There were no notices, signs, instructions or anything in store near or on this table. The only signage on the table was the name of the table (Cooper coffee table) and the price. And upon purchasing, no additional brochures or paperwork or instructions were provided along with the invoice. It wasn’t until we received the table with tax invoice, is when we noticed the cate instructions on the tax invoice itself. Thank goodness I even read that! When we spoke to the salesperson, he said he talked with his manager and as good will, he will give us a free can of spray treatment for the concrete table top! We have refused such an offer and I’ve sent an email to the store, as I would like all correspondence to be in writing moving forward.
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Exactly. Raw product, whether it be timber, concrete or mud brick, is clearly in need of further work before it can be used for its intended purpose - and should be clearly and unambiguously identified as such at point of sale (I’ve bought such items, and it has always been obvious from either markings or signs). If sold ready to use, then it should be fit for the purpose as sold.
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The information in the original post by @fordy doesn’t indicate that it needs further work before its use. @Fordy outlined that literature which came with the delivered table indicates that it stains easily (no different to many other materials) and needs special care…namely wiped down a soon as there is a spill or mark. These instructions seem no different to many instructions often accompanying consumer products in the user manuals (usually in the maintenance section).
Additional protection appears to be an option rather than a necessity before its use.
I also wonder if @fordy can upload photos of the user instructions he is referring to so that we can see exactly what they say.
Looking at the Ikea website, they have similar instructions for raw timber products…for one, the care instructions state ‘Wipe clean with a cloth dampened in a mild cleaner. Wipe dry with a clean cloth.’
The website doens’t seem contain information about raw timber needing sealing/protection before use.
I recall that they advertise their own Ikea timber oils in store, but it may be a ‘would you like chips with that’ rather than a specific requirement before use.
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From IKEA on untreated wood items that may come in contact with food or drink:
“Untreated pine is a sustainable material with natural variations which gives every piece of furniture a unique look. With glazing paint, oil or paint, you can easily make the surface more durable [My highlighting used in all these excerpts] – and your furniture more personal.”
“Wipe clean with a cloth dampened in a mild cleaner.
Wipe dry with a clean cloth.
Can be treated with oil, wax, lacquer or glazing paint for higher resistance and easy care.”
“Untreated solid wood is a durable natural material which is even more hardwearing and easy to look after if you oil or wax the surface.”
“Wipe clean with a dry cloth.
Stains can be removed by using an eraser or fine sandpaper.
Can be treated with oil, wax, lacquer or glazing paint for higher resistance and easy care.”
“If you oil, wax, lacquer or stain the untreated solid wood surface it will be more durable and easy to care for.”
So they do advise that using some coating will make the item more durable and it is openly disclosed. Some items like untreated pine beds they don’t usually advise this but these are not expected to have food or drink items sitting on them. The cot for example is untreated, this is not something you would expect to be exposed daily to food and drink and leaving it uncoated is probably safer for a child who chews on the wood.
Most items at IKEA are not untreated they usually use a clear acrylic to seal them but this if water is allowed to sit can mark the item as the acrylic used is water based.
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I agree that it is general advice rather than a specific requirement for any untreated timber products (such as to ensure that the manufacturer warranty is not voided). A consumer can chose whether or not a protection is applied to the timber.
It is also worth noting that if the timber was untreated (or even treated) and gained stains from normal use, such would possibly be considered fair wear and tear.
Maybe @Fordy, if NS is unwilling to do an exchange, accepts their offer for a spray sealer. At least this can be applied to reduce the likelihood of stains/discolouration from normal use.
I personally seal all porous items around the home such as timbers and grouts.We don’t have any concrete furnishing (personal taste)/raw concrete within the house but if there were, I possibly would consider sealing to minimise staining and discolouration.
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As an update, they just sent me an email agreeing to give a full refund! Thanks everyone for your feedback. I was definitely not going to let this go and luckily they responded swiftly and accepted our request for refund. Needless to say, this experience has made me more savvy as a consumer in Australia and i will make sure I ask the right questions and do more research before making large purchases.
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Great news! So very glad for you, but sorry that you’ve had this bad experience when new to this country.
Don’t let it spoil your impression of it,
it’s a great country and, like me, (Italian
background) you will love it more and more as you get to know it better.
Hope also that you’ll post your experiences, your ideas, and your
questions and tips, to this forum.
Thank you for sharing with us!
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Well done to you for standing your ground, and to Nick Scali for belatedly doing the right thing.
