Custom Furniture Order Arrived Wrong or Damaged? Refund Rights

Custom furniture is one of the most rewarding — and risky — categories of consumer purchase. $10,000 for a custom dining table. $30,000 for fitted bedroom joinery. $50,000+ for an Italian leather modular sofa. Months of deposits, design iterations, factory production. Then the delivery happens and something is wrong: wrong fabric, wrong colour, wrong dimensions, scratches, dents, manufacturing defects, missing components.

The retailer’s first response is often: “It’s custom, you can’t return it.” That’s not the law.

What the ACL actually says about custom orders

The Australian Consumer Law applies to custom-made goods just as it does to off-the-shelf products. Custom doesn’t mean “no rights”. The non-excludable consumer guarantees still apply:

• Acceptable quality — the piece must be free from defects, look acceptable, and do what it should
• Match description — the piece must match the agreed specification (colour, dimensions, materials, finishes)
• Match sample / model — if the order was based on a sample or showroom piece, the delivered item must match it
• Fit for disclosed purpose — if you told the maker what you needed it for and they agreed, it has to deliver that

Where custom orders differ from stock items: you generally can’t return for “change of mind” without a contractual right. But for defects, wrong specifications, or damage, your rights are full ACL rights.

The “major failure” framing for custom furniture

• Significantly different from the agreed specification (wrong fabric, wrong colour, wrong dimensions)
• Not fit for the purpose disclosed at order (won’t fit in the room as planned)
• Defects that can’t be fixed without effectively remaking the piece
• Multiple smaller defects that collectively render the piece unacceptable

Major failure means you choose: full refund, replacement, or compensation. The maker doesn’t get to insist on attempted repair when the issue is fundamental.

Document everything before the letter

• Photograph every defect from multiple angles immediately on delivery
• Compare against the original specification documents — quote, design drawings, sample swatches
• If dimensions are wrong, measure and photograph with a tape
• Note the delivery condition before signing the receipt — never sign as “received in good order” if there are visible issues
• Save all communications with the maker before, during, and after the order

The Letter of Demand

• Identifies the order (date, value, agreed specifications)
• Itemises each variance from spec and each defect
• Establishes major failure on whichever ground applies
• States your remedy (refund, replacement, or compensation)
• Sets a deadline (typically 14 days)
• Names the escalation: state tribunal, Fair Trading complaint

Flat fee

The wizard handles custom-furniture scenarios — what you ordered, what you got, the delta, and what remedy you want. Our Programmatic Algorithms draft the letter; we send it.

The few that don’t get a Final Demand or face a tribunal application — both available through the same dashboard.