Frequently Asked Questions
HOW WE WORK : LEAD TIMES ON ORDERS
We operate in the following way. We take orders from Customers and a 30% deposit at the point of order. We then e mail the order to the factory to start production on the furniture.The factory will then build the furniture , apply the finish and then pack it and store it for us whilst we fill the balance of the container.
Each time we receive an order we update the graphic on our Intro page to
show how full the container is after the order is added. We then wait for other customers orders to come in and gradually fill the container. Once we have filled the container with Orders we close the container off. From this point it will take around 6 - 8 weeks for the factory to build the final customers furniture before the container will be ready to ship.
Please do not ask us how long the furniture will take to arrive as we cannot tell you. It all depends on how fast our orders come in. All we can assure you is you will be delighted with your furniture when it arrives - but please remember this is all hand built to each customers specification and takes some time.
We cannot be specific on arrival in to the UK as to delivery dates as Customs have input into whether our container gets searched or not. A customs search normally adds up to an extra week on clearance. We then have to move the container via trunker to our Freight Agents Warehouse for unloading and sorting. Even once unloaded at the Freight Agents Warehouse - times need to be arranged between the Freight Agents Warehouse and the Couriers who deliver on their behalf. All deliveries must be signed for. We cannot commit to timed deliveries under any circumstances as these are all outside of our control and there are many influencing factors such as traffic and road works. Once the good have arrived they are nearly always delivered within a week or two - but when we have many deliveries to go in different directions - this can take more time. For smaller items we use an overnight courier service – we use a next day service – and again goods will not be released without a signature. Our couriers are specifically instructed not to leave anything without a signature – to cover both ourselves and you as our customer from loss or claims that goods were left somewhere. We are a furniture importer not a transport company. We can guarantee that your goods will arrive as quickly as possible but this is all we can commit to for the reasons stated above.
If you cannot wait - ask us for a price on FAST FREIGHT SERVICE which takes around 6 weeks to build and 3 weeks to ship. The downside though on this is you have to pay the Sea Freight and Crate charges as well as the Port Fees - which all come included if you add to our container.
FURNITURE COLLECTIONS FROM OUR FREIGHT AGENTS
Balance payments are required before delivery or collection of the goods. Once the funds have been cleared - your furniture can be collected from our warehouse if this is the option you chose .
LOCAL DELIVERY INTO YOUR HOME
If we are delivering by hand - as soon as the funds are cleared - we will arrange the onwards delivery for you.
On local deliveries - our drivers are permitted to carry in the product for you. All fittings such as brass handles are supplied inside the cupboard doors in bags. It is not the responsibility of our drivers to fit handles due to the time it takes to screw them all in.
This also applies to the fitting of adjustable shelves in cupboard units.
DELIVERIES OUTSIDE OF OUR LOCAL AREA OF CRATED FURNITURE
We require payment in full of all consignments which are to be sent out by our Freight Forwarding Agents before the goods leave our warehouse.
All deliveries outside of our local area will be handled by our Freight Forwarding agents. The quotations are based on them delivering the furniture TO YOUR DOOR . They are not paid to carry the furniture out of the crates into your house - so please do not ask for this service as they are not Insured for this.
Most drivers are courteous and helpful - and if you wish to make a personal arrangement with the driver - this is fine - but it is not covered in the quotation - which is quoted " To your Door " . As the furniture is very heavy - we suggest you arrange for extra help to unload the products from the crates into your home if this is a problem .
LATE FINAL PAYMENTS
In the event of your final balance payment not being made by the date when the furniture arrives with our Freight Handlers - we reserve the right to charge Storage on a daily rate until such time as the final payment is made - if it is charged to us.
The freight handlers are normally extremely helpful and are always happy to ensure you get your delivery at a convenient time to suit you as long as we have released notes to them ( which we do as soon as payment is received ). They will be as flexible as you need when arranging delivery.
We have only ever received charges where our customers have failed to pay us which has resulted in lengthy additional storage by our freight handlers.
In these circumstances where they end up storing furniture because we have not been paid - then the charges may be applied - and in turn we will require full payment of the balance payment and any storage charges incurred due to late payment - prior to release of the goods.
LEAD TIMES
All lead times given are approximate - and can only be given once we have placed an order for a container load. Due to the nature of our Business - it can sometimes take a long time to fill a container - but this is outside of our control.
The goods are made abroad and then have to be shipped and Customs cleared - so we can never be specific about delivery dates.
We will however give a good estimate based on the information supplied to us by the factory if required. If you ask us to assess an approximate delivery date at the point when you order - we will endeavour to be as accurate as we can based on previous experience - but this information will only ever be a guess - based on the container status at the time. We cannot
be held responsible for variance in delivery time to any suggested dates - as there are too many factors in the process of manufacturing your furniture - through to shipping avaiablility etc - which can affect the final lead time.
