Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
I have spoken to the administrators of courts today who have told me that if I take my receipt for the £400 I paid them they will give me a voucher. As you can tell by my tone, I am not happy with this. Why exactly would I want a voucher from them? They have stolen money from myself and my boyfriend which took a long time to save. I WANT MY MONEY, NOT A VOUCHER.
P.S. I have only rated 1 for this as I had to!

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
We purchased a 'Mark Webster lyndhurst' 2&3 seat leather sofa. Thank god we got our's!!
On delivery we noticed that there was a defect on the 3 seat sofa. The defect was bad crease's due to bad stitching on the base seat cushions. I contacted 'Courts' in the first week. A inspector came out from 'Regency at Home', he agreed the 'MARK WEBSTER' furniture was of poor workmanship. He took a leather sample for a colour match, and said when the parts were ready they would contact.
MONTH goes by. I contact 'Regency at home' who advise they are still waiting for a colour match. This was before the recent 30.11.04 Courts DRAMA! At this point I was quite happy with the way it had been dealt with, if a little slow.
Today Wednesday 2.12.04. I try to contact 'Regency at home' only to hear a message telling me to call 'COURTS' BUSY,BUSY,BUSY.
I contacted 'Mark Webster' who told me they had the colour match on the 26.11.04 and the parts are FOC, BUT they will now not be making the replacement parts due to 'Courts' situation. It would appear 'Regency at home' are instructed and paid by 'Courts' to carry out the repairs of any manufacturers 12month warranty. There is now no physical person to repair our defective sofa.
A: Regency at Home have ceased work for 'Courts' ie: OWED Money!
B: 'Mark Webster Furniture' say our contract is with 'Courts' they are owed money I assume as well!
The bad management of 'Courts' have left a total mess for all concerned and many disappointed customers.
These range from money paid and no goods received. Part goods received. Outstanding various complaints of many kinds.
Whilst I am in a better position than many I am still very disappointed. Possibly more so with 'Mark Webster furniture'. They made our sofa, and poorly at that. There is a 12month manufacturer warranty but this is at this stage next to uesless. 'Mark Webster Furniture'knew of our complaint well before this recent situation, and now will not do anything.
Lets all hope that KPMG will be able to help the many in a far worst situation than I am in. In the end I can live with what we have. Although I would never recommend BRITISH 'Mark Webster Furniture'. They knew on despatch that it was made badly, VERY POOR QUALITY CONTROL!!!!

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
In response to the recent post about Courts going into administration. My husband is a member of staff in one of their stores and even the branch managers had no idea until being told to shut down with immediate effect. Staff who are now left behind, assisting with the stock take etc, are getting a lot of undeserved flack on top of facing an awful Christmas and an uncertain future.

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
Got a telephone call from my sister who had just heard the news that courts had gone into liquidation!!!!!!!

My other sister had her leather sofa delivered on Saturday nearly had to cancel the order as they only delivered half the sofa!!!! (came in 6 pieces not 3!) My sisters partner had to kick up such a stink to get the rest of the sofa at first they told him that the remaining 3 pieces would be delievered in 10 -12 weeks!!!!!! so my sister would be stuck with half a sofa for 4 months! What the hell are these people thinking! Now my other sister will not EVER! receive her sofa! so had paid a deposit on her debit card and will not get any money back plus the damage cover for the is that now worthless!!!! Why have customers not been advised! Why when we went to courts on Monday 3 days ago! were they still taking orders! Taking people deposits in good faith! I watched a couple buy their little her first big bed she is never going to receive that and that family have lost there money just before Christmas. It's hard to believe that a company can screw people up so much. What is this world coming to.

