The Brick
Reviews and Complaints

I purchased what was represented by The Brick (Canada) as a leather sectional set (ZENNAH2PK). I was looking for good quality leather sofa set. The sofa set was on The Brick's website with the following description, "The genuine leather upholstery is soft and supple, easy to clean and specially treated to resist splitting and staining". This could not be further from the truth. After getting two rips within a week so I called Leather Genie to come to my home to repair the set. I was informed that the set was "BICAST" leather and the service technician explained that the bicast is a leather by-product and does not have the same wear and durability of real leather. The leather was very easy to rip as demonstrated by the technician. The technician was able to rip it like it was plastic. I called The Brick after the repair to hopefully get a refund or store credit to buy an alternate sofa set. The store manager, "Ms Grant", told me that the sales person was suppose to inform me that the sofa set was bicast since they were trained to do so. Since the sales person was no longer with the store the Manager concluded that the sales person did her job and I was aware that the set was bicast so she refused to help me. I was never informed that the set was bicast since I would not have purchased the set. The new description for this set now excludes the "genuine leather" text and it clearly is advertised as “bicast”. Since my plea to Ms Grant my sofa now has another rip. So the original ad for the sofa now has two faults 1) genuine leather and 2) resist splitting. After paying $150 to repair the first rip, I don't see that it is reasonable to have the set repaired again. I am going to investigate taking The Brick to small claims court to settle the matter since my sofa set is now pretty much trash and embarrassing to have in my living room.

Very unhappy The Brick customer

I purchased, from the Scaborough SuperStore, a living-room set (Sales Order Number [protected]). I paid $1200 in cash for two sofas, tables and two lamps. To date I have received everything except for the lamps.

I think that it's absolutely ridiculous that I would have to wait three months for the delivery of items that have been bought and paid for. Initial delivery dates had been established for the delivery of the lamps and every time, 4-5 times in total, those delivery dates had been pushed back. At this point the superstore is unable to determine when, if ever, those lamps will be delivered to me.

I had called The Brick's customer service department yesterday and the representative suggested that I go to The brick's web site and select replacement lamps. I thought this was a great idea. I selected the replacement lamps and I called the superstore to inform them of the change. I was informed that there was a price difference between the replacement lamps and the lamps I originally ordered; as a result I had to pay $56. I simply cannot believe, after the money I've already spent and the time I've waited, that The Brick would attempt to squeeze another $56 from me.

The Brick speaks loudly about their 'commitment to provide an enjoyable shopping experience' but you do nothing to display such commitment to your customers when difficulties are experienced. The simple fact is this: I entered into an agreement with The Brick. I did so under the assumption that the goods I purchased would be delivered to me within a reasonable period of time (a right, I believed, is accorded under the Consumer Protection Act). Three months is definitely NOT a reasonable period of time. If The Brick cannot provide me the goods we agreed upon, within a reasonable period of time, then you should offer me a replacement for those items, at NO additional cost.

We prchased a 3000 dollar bedroom suite, the delivered product was all smashed, sent them pictures they said they would replace this junk, they delivered (sic) new stuff today in worse shape than the last admitted the dresser had fallen over, but they still brought it. Called Peace River asked for manager said he wasnt in and would get back to me this has been going on six weeks now