LEAD TIMES ON CONTAINER FROM POINT OF ORDER
Normal lead times from the point where we order a Container are ( approximately ) 2 - 3 weeks to build and finish the furniture - and around 3 - 4 weeks to freight to the UK. These are approximate lead times only as all of our orders are built to customers specifications - so we cannot be liable for any time variation caused by matters outside of our control.
SPECIAL OFFERS AND PRICES CHANGES WHILST
THE
CONTAINER IS FILLING
Whilst the container is filling - we may at time to time deem it necessary to advertise some "Special Offers" in a bid to speed up the loading time of the container. All Special Offers are advertised for short periods of time to prompt orders from customers and we from time to time may offer products at cost price simply to speed the container filling time up. Once your order has been placed with us and your deposit has been paid - we buy in US$ at the prevailing rate to pay for your furniture. If you later see the same item on our site as a result of either a Special Offer or as a result of us lowering or raising prices in response to Currency fluctuations - we will under no circumstances make any changes to the price quoted .
TUNG OIL FINISH
The Tung Oil finish on our furniture is produced by hand. Whilst our samples give an idea of colour - we cannot guarantee the final colour being identical - as the pigments in each batch of oil will vary - and the effect will vary depending on the tone of the wood used for each piece. It is also not uncommon for rosewood grain to have different tones and sometimes texture variance . As wood is a natural product - this is an accepted fact.
SILK AND MATERIAL COLOURS
All silk and material colours shown on our site cannot be guaranteed to be identical. All swatches have had to be scanned to put on the Website and the light from the scanner can change tones slightly. If you are concerned about this -please e mail us and we will send you a Sample of your chosen colour - which will need to be returned to us recorded delivery.
fAILURE TO MAKE ALL PAYMENTS PRIOR TO SHIPPING OF GOODS
If you decide after payment of the initial deposit that you have changed your mind and do not want to proceed – then your deposit will be lost.
In the event of Non Payment of the second stage payment – we will not be able to pay the factory for the cost of manufacturing the furniture. In the event of non payment of the 2nd Stage Payment - we will therefore be left with no alternative other than to instruct the factory to sell the furniture for whatever they can get for it - and recoup their losses from the proceeds of sale.
FAILURE TO COLLECT AND PAY FOR THE GOODS / PAY THE BALANCE OF THE INVOICE ON ARRIVAL IN THE UK
If you for any reason to change your mind - and do not want to collect and pay for the furniture on its arrival in the uk - or to pay prior to your home delivery - we reserve the right to " Claim Ownership" of the furniture by reason of default - and to sell the furniture on to recoup our losses on the balance payment. This would only be done after an e mail clearly informing you of our intentions - to absolve us of any blame for taking such actions should it ever become necessary.
We normally are happy to work with our customers to ensure they get extra time if requred to collect and pay for the furniture which they have ordered.
Rosewood Furniture Conditions of Sale
Download our Terms and Conditions PDF
FLOATING CENTRE PANELS
With the Floating Centre Panel method of construction - it is normal for a little shrinkage or expansion to occur when the furniture is placed into a centrally heated house - as it settles. This results in an exposed area of wood alongside the centre panels. We recommend leaving the furniture for 3 months. By then any movement should have happened - and a French Polisher can be called in to touch up the exposed surface with the stain from our repair pack. Once this has been done once - it will normally never need doing again.
THIS IS PERFECTLY NORMAL AS THE PRODUCT IS SOLID WOOD !!!
All solid wood will expand and contract a little with temperature changes.It is a natural product and will move until it settles in the humidity of your home We recommend leaving the furniture to settle for around 4 months - after which time it will have stabilized. A good French polisher can then come and touch up the lines around the edge of each panel to cover the shrinkage marks. The shrinkage will only normally ever occur as the rosewood furniture acclimatizes to your home surroundings - and once it has been polished out should never occur again. This also applied to ridges and minor warpage around the edge of panels during shrinkage. They can be taken down by a French Poliser with fine grade 000 wire wool and polished out invisibly - so no not worry if shrinkage occurs
HOW WILL I MAKE MY PAYMENTS ?
* 30% of the order value with order. The factory will then start production immediately
* 45% of the order value prior to shipping the goods by the factory
* 25% PRE Delivery / Collection
We realise that 75% before the goods leave port is expensive.
When dealing with Asian companies - we have to pay
* 30% to start production ( this is immediately transferred to the factory to start production )
* 45% payment prior to shipping the goods. ( This is normal trading procedure for this part of the world )
* Freight and Insurance Charges in Full before the goods leave the Port.
* The goods are then shipped to the UK
Then - before the goods can leave the UK Port - we have to pay:
* VAT on the entire shipment at the Port before the goods can clear
* Documentation charges and Customs Clearance fees
* The cost of an Articulated trunker to collect the sealed container
You can hopefully see that this is an extremely expensive process just up to the stage where the goods arrive at our warehouse - and this is why we need such a large deposit. We can provide many references for anybody who is worried about this form of payment who will verify that their goods arrived safely after paying out this deposit or of course you can opt to pay by Credit Card for further protection if you still have any doubts .