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
We ordered the seattle a cream(perle) 3 seater double recliner in may with a 10 week delivery mentioned First of all they forgot to put a voucher through for an additional £100 off but said they would sort it and did not need us, a week later they phoned and said they couldn't re arrange the finance without my husband there and it had to be within 24 hours because the offer expired. By September 13 weeks later we still hadn,t heard from them and a phonecall was returned with an admission that the order had never actually been placed. we were offered a more expensive settee (the seattle)that was in stock with no extra cost to ourselves and we viewed it and accepted we did mention the fact that it was larger than the one we ordered but were told it came in three parts. On the day of delivery it was delivered but to our horror not in three parts that information was wrong hence it was too big and wouldn't go through the door(infact it was so big it was classed as a 4 man job and the 2 men who delivered it were complaining) on its way back out my husband noticed the underneath had been scraped on the way in on our wall we actually arrived at the shop at the same time as the settee and when we showed the damage to the manager he said don't worry it can't be seen we can still sell that. Anyway we were at the shop because they said that they also had a version of the sydney that did come in three bits and the only difference was that to identify this one that came in bits it was called blush not perle and it was still cream but one shade darker!!! Huh it was beige not cream Was asked is that important when it costs £300 more than the one you ordered?? YES the manager then pointed to another cream 3 seater I pointed out it wasn't a recliner and again was asked is that important YES they then pointed to another reclining cream settee I pointed out it was only a 2 seater and again was asked if this was important YES Very reluctantly the manager said oh I suppose we are going to have to order what you originally wanted, we will try and rush it through but it might take the full 10 weeks.
Telephoned them in middle of October to ask about its progress and was told its due in on 4th November we'll contact you then. Telephoned on 15th November to be told hmm does seem you are right and its a little behind we'll e-mail appropriate department but we only get e mails on mondays?????? got a phonecall from head office this monday 22nd to be told excellent news it was dispatched on 25th november then she realised and said oh no its being dispatched on 25th november it will be with us on the 10th December I said oh no it isn't you can cancel the order she said you'll have to contact the store goodbye. I phoned store cancelled the order and have today received a receipt to show the refund of deposit

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
- After careful consideration we ordered flooring to the value of XXXfor two ensuites and our family bathroom. We waited for the quoted lead-time and received a call from the store when it arrived and agreed a date for fitting. In the meantime I removed the carpets and made good the floor and re-painted all the skirting. Your fitters duly arrived and fitted the flooring. On completion they showed my wife their handiwork and indicated they had sealed around the edges with a clear sealant. This was not what we had expected as the sealant was all over the skirting and did nothing to enhance the finish or indeed mask some of the cutting errors. There was also a significant scuff mark in the main ensuite which they assured my wife could be removed with “jif” This proved not to be the case. I visited the store the next day to register the fact that we were not satisfied with the work. A rather aggressive individual stated that I should not expect anything from him but he would arrange for someone to call and inspect at the weekend. One of your staff duly arrived on the Saturday and inspected our bathrooms. By this time we had noticed a considerable number of other defects, particularly in the standard of cutting. These were all duly pointed out to the individual who returned to the store to take advice. We subsequently received a ‘phone call to say that they would replace the flooring in the two ensuites, remove the clear sealant and re-seal with white sealant. We were pleased that we had a positive response to the issues. We booked a fitter for one day in the following week.

- Two fitters turned up in the afternoon but only had instructions to remove and replace said flooring. When my wife revealed the true extent of the work, they refused to carry it out on the grounds it would take too long. They left.

- I then revisited your store and agreed another date for re-fitting the following week. At the duly appointed time, two other fitters arrived and after being briefed by my wife, they removed the sealant in the family bathroom but then declared that it needed more time and some special “stuff”. They rang the carpet Manager and then left.

- We then arranged a third visit for when we returned from our holiday. I dealt with XXXX the Carpet Manager who was not very forthcoming with either an apology or any sense of urgency. The appointed time arrived and the fitters turned up and asked for the flooring, as they understood it was on our premises. When they realised it wasn’t, they disappeared for a couple of hours and returned and told my wife it must have been sold as remnants and would have to be re-ordered. They left

- I then visited your showroom and although XXXX was not there, managed to arrange for him to ring me on his return. This he did, announcing that the flooring must be somewhere and he later rang to confirm that it had been located and we agreed yet another date and time. This duly arrived but unfortunately the fitters did not. You may like to appreciate that my wife had been tied to the house on all these previous occasions and therefore a fairly high degree of frustration was beginning to emerge as a result of this ongoing saga. She rang the store to suggest that XXXX(who was off again) might like to ring me the next day. I did receive a call the next day from a lady who had been briefed to arrange a further visit. She was unaware of the previous issues surrounding this order. I can only assume that XXXX did not have the “bottle” to ring me himself. You may gather that apologies have been pretty scarce along the way. We agreed yet another attempt at a date and time

- I am pleased to report that on this FIFTH visit, the task was duly carried out to our satisfaction. You might think that someone would ring us to check that the order was finally carried out given the inept service delivered so far. Think again.