I don't wish to go into a long drawn out explaination of our treatment while dealing with your store in Kamloops because I don't think theirs enough room to tell you about it. But I do want you to be aware that in the last year, we have purchased about or over $5, 000 worth of merchandise at the Brick, we went into your store to purchase a couch table that was promised...no guaranteed to be reduced on the 30th of Oct. (we were given an invitation that was signed by the manager as well as some one else) and was told to come back on the 30th and we would be happy with the price. We waited until the 30th (approx. a week & 1/2) returned to the store and was told by the very salesman that they decided not to have a sale and we would have to pay full price for the item. I pulled out the paper that said otherwise and he took it from me and gave it to the manager who proceed to insult us by telling us the best he would do is 5% off. I told him that it was an insult and that we were guaranteed a lower price, the sales rep. proceeded to cover his ### by telling him that he said no such thing, Both myself and husband were standing there when he said it. So now we have been lied to, insulted and called liars. I told the manager of all the items we had purchased through the brick (including an entertainment center just a couple of weeks before) and that we also wanted to purchase livingroom furniture as well and that he could kiss that sale and any other sales from us good bye. We left your store and drove up to City Furniture, told them what had happened, they assured us that we were treated unjustly and that the paper the manager signed should have been honored. We purchased our furniture from them, were treated very well. We will never set foot in a Brick again, we will tell our experience to whoever we can so they won't be treated the same way as so many others have obviously. (reading the complaints of other, it's an on-going issue)
City Furniture is a much nicer place to shop, they know how to treat the consumer and they have our business from now on.

My problems go back as far as May, 1999 when we caught our local Brick false advertising. Well we still ended up purchasing about $16, 000 worth of merchandise from 5 appliances, two living room suites with matching end tables and coffee table also a complete bedroom suite. I asked for morning delivery as we also had a moving truck coming and they said it wouldn't be a problem because most of our items would take up a lot of space on truck etc. Well morning delivery turned into late afternoon(4;30). When they did arrive some of my items were discontinued, they gave my bedroom suite to someone else, they damaged my sliding doors, and my one living room suite was to be delivered in 2 months. We called the store and they apologized for all the errors well it didn't end there.
My $2, 500 fridge stopped working, repair came and fixed it and then pointed out the huge cracks in the back of my fridge. We had to have it replaced. No problem. Replaced with the same make, I was happy. Then 2 yrs later, while still under the Brick's warranty, it stopped working and guess what cracks again. The store said they'd replace it but at a lower price because that model was now a $1, 000 cheaper. We weren't pleased but were told that we MUST take one off the floor. We tried arguing but got no where. We picked a model and had it delivered. Well its been 3 yrs (had to repurchase a new 5 yr inhome guarantee) and this fridge started to leak. We called for repair and the guy told us it was just the connections. We tried telling him it wasn't. (that was Sept 15, 2008) Well after he left it started leaking again, he returned the following week and was dumbfounded at what it might be. We (ourselves) disconnected the water at the sink, we thought no water no leak. Well it still leaks. Parts were ordered and they won't arrive for two months or so, because all the components must be replaced. My fridge still leaks and now has caused damage too my ceramic floor. We had the insurance company in and they quoted $5, 000 damage because the whole kitchen floor must be replaced and water has also damaged the bottom of my cupboards.
I have too have a fridge to keep my food cold, yet they aren't concerned about the damage. My insurance company says I need to go after the Brick as well as Transglobal. I just want my floor replaced and too get a new fridge.
Why should I wait 2-3 months for repair on a leaking fridge that is going to cause damage, I'd replace it myself but why should I because I thought thats what the inhome coverage was for.
I've sent numerous emails and phone calls to have nothing returned back. Just don't know what my next step should be.

Debbie

My Fiance and I bought a our first table and chair set from the brick one month before taking possession of our new home. At the time of purchase, we were told that they did not have any in stock but they would be getting a delivery at the end of the month and they would then call us to let us know. We mpved into our new place and never recieved a call, I then decided to call them myself. When I called, I was told that my order had been put on delay and she couldnt give me a date, but had promised me a call when it arrives. One more week goes by, we then go down to the store and find someone to help us. I see a lady sitting at a computer doing nothing so I explaine to her that I had paid for a five piece dinette set and was just wanting to know the status of my order. She comes back with " WELL you DIDNT order your table and chairs through ME! so there isnt anything I can do to help you... Its not like I can look in the computer and see your information! GO TO CUSTOMER SERVICE!" taken back by this we find someone else to help us, we were then told that our order would be in from the 7th-11th of this month and we would get a call. Here we are in our new home with no table for our first thanksgiving dinner with the family...very nice. As we expected, the 11th comes and goes without a call. By this point we have been without a table and chairs for a month and a half. This being the last straw we go down to speak to customer service for a third and final time. When asking the status of our order this time, we were told that it would be in sometime towards the end of this week to sometime next week.. she couldnt even give us a date! that being said, we asked for our money back and went to another store and bought a beautiful table and chair set and we also were able to get some other things with the money we got back. The Brick has lost another two customers, I have yet to meet one person who has had a good experience shopping from there. My only question is.. how do they stay in business...

