Thank you Ikea

The story begins a couple of months ago when the bedroom began to smell of very strong body odour, so after a check of the room for dirty old clothing under the bed etc and a good shower for me the smell still lingered, so frantic bed washing and mattress sniffing commenced but the culprit still could not be found.  It was only a couple of weeks later I by chance noticed a very strong whiff of the smell when opening a wardrobe door, on closer inspection the wardrobe doors and bridging unit doors over the bed all stank of old  body odour.

So onto the internet I went looking for similar cases, I found one that had been reluctantly dealt with by Ikea in Warrington, they eventually offered a partial refund to the customer despite the 10 year guarantee on the doors.

At this point I'm getting ready for a long a drawn out battle especially as we had mislaid the receipt and the doors were purchased with the units way back in April 2008.  I'm not happy at the thought of a partial refund but the doors simply had to go, the smell was awful, and even cleaning with strong detergents did not do the trick.

So first contact is made with the Nottingham store, this was not a good experience, the woman did not believe the doors could smell of B.O. and promptly and smuggly  told me I needed to prove the doors were authentic Ikea items with a receipt.  Of course they are authentic, theyve got bloody IKEA stamped all over the inside of them.  She then said once I had proof of purchase they would send someone out to inspect because she could not smell anything (she clearly has issues with her sense of smell).

Any way, after ringing the  credit card company we got proof of purchase and I spoke to the Ikea contact centre over the phone, they traced the purchase on their system and asked me to pop back to the store with all the smelly doors, this despite me being told someone would come to me.

So I play the game, remove the doors, load the car up and head for Ikea, very calm and polite but ready to dig the heels in if needed. 

Arrive at the store, smelly doors in tow, I got a few looks as I sailed past folks leaving a distinct aroma in my trail.  I'm greeted with a very polite lady who listens to the saga thus far, she then checks the transaction from 2008 and brings up the price paid at the time (£105 for 6 doors in total) I was already aware that the doors were no longer sold and had an alternative in mind.

Without even checking the doors the lady tells me that yes they will exchange for my choice of doors, at this point I'm prepared to pay any difference in the cost, but I'm keeping quiet on that one for now.  The new doors come out at £180 in total.  "Give me ten minutes to get the doors to you" she says as she hands me a coffee voucher for the bistro.  After 10 minutes and a very nice complementary coffee she reappears with new doors.  No mention of paying the difference in price, just a sign here to say you've received your exchange doors.

So a big thanks to Ikea for sorting the issue out, today's visit was a pleasant one with a satisfactory conclusion.