Beware of buying custom made furniture

[Showbags]

I think I missed the name of the Company....Please state the name so we don't get taken too. Thanks

Fat chance of that around here....they shudder at the thought of it

[belg]

they are waiting for the next kwai farang to bring in 50% for his furniture, so they can finally start to work on yours

[NoshowJones]

I ordered a teak bed from a long established shop a long time ago....paid deposit, cannot remember how much now, but maybe 20/30%.....after taking a long time to construct and visiting their workshop to confirm it was being built...they delivered it and it was crap.

Days passed and I had not paid for it, they wanted the money, I told them to take it back as it was rubbish...they came to collect and I asked for the deposit refund...they said ok have no money, let us load the bed and we go atm....did not let them out the driveway until they paid the deposit back in full...they tried to bargain it down...but they had the cash on them and got full amount back.

You did the right thing, but remember, they know you and where you live, be careful.

[bradenroger]

A very similar thing happened to me (us) only my guy seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. Luckily, we lost only Bht. 2000 but I was as much disappointed because I thought the young man had great potential to have a very successful business. He came recommended by a staff at our condo and had even done work for others in our building. He also spoke and wrote very good English. In fact, I used the drawing that he had done for us on his computer to show to another carpenter who we finally found to do the job. So very sad for this guy. We had a number of other items lined up for him to do for us.

[NoshowJones]

Simple rule...Try NOT to pay for anything/goods or services you have not received

If you have to pay something, keep it to the bear MINIMUM

If the supplier does not agree WALK AWAY

Yes, lesson learned. I was taken in by the swank website and the fact it was a farang.

I have made a complaint with the Consumer Protection Board, let's see what happens there.

A Farang????? I would have given him one week to refund my money, or I would make a point of meeting him alone. If you are not that way inclined, have a word with a Thai guy, and offer him maybe 5000 Baht. You know what for.

[falangadang]

Go and file a case with the Consumer Protection Tribunal at your local courthouse. They will help.

We had a similar situation with a kitchen cabinet maker/installer. Waited months and got nothing but empty promises. Finally the guy said "oh all finished,.. just waiting paint to dry" then more excuses until I insisted "just put them on a truck and deliver them". They turned up (75% of them) half finished, glue all over them... woeful. We told the guy to take them away and cancelled the contract. Now 9 months later we are negotiating through the CPT to get 50% of our deposit back (if we're lucky).

It got worse from there.... we found another custom furniture guy and even went to visit his impressive factory. We ordered "teak veneer" custom cabinets which eventually turned up and looked great. There were issues with the finish that needed attending to by his painters a couple of times. Then my wife spilled water on the floor which washed up against the kickboards (finished in the teak "veneer") and within a couple of days the "veneer" started to bubble. Turned out that the veneer was a paper thin laminate and just peeled off like a sticker.

CONNED AGAIN!! The very thing we ordered for (wet area protection) was completely ignored. The design and construction was great,... looked great too but we ended up being ripped off and had paid for paper thin laminated ply and hardwood cabinets!

Amazing Thailand!

Live and learn!

[IAMSOBAD]

I agree 50% seemed high, but I was trusting as this appeared to be a quite old and established business. Don't be fooled by appearances and swank websites.

Were you taught Don't Play With Matches!???

[gopis108]

We had a similar experience in Chiang mai-paid up front actually-including shipping,in Baan Thawai -the company didnt make anything or send anything but because we had paid by credit card our money was returned by the CC Company.after we provided receits etc.and we left the CC company to sort it out,so at least we didnt lose our money-just the aggravation and the time caused ius by these stoolbags.It seems more of this is happening in Thailand which used to be very reliable but now sadly the low lifes are moving in.

[MyFriend You]

Well at this point they are still saying they will deliver. I have since found out that some customers have waited a year for things from this shop.

Hind sight is 20/20 you know you should have inquired around before ordering, hope it is not a substantial loss?? BTW Indonesia is THE PLACE to buy custom made furniture, I helped outfit two entire Motels, every stick of furniture and assessory in Hawaii using a furniture factory outlet in Jakarta - they fabricated, packed, contianerized and shipped on time.........none better.

