I purchased a wardrobe from the Milton Keynes IKEA Re-shop & Re-use section for £160. It was listed as being in perfect condition with only “transport damage to box.” There was no mention of missing parts.
I made a three-hour round trip to collect it, as it was out of stock everywhere else. I had already sold my previous wardrobe in good faith, trusting that the IKEA one would be complete and ready to assemble.
When I opened it at home, a structural base panel was missing, meaning the wardrobe could not be built. I was then left without a usable wardrobe for nearly a month while trying to resolve the issue.
What followed was weeks of back-and-forth with customer service. I was told there was no way to obtain the missing panel from any store and that my only option was to return the wardrobe — initially by driving it back to Milton Keynes myself.
After pushing back, they agreed to collect it. Ironically, the collection was carried out by the Wednesbury store — just 20 minutes from my house — despite being told repeatedly that stores operate independently and I could not resolve the issue locally.
The most frustrating part? I was informed that once the wardrobe is returned, the store will order the missing panel in to complete the item before reselling it. Yet they would not order that same panel to resolve the issue for me as the original purchaser. That makes absolutely no sense.
A simple missing part turned into nearly four weeks of inconvenience, wasted travel, stress, and being left without a wardrobe. The final outcome was a refund and a £40 voucher.
The issue itself was disappointing, but the rigid, illogical handling of it was far worse.
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