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It is great that Nick Scalli decided to bend their change of mind policy and offered a refund to keep a customer happy. This does show some goodwill by NS. Hopefully NS and @Fordy will take lessons home from this experience.
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Welcome to Australia. Glad you got your refund from Nick Scali @Fordy.
As a belated note, I’d like to let you know I fall into the change of mind camp. The reason for this is:
-
You pointed and said I want that. So you didn’t state what it was for, or how it was to be used. So unless the sales person made any claims about the product the selection was your responsibility…
-
I had a look at the NS website, and none of thei tabletops I looked at have any care instructions. This includes wood, marble, glass, or the concrete. All of these could have issues if not treated and used correctly.
-
It could be argued that a coffee table would only get occassional use, and it just needs spills or moisture wiping off, just like other porous table surfaces. Therefore it is fit for that purpose.
Anyway, next time you go shopping unless you are fully informed and preferrably know what to buy (for example using Choice for research), tell the sales person what you want to use it for, and let them recommend a product. That way you have come-back via the Australian Consumer Law if it doesn’t perform as you need.
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Nick Scali customer service is non-existent! …Eleven days, four different Nick Scali people, yet no sign of a resolution.
The facts:
- I purchased the Jordana bedroom suite including the dresser from the North Lakes store.
- I paid $180 for the furniture to be delivered and installed.
- The Jordana dresser is unstable and unsafe as it poses a toppling risk. I have mentioned this in phone calls and emails to Nick Scali multiple times and to multiple people over the past week and a half.
- The delivery man left a bag with 2x straps and 2x screws and told me that the dresser needs to be screwed to the wall, especially when it sits on carpet. Although, there is no place on the back of the dresser where straps could be attached.
- I was NOT told, either by the salesman nor in the provided Jordana information paperwork, that the dresser has an issue on carpet and that it needs to be screwed to the wall. If I was told that the dresser needed to be screwed to the wall at the time of purchase, I would not have purchased the dresser.
- The dresser leans forward by 2 centimetres at the top, wobbles easily (when drawers are both empty and full) and the drawers fall open. On the 28th Jan, I was asked to send a “short video showing the wobble”, I did so and again on the 30th to evidence that clothes were in the drawers (as I was told “its because you have no clothes in it”).
- It has been eleven days since I raised an issue and I have communicated with four different Nick Scali people yet I am no closer to a resolution.
- Nick Scali does not treat my issue as a matter of importance and goes days on end without any communication whatsoever.
- I have been provided with different advice which has not helped - screw into the middle part of the dresser where the wood joins, place clothes in the dresser and it will be more stable (it is not), adjust the adjustable feet (I am unable to see any adjustable feet and not sure that they even exist particularly as I did pay someone to install it and would this not include adjusting adjustable feet to make the dresser stable), place clothes in the dresser in a particular way and after a number of weeks it should be more stable.
- I have requested that the dresser be returned and refunded to three people via phone and via email, yet I still have been unable to speak with someone who is supposedly authorised to do so.
Where we are at today (Saturday 1 February 2020):
- On Thursday, I emailed a second video showing that the drawers were full yet the dresser wobbles and the drawers fall open as well as a photo of the foot asking where the adjustable foot is. I have received no response.
- When I was trying to find the adjustable foot, I noticed an additional problem being that there is a gap above the two bottom drawers (only) when the drawers are closed so that you can see the clothes inside.
- I am awaiting the email that the service person told me on Thursday they would send detailing their advice regarding the adjustable foot and how to store clothes in the dresser to make it stable.
- I am waiting for someone who is “authorised” to action my request for a refund to call me back.
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Join the club, there are quite a few people who have had the same experience, have a look at a thread called ‘Nick Scali Furniture’
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Hi @Nix, welcome to the community. I moved your post here so other members can see some of the interactions with NS and their products.
There has been incidents of Ikea furniture being recalled due to toppling in the USA…
Maybe Choice (@jhook) should consider a new campaign about safe furniture. One doesn’t expect unsafe furniture to be available for purchase in the 21st century.
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Welcome to the forum @NIX ,
You should, if you have not already, read the consumer guarantee in the Australian Consumer Law and formalise your claims. It reads like you have an excellent case.
If you feel you have been fobbed off, send the management a formal Letter of Complaint stating what you have posted above and any other relevant points.
Get your letter receipted to show they received it, and clearly state what you want with a reasonable date for them to reply.
Until you go formal you may be fobbed off and sent around and around at their whim, while wasting your time and potentially exhausting some of your rights, such as requesting a charge back from a credit card provider for breaching your rights under the ACL (time limited).