[sometimewoodworker]

Also unless you catch the damage or defects prior to leaving the store, there's no exchanges.

I have found that that is not true.

I've exchanged faulty goods with both Tesco, and Thai Watsudu

[Rorri]

I had custom made kitchen cupboards with doors, proper wood etc - not cheap.

They fitted them while I was at work and when i came home I saw they had painted them brown instead of leaving them natural wood finish. I hohummed and thought never mind they still look OK and could not be arsed with getting inot it with the shop.

A month or so later i noticed some lined blistering, and on closer inspection was horrified to see they had filled part of the doors with filler and painted over it - hence the paint. On further inspection I found it to be uniform and on all doors. When I got them round the guy told me they had bevelled it wrong, so rebevelled it to my spec and then filled in the rest and painted over them.

I was greeted with the usual dumb grinning when i asked what they planned to do about it. Eventually and begrudgingly they took all the doors away and I told them the fault was theirs and not mine and I wanted proper doors done to my spec. They tried to tell me it would cost. I think they coulod still hear my laughter by the time they got back to the shop.

Never again will i order custom made furniture here.

I have many tales of very poor workmanship from this country and will only hire builders, plumbers, carpenters etc that are known to Thai friends. Seems the only way to get a half decent job done.

On the other hand i had one guy who did a lot of tiling work for me and his work was impeccable. He has had a lot of work from me and i get him to recommend other tradesmen also.

Still love living here though, i just don't expect good work from local tradesmen.

Poor workmanship infests the country, hard to call anyone a "tradesman," on the surface things look spiffy but you don't need to look far to find what most of use would consider substandard workmanship, I often comment to overseas visitors that thais are the worlds best "renderers" they make things look spiffy, but underneath is crap.

[CDNinKS]

It was a 30,000 baht deposit, so yes quite substantial.

As I've said previously the mods have made it clear that to not run afoul of the libel laws here in LOS that I can't name the shop. Suffice it to say it is a well established shop run by a farang and his Thai wife. You will need to PM me if you need more info than that.

[rjcampbe]

i think you should at least pin point what area the shop is, and give a few subtle clues to it's identity

I would love to, but I have been informed by the mods that would violate the forum rules against "name and shame"

I don't think there is any rule against someone PMing me to ask though

Another example of Thainess that you can't say that XYZ shop screwed me over, even when XYZ shop DID screw you over.

Just one more example of how the system protects the corrupt practices and poor quality and service.

As the previous poster said, you could give an indicaiton without naming them... city, street name, cross street, color of the sign...

[Diddl]

Simple rule...Try NOT to pay for anything/goods or services you have not received

If you have to pay something, keep it to the bear MINIMUM

If the supplier does not agree WALK AWAY

Yes, lesson learned. I was taken in by the swank website and the fact it was a farang.

I have made a complaint with the Consumer Protection Board, let's see what happens there.

I was cheated by a farang also, not a Thai. I hate these money-grabbing thieves who leave their country thinking it is easier here to cheat people. Beware of farangs!

[CDNinKS]

Simple rule...Try NOT to pay for anything/goods or services you have not received

If you have to pay something, keep it to the bear MINIMUM

If the supplier does not agree WALK AWAY

Yes, lesson learned. I was taken in by the swank website and the fact it was a farang.

I have made a complaint with the Consumer Protection Board, let's see what happens there.

I was cheated by a farang also, not a Thai. I hate these money-grabbing thieves who leave their country thinking it is easier here to cheat people. Beware of farangs!

Yes, everyone warns us about the Thai's, when really it is the farang we need to be the most wary of. His Thai wife has apologized to my wife for her husbands behavior and admitted that this is quite a common occurrence with them.

Edited February 3, 2014 by CDNinKS

[atyclb]

Simple rule...Try NOT to pay for anything/goods or services you have not received

If you have to pay something, keep it to the bear MINIMUM

If the supplier does not agree WALK AWAY

Yes, lesson learned. I was taken in by the swank website and the fact it was a farang.

I have made a complaint with the Consumer Protection Board, let's see what happens there.

I was cheated by a farang also, not a Thai. I hate these money-grabbing thieves who leave their country thinking it is easier here to cheat people. Beware of farangs!

