Unpleasant service delivery

I placed an order, for a U-shaped 7-seater/couch, on the 25th of November 2022, from Lifestyle Online furnitures, which I found off Gumtree. I was in communication with someone I assumed was the owner, by the name of Chris Amberson.

We first were in communication from the 14th of November, after reviewing their work from Gumtree. From there I asked him to send me a few photos of couches that were recently done, just to see their actual work, as some of the images from their website look photoshopped/from the internet. I even drove to one of their upholstery ventures to view a couch that was about to go get delivered.

My description was that I wanted this U-shaped couch to have cushioning and in a buffalo material. I even provided Chris with an image of how I wanted the cushioning to be. These changes were going to come at an additional charge/cost from the initial set price. Which I had no issue with.

I only received the couch a few days after Christmas (December 2022), and when they arrived I was not happy with the final result. From the noticeable wood to the stitching to the cushioning, comfortability, and squeaky sounds when you sit, as well as the final touch-ups. If anything, the cushioning was like those matrasses they have on hospital beds (that slide off when sitting).

After informing Chris about this, I even suggested they simply take their couches and refund us. This was when Chris went on about "The policy to refund is 25% and payable in 60 days". I told him that I will not accept that policy as this was not communicated to me prior to purchasing, nor did I see that policy on their website, as I saw their couches on Gumtree.

This conflict was all now happening in early February 2023. I expressed to Chris how disappointed I was in how the situation was being handled, as all I (now) required was for them to simply refund us, and collect their couches. As I saw that even if they took the couches to repair that they would return in an unpleasant condition, and wanted nothing to ever do with the company. All I was doing was trying to support a privately owned small business.

The couches were only then collected on the 27th of February 2023, from our place, and only returned back on the 19th of March 2023.

When the couches returned, I honestly was not happy with the couches and was just drained from having to deal with this company. After my trip back (18 May 2023), from Durban for my father's funeral, I decided to send Chis a message asking if their company can buy their couch back, as I have concerns about the squeaking and discomfort of the couch. I further let him know that I do not see this couch living to see July/August.

All he did was blue-tick me and is now ignoring our calls.