I purchased a lot of furniture from The Brick in October, 2007. None of it is up to the quality standards I expected for the price I paid.

Specifically, a $250 black office chair had rips in both arm rests by February, 2008, caused solely by the pressure of my elbows on the rest. I contacted The Brick and they were wonderfully understanding and a repairman showed up within a few days. He said new armrests were in order.

Its now October 2008 and I haven’t received any armrests. I’ve contacted them in person, by e-mail, and on the phone repeatedly and no matter how polite OR demanding I am, they have the same story: The armrests are being shipped from overseas (presumably China?) and it will take “a few weeks” to get across the ocean on the ship. Nobody has any interest in finding other solutions to my issue, such as replacing or refunding the product.

I have contacted the Better Business Bureau about this complaint. The Brick informed the BBB that they have replaced the chair! This is a lie, I have had no contact from The Brick and am definitely still in possession of the defective merchandise.

I purchased a sofa set from the Brick in Richmond Hill, Ontario on August 27, 2008 and it was delivered a couple of days later. A week after receipt, I notice discoloration on one side of the sofa and called The Brick. They sent a tech guy who said that the discoloration could not be cleaned off and the sofa will have to be taken back to the shop and painted !. 4 weeks later nothing further has happened and The Brick customer service has not returned my calls !

I purchased a table and chair set from the
Brick Store in my town. I was shopping approximately 2/3 weeks later for a mattress and the same item was then on sale $250 less then my purchase price. At that time I did not mention this to the sales clerk as I was somewhat disgusted the item was signicantly less. After mentioning this to a friend of mine he informed me to contact the company as they do honour sale prices if it goes on sale within 30 days. Well I did, the clerk called me today and apparently the item is not on sale today and he will not honour the sale price. Needless to say, I am very disappointed first in the customer service and second that in such a small town this wouldn't be honoured. Also, our only shopping outlets in Drumheller are The Brick and Sears. I will gladly do ALL MY FUTURE SHOPPING AT SEARS AS MY BUSINESS IS OBVIOUSLY NOT APPRECIATED BY YOUR COMPANY.

Email sent to The Brick and the Better Business Bureau this morning:

I am so frustrated, I don't even know where to begin.

In August, my fiancé and I were very excited to purchase a bedroom set and range from you on a Brick Card (payments deferred for 8 months). The bedroom set was delivered without legs; and then the next day, a range with a broken element came. After a couple of weeks of calling the Deerfoot Meadows store EVERY DAY and never getting a call back (though we were always promised you would call back), eventually we were directed to your warehouse, where we waited for an hour and a half and still no one helped us. The next day, we went directly to the Deerfoot Meadows store where people actually had to talk to us, and a supervisor agreed that everything should be refunded because of our horrific experience.