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
I ordered a table and cabinet (value over £1200) from Bolton but was informed that Trafford would deliver it. Delivery on Sales Invoice 4 - 6 Weeks. Trafford, when I could get hold of them, told lie upon lie to keep delaying the delivery. Basically because they couldn't tell the truth. When contacted after 9 weeks was told that they would deliver on saturday only if balance was paid immediately. This was done within an hour. Cabinet badly damaged so another ordered to be delivered direct from Bolton. Was told on 21st June that goods were in and would be delivered on 29th June as van could only deliver 20 items and it was now for next weeks delivery. I informed them that daytime up to about 3.00 p.m. would be suitable. (I work nights). On 28th June tried to inform Bolton store of times when I would be in but to no avail. They were to the point of 'couldn't care less@. I was told to phone Tuesday morning. I did and was told they would phone me back in 10 minutes. I called them again 30 mins later and was told.....wait for it...afternoon delivery. Heavy day as they had 25 deliveries on the van. 25??? 25??? I wonder if I will get it today, undamaged, and able to examine. i rate Courts store as about 7 out of 10. Pre sales staff. 6 out of 10. Phoning to enquire for delivery staff and ability to tell lies constantly 10 out of 10. What a shame that it appears that Courts employ people, not to sell, but how good they are at lying or fobbing people off. I would doubt, very much, that firstly this will not go onto the reviews and secondly that nobody will contact me. My phone numbers are 0161 280 2184 or 07740 645364. I can be contacted 24 hours a day. 7 days a week.

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
On the 10th April 2004 i ordered a dining table, six chairs and side board to value of £2160.91p from the coventry branch.Which i paid for there and then (BIG MISTAKE)With a 4 to 6 week delivery time.(JOKE).
The six weeks came and went! In the meantime i have had a new floor and decorated the room in which my dining suite is to go and as no-one bothered to contact me to inform me of any problem with delivery i have given away my old furniture.So i am now left with a completely empty room.
I have phoned the store on numerous occasions.So far i have been told:
1 week
2 weeks
3 weeks
we can't contact the supplier they are closed
the supplier is having a stock take
the manager is not in the store (4 times)
the supplier is having problems with the stock take and have closed down the whole warehouse
we have a list of customers waitng for this make of furniture and you are at the bottom of that list
can't tell you anthing
we are short staffed and very busy
someone will ring you back (atleast 10 times)someone actually rang me back the other day to say they could not tell me anything.(ha ha)
Two weeks ago i visited the store and the very snooty office mangeress told me that, within three weeks all outstanding orders on this make of furniture would be delivered to the customer!!
After several phone calls this week, i have been told exactly the same thing again today!!!
I estimate i have called them at least twenty times and visited the store on three occasions, they have contacted me ONCE.
It's now the end on june and i am still being told (maybe) another three weeks.
I think i'll wait one more week and then cancel, although judging by the other reviews on this site that might be a long haul aswell.

I have never experienced such bad customer srevice in the whole of my life!!
I definately won't be shopping at courts again and if you have any sense you won't either!!!

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
I have read the bad reviews of Courts,and have recently purchased a sofa bed, from the Courts store in Stoke-on-trent,staff seemed to be knowledgeable
and friendly, given a date of delivery,
phoned the day before, to inform of delivery time, delivered on time, product
in perfect condition.

Note that this review is more than 6 months old and the company's procedures may have changed considerably since this review was written.
After reading all the other reviews I am astounded how they can remain, consistently, that incompetent. We ordered a 2 & 3 seater 'soho' leather sofa on 17th Dec 2003. We expected a 12 week wait. In March we received a note saying the delivery would be in another months time. At the beginning of April Courts actually phoned and said they didn't have the sofas and didn't know where they were either. Two weeks later I rang Courts and threatened to cancel which seemed to make the assistant very happy (a strange reaction, I thought at the time) anyway the assistant promised that the manager would call that day. No call materialised. So on 17th May I called and spoke to a very helpful lady who explained that our sofas had been 'lost' meaning stolen from their distributer. She offered us loan furniture and promised to re-order the sofas on 'fast track' which would take a further 6 weeks. I took the afternoon off on the 18th May to receive delivery of the loan furniture. Guess what ? It didn't turn up, now there's a surprise. Today I visited this website at approx. 10.30am and by 11.0am I cancelled the order.

They have now had our deposit for 5 months and by the time we get it back it'll be more like 7 months. How much interest have they earnt during this period ? At 4.5% thats approx 6 pounds, how many cancellations do they get ? One look at your website confirmed what we thought that Courts are banking their customers deposits without any intention of honouring their contract comfortable in the knowledge that 50% of customers will in fact cancel their order. Nice work if you can get it. I would also avoid DFS and Land of Leather if you want to avoid a similar experience.

This is a summary of events so doesn't include the half dozen or so calls made during this period or comments of the generally surly and unhelpful staff.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS