This past weekend, my partner and I visited Harveys Furniture store in search for one or two living-room furnishings.
Having browsed the store, we found prices to be slightly expensive but reasonable for the quality of the items. We picked out two potential purchases from Harveys' Somerset range; the large multimedia unit and nest of tables.
Ready and willing to buy, we sat down with a sales adviser who proceeded to take our details and process the order. That was, until he hit us with the bombshell delivery charge of £50.
Not wanting to pay such a large amount on top of in-store prices, I enquired about the possibility of collecting the products in person. Unfortunately, we were advised that Harveys doesn't keep stock at its stores, and all furnishings must be delivered directly to the customer.
So, collection isn't possible, £50 for delivery is the only option. Hoping to reduce that delivery cost, I enquired about ordering just the small nest of tables. The item measures just 45cm x 58cm x 40cm, small enough to place on a passenger seat. Sadly, the salesperson advised that the £50 delivery charge still applied - regardless of the number, or size, of products.
The aforementioned nest of tables is priced at £199, and the delivery charge is therefore adding a further 25 per cent to its price-tag. An increase reflected when ordering via Harveys' website:
Perhaps it's just me, but I found the delivery charge to be completely unreasonable, and opted not to make a purchase. I'm familiar with paying for delivery - but, it's usually made clear early on, and provided as an option. Having ordered a very-large sofa from DFS earlier in the day, we were told we could collect the sofa ourselves, or pay £30 for delivery.
Harveys, however, appears to have no option. You simply must pay £50 to receive your item, no matter how large, and you'll only discover this price-hike when going through the order process. Whilst in store, we saw no mention of the mandatory £50 delivery charge on any of the price-tags.
Earlier this year, personal-computer manufacturer Dell had been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for an e-mail advert that promoted a laptop at a special price of £199. Numerous consumers had complained that the only way to obtain the £199 laptop was to pay an additional £57.58 for delivery - an amount that the ASA said added significantly to the cost of the laptop, and made the advertisement misleading.
I would argue that Harveys' significant and mandatory delivery cost makes its own prices misleading, too. Or, am I being unreasonable and should consumers expect to pay large amounts on top of list prices? Share your thoughts in the HEXUS.community forums.