Please keep us informed of how it goes and good luck for a speedy resolution.
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Thank you for this advice, much appreciated.
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I am betting you bought the same table we did. curcular light gray concrete top with wooden legs. looks lovely. what they dont tell you is that it hasnt been sealed. everything marks it. everything stains it. it gets absorbed deep into the concrete. wiping it seconds after spillage or ring stains from your glass/cup is useless.
we liked ours, and were batlling Nick Scalli re the crap tc console they had delivered. it was a simple matter to buy some paint that resembled the original colour and paint it. looks good. i
had they bothered to tell you - then a sealer could have been applied without paint.
by the way, Nothing works to get our absorbed red wine or oil.
sugarsoap, detergent, solvents, water, vacuum (yup ttried that), hot water, vinegar, bleach, bicarbonate of soda (which is fantastic on carpets),
moral of the story. The only good thing about NS are their ads.
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Try Oxalic Acid. It is very toxic so wear gloves, do the bleaching outside or other well ventilated area and if possible wear a mask with canisters for organic fumes or avoid breathing any vapours created. Don’t buy it as crystals if you can avoid that, I think many hardware stores that stock it carry it as a made up liquid already. Oxalic Acid has been used for a very long time to bleach wood and removing staining or greying from the wood. It does also work on concrete but test a small inconspicuous area first to ensure it doesn’t affect the finish of the polished concrete. While using it to bleach keep it moist by applying the liquid as needed or a gentle mist spray of water just to keep it moist.
The reason I suggest buying as liquid is that avoids someone breathing in the fine powdered crystals when handling the powder. If breathed in they can cause bleeding in the lungs so a mask of adequate protection is always advised. This acid is the same acid found in Rhubarb and that is why they warn you never to eat the leaves as the acid is in lethal levels in those.
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Continuing the discussion from NICK SCALI Furniture Issues:
My partner and I bought a Liama 3 seater recliner lounge in March 2019 from Nick Scali Osborne Park Perth. We had to wait 3 months for delivery (no discount or delivery charge waived for the delay).
The lounge finally arrived in late June and promptly broke down 2 weeks after use. The foot rest mechanisms did not work on both sides. Personally complained to Nick Scali store in Osborne Park Perth. They claimed they were powerless and had to “escalate” the complaint to there Sydney office. A technician appointment was then organised via Sydney Nick Scali and about a week later and he replaced the motor rams that push the foot rests out with new ones. Fair enough all seemed good.
Then in July we went o/s for 3 months. Came back and the right side of recliner broke down again in November. Went down again to Nick Scali Osborne Park store and complained that we very unhappy and preferred to have our money back. Same response “ they had to escalate the complaint to Sydney”! Same technician came out and tipped recliner up and pulled one of the leads into recliner apart and it stated working again. Claims that the factory in Malaysia sometimes leaves grease on lead and can cause a problem. We were now very dubious about the quality of the lounge/recliner, and yes the right side broke down agai about 2 weeks. I decided to lift the fairly heavy right side of lounge up and pull the same lead apart myself, and yes it started working again.
But in mid January 2020, the recliner malfunctioned yet again!!
By now we were furious and after studying Nick Scali Products and Australian Consumer Law brochure they gave us we were entitled to a replacement, refund for a major failure.
But the Osborne Park salespeople again we’re useless. They had to escalate the problem to their Sydney office.
We then received a phone call from Sydney and the female representative refused to budge on our request for a refund or replacement, claiming they had to inspect the recliner again. This person was unhelpful, rude and would not discuss alternatives to the “inspection and repair”. I went through the scenario yet again with her about paying $3300, waiting 3 months for delivery and the recliner breaking down 3 times in roughly 6 months of use. Would not listen or compromise. Furious and angry I agreed to an “inspection” but we would have to wait 2 weeks for the Technician to arrive!
The same technician arrived for the third time. He replaced the ram motor on the right of side of recliner again. And yes it started working again. But for how long?
We have now moved the Nick Scali recliner lounge into our garage. We have decided to sell it on gumtree. We cannot stand the stress of dealing with Nick Scali anymore. We will take a significant financial loss but no more stress and anxiety at 68 years.
Do not buy anything from Nick Scali. Their image of high quality and expensive furniture retailer is a total lie!
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Welcome to the Choice Community forum RodJ.
It seems you are experiencing similar issues to those above. I’ve moved your post to this thread in order to make it easier for readers to gauge the full extent of issues with furniture from Nick Scali in one thread of related problems.
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