Damaged or Faulty Pieces

If something arrives damaged, it is ours to put right

A piece travels a long way to reach you, and occasionally it arrives less than perfect. When it does, the remedy is ours to fund, not yours. What that remedy is depends on what is actually wrong with the piece, and this page sets out how we decide.

At a glance

• Check the boxes on arrival, photograph any damage, and keep the packaging.
• Report within 48 hours of delivery, with your order number and photographs. That includes damage or missing parts you find while unpacking or assembling, so please unpack and check your piece promptly.
• We confirm the remedy within one business day: a partial refund, a replacement part, or a replacement or full refund.
• It costs you nothing: no return shipping, no collection cost, no deduction.

Why your photographs matter

The photographs you take on arrival are the record we settle a claim against. That is why we ask you to check the piece promptly and to keep the packaging until it is assembled and sound. We put damage right at our cost; where a replacement part or piece is needed, it can take several weeks to reach you, and we will tell you the expected timing.

Check the piece when it arrives

If you can, check the boxes before the carrier leaves and note any visible damage on the delivery receipt. Photograph damaged boxes before you open them. Then unpack carefully, check every part against the instructions, and photograph anything that is damaged or missing.

Tell us in time

Report the damage through our Contact page within 48 hours of delivery, with your order number and a short description of what is wrong. The same 48 hours applies to damage or missing parts you find while unpacking or assembling. We reply within one business day, and you can attach your photographs to that reply; they go straight onto your claim. Include the damage close up, the whole piece, and the boxes as they arrived.

The 48 hours run on the clock rather than on business days, and your claim is timed from when your message reaches us, not from when we reply. A claim sent over a weekend is in time; our answer simply comes on the next business day.

How we put it right

We review your photographs and confirm within one business day of receiving them what we are doing, and why. If a claim needs information from the carrier before we can settle it, we will still write to you within that day to say so and tell you when to expect the decision.

• Cosmetic or minor damage, such as a scuff, a scratch, a marked panel or a dented edge: the piece is sound and usable, so we settle it with a partial refund proportionate to the damage, and you keep the piece. If you would rather have the piece perfect than the money, tell us and we will look at what else is possible.
• A single faulty or missing component, such as a hinge, a runner, a bracket, a bolt or a leg: we send a replacement part at our cost, which restores the piece properly. Where a part cannot be supplied, we treat it as the case below.
• A piece that is structurally compromised, unusable, or not the item you ordered: you get a replacement or a full refund, whichever you prefer, and we arrange and pay for collecting it. Nothing is deducted, and you pay no return shipping. A replacement comes at no extra cost.

A partial refund is offered where the piece still does its job. It is not a way of paying less for a broken one. If the damage means the piece cannot be used as intended, it falls into the third case above.

Faults that appear later

If a piece develops a fault under normal use after this window, contact us with your order number and we will look at it case by case. Tell us when the fault appeared and how the piece has been used. A manufacturing or structural fault is a different matter from ordinary wear, and we treat it that way. Coverage varies from piece to piece; our warranty information explains how to find out what applies to yours.

What counts as damage, and what does not

Damage means the piece reached you broken, cracked, torn, marked, incomplete, or otherwise not in the condition it left in, including a missing part or fitting.

The following are not faults covered by this page:

• Natural variation in wood grain, stone or woven fabric, and small differences in color between a screen and the piece itself. Every natural material varies, and the product images show a representative example rather than the individual unit packed for you. If a piece is not what you expected, our 21-day return applies.
• Ordinary wear from everyday use.
• Damage caused by misuse, by outdoor exposure, or by cleaning products a material’s care guide advises against. Every material has a guide in our Material Care Center.
• Damage caused after delivery, for example while you assemble, move or transport a piece. You can still return the piece within 21 days, less the return shipping and a deduction for the damage (and a 10% repacking deduction if it comes back without its original packaging); see our return policy.

How this fits with our other policies

Damage is about the condition a piece arrived in. Our 24-hour cancellation window covers changing your mind before an order is processed, and our 21-day return covers a piece that arrived sound but was not right for you. This page covers a piece that arrived wrong.

Contact

Reach us through our Contact page with your order number. We answer Monday to Friday, excluding US public holidays, on Pacific time, and a real person will respond within one business day.