The Brick

I wanted to bring to your attention a recent conflict I’ve had with the Brick Furniture Retailers in Peterborough, ON. In November 2005, my husband and I purchased a 9 piece dining room set from The Brick in Peterborough. At the time of purchase we paid an addition $200.00 for their “Full 5 year Blanket Coverage Program”. This was purchased due to the fact that the seats of all six chairs are upholstered in white fabric. This program covered all spills including all household beverages, ink, cosmetics and even nail polish.

Unfortunately, on Easter weekend (March 23, 2008) one of our guests accidentally spilled red wine on the table which leaked onto one of our chairs. I contacted Brick on the day after the incident. We were told that we were responsible for covering the cost of having the chair professionally cleaned. The chair was professionally cleaned, using the Brick’s recommendation for a cleaner, the following day and was a $68.00 out of pocket expense.

It was then the Brick’s responsibility to replace the material on the chair. Following weeks of contacting the Brick and many failed attempts, I finally learned that the Brick no longer deals with this particular manufacturer. The Brick then asked us to bring in the chair and they were going to attempt to clean it (weeks after the spill). Finally, I was told that there was no other option but selecting a different upholstery for the chair cushion. I went down to the business where the Brick had taken the chair to try and select upholstery which was similar to our current color, pattern and texture. The sales lady at the upholstery store was fantastic. She must have gone through almost ever book to try and match it. In the end we found a fabric which was the same in color (As I’ve found out, true whites are hard to match), however, the fabric was a totally different pattern and about 25 time thicker than that of the original fabric.

I had agreed on that fabric and have asked the Brick to recover all 6 dining room chairs as I did not want one mismatch piece considering the amount of money we paid for the original set and the amount of time this process has taken. After days of conflict, I received my final response today (June 23, 2008). The Brick would only agree to recover 3 of the chairs and I was responsible for the remainder.

The cost to recover all 6 chairs is $266.96 plus applicable taxes. They will only cover half the payment! In my opinion, I have received nothing but terrible customer service and will NEVER shop at the Brick again. Please let your friends know that the “Full 5 year Blanket Protection Program” is a total waste of money and should not be purchased.