just cancelled the whole order. Be afraid...

I'm having a hard time believing that this is supposed to be a legitimate business? We ordered a $1500 chair from these people. As per instructions on the website, I contacted a customer support representative who sent me a quote via email, which I paid. Several weeks later the chair arrives with a crack that runs throughout it. So I contact the company via the claims form on their website the day of delivery, and the guy that responds is not only incredibly rude and short, but also tells me "tough luck", I didn't buy added shipping instance. Are you for real? Why offer shipping for a $1500 chair with no insurance whatsoever? Why send me a quote to pay and not make me aware of this at all, and then blame me? I responded that I paid for this via his associate's quote and THEN (ca 5 days after delivery, after the weekend) he sends me another form that hinges on questions such as "are you completing this form within three days of receiving your item".?

Why is there a second form? Why am I getting it days later when it's apparently time sensitive? Why did the claims guy completely ignore the fact that no enhanced shipping option was offered to me (and I wasn't informed that France & Son don't bare minimum insure their "high end items").

I'm not sure I've ever received customer service this bad. What a joke of an experience.

France & Son list items in stock and then say they aren't in stock after weeks of waiting. Shipped damage product and then won't issue credit once the item is returned to them. They did this twice on the same product; fedx noted the product was damaged during shipping and wrote it up. I was purchasing a very expensive tub for my project.

My feeling is this company is as bad as they come. If you see a unique item be very careful as its probably not actually in stock and they will live off your credit card float as long as they can.

Customer service is awful. They would respond to a return request for months. Finally when they did, they shipped another damaged product.

I have never done an online review. In this case I had to, these guys are a sham.

I ordered a side table, we placed it on my brand new rug and then noticed a reddish stain appear on the rug after. When we moved the side table, we noticed a red coating on the bottom of the stoppers (of the table) that caused the rug stain. I called France & Son and spoke to Richard, the customer service manager. He was very nice, and said they'd take care of cleaning my rug, and that I could send the table back. After I sent the table back, I reached out to Richard several times to get the rug cleaned- he even gave me his cellphone number, but started to ignore all my calls/texts. After my husband and I sent numerous emails, we finally received a response weeks later saying that the table had arrived back in perfect condition, and that France & Son would not be cleaning my rug OR refunding me, and that they are considering it a "remorse return". I have photos, videos and witnesses to prove that was not the case. France & Son has stopped responding to me- this is literally the worst situation I have ever experienced with a company. I will never shop here again, and I hope you won't either. Would give 0 stars if it were an option. This goes beyond bad customer service- this is downright fraud.

France and Son's customer service is the worst. France & Son sent me a broken piece of furniture; I had to track them down to get the info just to get it sent back and out of my garage. Then, I had to complain publicly on their facebook page for them to even get in touch about replacing the item. They said they were sorry and asked what they could do. But then, when I ask questions, or want an update: silence. 3 months later, and still no word when I can expect to get a replacement. They took my money and I have nothing but hassle to show for it. BUYERS BEWARE. Don't buy from them unless you are willing to wait half a year or more for your stuff, AFTER you spend the money.

Fortunately, the experience I had with France & Son was not bad, as some of the other reviewers here. I ordered 2 chairs from F&S that should have been in stock, but did not ship immediately. A few days afterwards, I realized, however, that the seat height was too low and would not work with our table. As nothing had shipped yet, I worked with Rachel (and Richard) in customer service and France & Son were both very responsive and courteous, and took care of the cancellation and refund before shipping. I would order from them again as their prices are very competitive. However, please be aware that France & Son does carry LOTS of items from many manufacturers, so some of those are low quality (and cheap) while others are good replicas when it comes to quality (but are definitely pricier). So you have to do your own research b4 ordering online.

I purchased a light that looked beautiful on the website and when I got it in person, to looked like cheap fake metal (in bright shiny copper) that was a completely a different color and no patina like in the website photos. In order to return the item I would be out $85 for shipping. I feel as though I ordered something and got something I different and France & Son wanted to charge me for it instead of taking responsiblilty for the poor quality of they website images. Worst customer service. If you can't stand behind the accuracy of your products, you shouldn't be selling them. I attached the photo directly from their website along with what the metal actually looked like when I opened the box.

I ordered a table through france and son and was frustrated at how I couldn't get an update on processing or even shipping. They'd send me links that lead nowhere. I received the table that I ordered and I received the wrong table. I personally misplaced my order. That was my fault. I wanted the larger table and bought the very small one. I wanted to return the table to buy the other. The return fee was almost $500! On their site France & Son mention you'll have to pay shipping back(not a restocking fee) but don't mention that not only do they charge shipping but throw whatever number on top of that they'd like to get some kind of extra cash out of you. Their responses are very very slow as if to talk you out of returning anything.

Really really dissatisfied with the customer service. You'd think when you're paying a high dollar for quality items it might come with quality customer service. Ikea has better customer service and return policies than this place.

Would never recommend.

Not only is the customer service bad, I really am not sure if anyone is really there. No returns on emails. I ordered a table on 12/21/15 and the nightmare began. Was told that delivery would be within a week when I spoke to a women. Weeks later and many emails, finally someone from the freight company called. France & Son wouldn't deliver because they couldn't bring an 18 wheeler down my driveway. I go on vacation tried to communicate with this company days later get a response. When I return was told they would sent a smaller truck. A week later they decide that they would only deliver my table curbside... 1000' from my home! I am a disabled senior citizen who lives alone so I told them to cancel and immediately send me confirmation that I was not going to be charged. Get email again days later, stating they will when the table gets back to their warehouse. Just TERRIBLE company! Shop somewhere else!

I ordered 2 of these from France and Son to put into the two opposite corners in my living room. Let me just say, France & Son are ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. The customer service at France and Son was so helpful, they even went out of there way to follow up with me after the purchase. The packaging and logistics were perfect. Everything arrived on time, they notified me when it shipped out, just so great! I was even offered a discount. They even let me send them a picture afterwards - this allowed me to stay in touch with the sales representatives and now they are open to sending me quotes with coupons! They even check the stock levels for you right on the spot! This company is amazing and I can not wait to re-furnish my whole home by France and Son.