I wish I could say that the terrible service ended there, it didn't. Getting your company to actually pick up the incomplete bedroom furniture and range proved to be just as frustrating. We booked the upcoming Saturday for the pick-up. That morning, a mover called to say he would arrive in the next couple of hours to pick up the bedroom set. When I asked about the range, he said he had no information on picking up the stove as well. He said he'd call the store to confirm and call us right back when he received clarification. Guess what?! He never did call back. We waited until noon, then called the store to ask if he'd been delayed. They told me that we were mistaken, that they were scheduled to pick up the furniture the following Saturday. When I told her that this made no sense as I had talked to the mover earlier that morning, she insisted that I was wrong. I got off the phone in disbelief. My fiancé called back and insisted that they look into the situation, and it turned out that the mover had rescheduled the delivery date and didn't call back to tell us. Sensing my fiancé's frustration, they reschedule the pickup for that Monday. My fiancé waited most of the day and no one showed up. He went into the store again, where he was told they were coming on Saturday. He spoke with Dawn and she was helpful, and made sure the furniture was picked up Tuesday morning.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of our story. We had planned out equal payments to pay-off the bedroom set before the eight months to avoid interest payments. As such, I made a $350 payment on August 27th (before the chaos, before knowing that dealing with your company would be pure hell). A few days after the movers picked up the furniture, our account read zero. The problem? Our $350 payment should be refunded! For the last couple of weeks, I've been calling The Brick's Financial services( [protected]), trying to get my money back. They kept telling me that it was under investigation and that I'd be contacted when a decision was made. Yesterday I received a message saying I should call them back, so this morning I did. They said I need to call Deerfoot Meadows store to ask about being refunded the Administration fees and Environmental fees (for the removal of our old stove). I totally understand that I need to pay the $25 Environmental Fee because we did receive that service. Other than that, we have received nothing but frustration and wasted time from your company, WHY WOULD WE PAY ADMINISTRATION FEES FOR SERVICE AND PRODUCTS WE DID NOT RECEIVE? As it stands, we have no products from the Brick, and we will NEVER shop there again, so we'll never need to use the Brick Card. In fact, we want it cancelled and destroyed. We want $325 refunded immediately (minus the $25 Environmental fee).

To be honest, I suspect that I will never receive a reply to this email as I've never received a call back from your store or reply to any emails. Your customer service is atrocious! I will be sure to let all of my friends and colleagues know how terrible our experience was.

Rona MacEachern

I purchased $15, 000 in furniture/appliances from the brick. Here are the problems I encountered.

1) Matresses - Plastic corners fell off, big staples hanging there. Dropped off the box spring and matress in the plastic and made me unwrap and set-up a king size and queen size bed all by myself. (Not too easy for a small woman just recovering from back surgery.)

2) Dishwasher - wrong model delivered. I thought right away it was the wrong one, but I installed it anyway because the box and the inside of the appliance had the right number. Found out that the front door was from a different model than the rest of it. Way strange.

3) Stove - took 7 weeks to arrive. And there are four dints in the front near the bottom. But I am too tired to call the store and complain after waiting so long for it.
The delivery guys also left a small hole in the hardwood floor when they put it down.

4) Washer/Dryer - One of the pedestals has a faulty drawer latch. They are coming to exchange it on Wednesday.

5) Fridge - Delivery guys rolled it on the hardwood floor and I have lines there now.

6) I recived my first bill. It was $2, 000 more than it should have been. An extra charge for something was on it. I called and was told it was an internal adjustment and there was a credit on my account the following day. The lady was really rude, like I shouldnt bother her for receiving a bill that is $2k too high. Rude rude rude.

7) I opened a new account with the brick to purchase all the items for my new house. They delivered all my furniture to the new house but sent the credit card to my old apartment building. Idiots I think! They had to cancell the original number and issue a new card. Still waiting for it weeks later. i wonder where they sent it this time.

8) The delivery guys left me with all the boxes for all the above appliances. Do you have any idea how hard it is to break down a fridge box ? And how many weeks it took me of putting a little out for the trash pick up?

9) The stove and dryer were both gas and I wanted to have one service call to get them hooked up. Well my washer and dryer sat at the top of my stairs for 7 weeks until the stove showed up. Maybe finally now I can have some clean clothes and eat something non-microwaveable.

10) Customer service leaves you on hold for like 20 minutes and then hangs up on you. Gets irritated when you call back because dont I know they are too busy to deal with phone calls on Saturdays.