And the underlying reason for apparent high % of farang scammers come to thailand is?

[ChiangraiTony]

Any company that needs to take money upfront more than 10% is not credible, by asking for 50% they have zero cash flow and live by the day.

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What are you talking about, "any company that needs to take money upfront more than 10% is not credible" you must not have much experience in Thailand when it comes to having work done, ie., remolding, renovation, etc... They all want money up front even Home Pro.

[ChiangraiTony]

I agree 50% seemed high, but I was trusting as this appeared to be a quite old and established business. Don't be fooled by appearances and swank websites.

Home Pro wants 100% to do my renovation so I don't understand why some are so surprised when their being asked for 50% upfront. And as you know a Home Promis a well established company.

[thailandbeachisland]

NAme and shame please ? forget the stupid rules, tell us where not to go !

[wolfmanjack]

If you think about it 50% for custom work is not out of line since it would be difficult for the company to find another buyer if the original defaulted. Unless the company was overcharging to the point that 10% would cover the cost of materials.

No excuse for being a year late though on a 3 month expected delivery time.

[CDNinKS]

NAme and shame please ? forget the stupid rules, tell us where not to go !

You don't know how much I would love to do that, but the mods have it clear they will delete the post if I do and most likely ban me to boot.

[Skint]

Any company that needs to take money upfront more than 10% is not credible, by asking for 50% they have zero cash flow and live by the day.

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What are you talking about, "any company that needs to take money upfront more than 10% is not credible" you must not have much experience in Thailand when it comes to having work done, ie., remolding, renovation, etc... They all want money up front even Home Pro.

Who are you to day I do not have experience? Off course they all want money upfront who wouldn't, give me 50% please I promise not to go bust, I let the company take and decide the risks with their money not mine if they do not agree I go elsewhere.

I'm not sure why you mention home pro i buy everything with cash only if I can walk away with the stuff or get it next day delivery.

Money first I never do.

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[barlinnie]

A couple of days ago we bought some floor tiles from Homepro and asked if they could lay them for us. They quoted 11,500 bt for laying the 25 sq.m. Two of their "technicians" came to do a survey and said we would have to pay up front before they would do the work. We offered to pay 50% and the rest when the work was done. They said they wanted all the money before carrying out the work. We told them we were not prepared to pay the whole amount until we saw the finished result. We have now found someone (recommended) who will do it for 3,250 bt.

[Hobiecat]

We bought three Oak doors for our house when building it 7 years ago from a small door shop just north of town on the left hand side which is still there. Same deal 50% down, when they were to be delivered low and behold they weren't ready. Two weeks later after I had to depart for work they showed up and my contractor payed him the balance. They were disgusting, nothing I could do about it when I returned one month later. Lesson learned.

So when we got the kitchen installed the guy wanted the same 50% down. I told him I'll give him 10% take it or leave it. He agreed and we set a completion date. Completion date came and went, no surprise. Six weeks later our kitchen showed up. Before the workers were out of the house he was calling me from BKK asking for the money. I said yes of course you'll get your money, not to worry. When the workers were complete and heading out the door. He called me again asking for his money. As I was closing the gate behind his workers I said "yes yes of course". I then handed the phone to my wife so she could explain what completion dates mean and she then informed him we'll gladly pay him in six weeks. He was furious and threatened to return and take the kitchen out. We welcomed him and said yes of course you can come get your kitchen. He never showed up. I broke down and payed him 4 weeks later on Christmas day.

[kimbathewhitelion]

Whenever buying any products, whether be just the deposit, money is never refundable. Any receipt I've ever gotten in Thailand, whether Makro, Tesco, Index, major shopping centers, Independent Retailers, written in big letters across the bottom is "Non-Refundable". Also unless you catch the damage or defects prior to leaving the store, there's no exchanges.

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I took a toolbox back to HomePro the other day after got it home and played with it and noticed it broken....they swapped it.

i think you should at least pin point what area the shop is, and give a few subtle clues to it's identity

How sad is this really....consumer protection my arse.

If only Toolboxes were sofas, but to think of it I probably can use it to wash my foot. Though I still doubt one would call it furniture. I did exchange a bar of soap last week.

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