DEPOSITS
Once an Order has been placed - the deposit requested will be deemed non returnable. This is because we have to transfer the Money to the Factory before they start production on any piece of furniture . If - for any reason the Purchaser decides that they want to change the specifications after payment of the deposit - we will try to satisfy their requests if at all possible. This will not be possible if the production process has begun on the piece - for obvious reasons and Finesse accepts no liability if this should happen.
PAYMENT
For your own security we recommend that you pay by Credit Card as this affords extra security for you. Once your payment has been made - we transfer the funds to the factory to start production. Payments once made are not refundable - however we may at our discretion issue a refund if the funds have not been transferred to the factory for production to start. In the event that we do decide to issue a refund then we reserve the right to reclaim the processing fees which we are charge by the Credit Card Company. On GBP Payments we are charged 2.5% processing fees for taking a payment - and on US$ we are charged 3% for taking a payment.
MISINTERPRETATION BY THE FACTORY
The factory is in Central China. Our contact who runs the factory is based in Hong Kong. When we place our order our contact interprets the English and translates to Chinese for the workers. Sometimes the factory have been known to change specifications if they feel it achieves a better finish or is more practical. In these circumstances - which are quite rare - the factory will always contact us to advise of the changes made. In these circumstances - the factory will then either offer a discount for you to take the furniture which they have modified - or will offer to remake the furniture to your spec ( which may cause some delay ) or alternatively will offer a full refund and will sell the furniture elsewhere. Finesse Furniture Ltd cannot accept any liability for changes made to customers orders outside of our control. Should this happen - as soon as we are contacted to advise of any modifications - we will offer you the same alternatives - a full refund, a remake ( which may extend delivery time ) or a discount to take the modified furniture as interpreted by the factory.
IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT OF PROBLEMS ON DELIVERY
We bring all furniture into the UK on sealed containers with all furniture being pre wrapped and packed by the factory. We never unpack furniture until we arrive at a customers house to ensure that it travels well protected. If there is a problem with any of the furniture when it is unpacked - we will offer you the following options in the following order.
Option 1
Offer to take it back and replace it for you if it has been made incorrectly This gives you the right to refuse to accept the goods as they are not to your specification - and we will replace them for you to your spec as soon as possible or issue a refund if you prefer.We will not unload the goods - but simply take them back and reject them to the factory if this is your choice.
Option 2
If you choose to keep the furniture having seen the problems with it - then we will carry the goods into your house and unpack them for you. We will then on our return e mail the factory and advise them of the problems - and obtain a discount from the factory for your inconvenience. Once you have opted for us to carry the furniture into your house - the delivery will be considered good - and you may not later change your mind and attempt to reject the goods.
Option 3
If the furniture is correct to your order specifications - but you do not like it when it arrives - we do not accept any liability whatsoever as it is your responsibility to check the specification carefully at point of order.
Option 4
If the furniture is damaged when unpacked - it will of course be insured. Please advise us immediately and we will make contact with the Insurance Agents to notify them of the damage. It can take a while after notification of damage before we get clearance to get the repairs made - as with all insurance claims - and repairs will never be started without clearance from the Insurance Agent first - in case they need to vist and assess the level of damage for themselves.
For minor damage - such as surface scratches caused in transit - we normally opt to pay for a French Polisher to carry out the repair at our expense to quickly restore the furniture to its expected finish. This is the quickest and most effective solution for minor marks. As the furniture is made in Central China - there is a lot of shipping and handling in various ports en route to the UK - and sometimes minor damage can occur. We normally prefer the French Polisher option as it quickly and professionally restores the furniture to its original condition - invisibly.
We will not be able to offer an immediate replacement as all orders are built to specification - but we will make contact with the UK Insurance agents on your behalf to arrange a visit by them to inspect the damage ( wherever this is deemed to be the requirement by the Insurance agents ) . They will then contact the Insurance company to report damage from where the decision will be taken by the Insurers on which is the best way to remedy the problem. As you can appreciate - we are furniture importers and not an Insurance company - but we will always endeavour to pursue claims on your behalf as best we can to ensure a satisfactory outcome. Normally this will be by way of either a French Polisher to repair minor damage - or if necessary ( where sanctioned by the Insurance company ) a replacement to be made and shipped to the UK on our next container order. This will always be the way in which replacements will be sent to the UK due to the prohibitive cost of freighting single items to the UK from the factory - so please do not expect an Immediate replacement - as the unit will need to be remade, refinished, packed and freighted. Our prices reflect this style of service and not Air Freighting of replacements should they ever be required ( in the rare event of a problem. )