Wow...baffling beyond belief. the brick...NEVER AGAIN

I have purchased a dining room table, six chairs and buffet and hutch. The furniture is falling apart. It looks beautiful but when you sit on it the chairs wobble. I had a guest for dinner last night and when she moved her chair to leave the table the chair broke under her 103lb frame. It is garbage. There should be environmental protection laws as this stuff ends up going into landfill. It is also dangerous.

We bought a bed in March 2008 and had problems within 2 months. (the pillow top was a defect).
Call the store to trade out for a new bed, find one are told we would have to wait another 2 weeks for delivery.
They finally call us on Friday, Sept 5th/08 and say they will deliver on Saturday.
Saturday mornign we get a call saying they will delivery between 3-5pm that day (Sept. 6th).
No one shows up and no one called to say they were not coming. After waiting and waiting!
We call them, the salesman calls them and they say basically 'oh, well', and that we have to wait another week!
They call again Satuday Sept. 13th and say they will be here between 2-4. They show up at 1:30pm and refused to take off their shoes, had no booties to cover their shoes and then refused to take our old bed because we had no bed bag and they didn't have one on their truck!
They then refused to deliver our new bed (once again) because they were not taking our old bed.
The topping on the cake was that when I called my salesman he said he would be there in 5 minutes with bedbags.
The delivery guy went back to his truck and left. Just left! Not a call, not a 2 minute wait for the bags (which they are supposed to have on their truck int he first place). Nothing!
I will never, ever buy fromt he Brick again. Thier delivery service is crap, they have no customer service skills at all, are rude, unpreparerd, ignorant. There is NO such thing as customer service with the Brick!

My Daughter bought a $1000.00 Mattress from The brick, it fell apart, because it was not stapled together right, my husband had to fix it, as the repair man was no good, next we bought a sofa from the brick, and when loading it they ripped it, they offered us 75 dollars off, which we said no, all we got was sorry, we lost a sale from another store because of that, next we went to National furniture warehouse, and found a sofa and loveseat which we bought, paid in full, all items mentioned, they delivered the set this week, and one of the sofa;;s was the correct color, the other was wrong, so they were going to replace the wrong one today sept 12th 2008, I waited all day for them, and when they arrived I checked the color, it was fine, then the guys asked me to come outside and have a look at the sofa, it was ripped, they said they can send out a repair man, my neighbor was right there, and said don't even let them in with it, I phoned the manager of the store while the men were outside, but they took off, while I was still on the phone, all she said was she will replace it a week on Saturday, not acceptable, so we agreed on Wed, all we got again was sorry, but no action, we will never ever buy from the Brick again, it is just awful the way we have been treated through all of this, no one cares at all, I think it is disgusting, I am sorry but I do need more furniture but will be going to Leaons were they actually care about there customers, I just cant believe all this has happened in such a short time, and no one is doing anything, except to say sorry, isn't that an easy word to say, another customer down the drain, but you don't care, as another unsuspecting one will come along, I will do my best to let as many people know not to go there, we have had enough, you take the money very quickly but do nothing to satisfy your customers.

Rita Spiteri.

to whomever
After reading some of the other complaints with the brick service and people never receiving an answer, I suppose it will happen to me as well.but..
Over 3 months ago I ordered several kitchen appliances so that things would be in place when our kitchen was renovated. A week before cupboard installation I called to confirm that our appliances would be delivered the following week. After 3MONTHS I was told they hadn't even been ordered! One of them, the fridge had been discontinued but no one called to allow us to re-order! this also interferred with my plumbers and electricians I had lined up for the job--lost them to another job! It is now 3 weeks since my first call to inquire about my purchases and I still don't have them! Keep being told they will be here on a certain date but it never happens. I have also since re-ordered one of the appliances from another store and it arrived in 5DAYS! Yet the Brick can't get anything here in 3 WEEKS! This will be my last purchase from any Brick store ever and I have passed this happening along to many other people and told them to be aware of shopping at the Brick!