Furniture Store Won’t Deliver or Refund? How to Get Your Deposit Back (Australia 2026)

Last updated 27 October 2026 · Reviewed by the Claim Done team · Not legal advice

Can you get your money back from a furniture store?

Furniture disputes tend to start with a deposit and a delivery date, so it helps to know three sets of rules.

Your deposit and the delivery date

Section 36 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) covers any payment, “whether or not” it is the whole price (s 36(7)), so it protects a deposit as much as a full payment. A store that accepts your money:

• must deliver everything you paid for within the period it gave you or, if it gave none, within a reasonable time (s 36(4));
• must not take the money if it already had reasonable grounds to believe it couldn’t deliver on time, and knew or should have known that (s 36(3)); and
• must not take the money intending to supply something materially different, such as another fabric, size or model (s 36(2)).

There are two exceptions to the delivery rule: a delay caused by someone else or something beyond the store’s control, where it took reasonable precautions (s 36(5)); and where you agreed to take a substitute (s 36(6)). A late shipment from the store’s own supplier might fall in the first group, but only if the store took reasonable care, for example by not promising a date it had no basis for. The ACCC says businesses should give clear information about stock and delivery timing, keep customers updated about delays, and offer a solution, which may be a refund. You can claim loss caused by a breach of s 36 (s 236).

Lay-by

If you’re paying off furniture in instalments and won’t get it until it’s paid for, that’s usually a lay-by, and the ACL has specific rules (ss 96-99):

• The agreement must be in writing and you must get a copy.
• You can cancel at any time before delivery. The store must refund everything you’ve paid, less a termination charge only if the agreement provides for one, and that charge can’t be more than the store’s reasonable costs (ss 97, 99).
• The store can’t charge you anything for cancelling if the store itself breached the agreement (s 97(2)).
• The store can cancel only if you breached the agreement, it stops trading, or the goods are no longer available. If it cancels, it must refund everything you’ve paid (ss 98-99).

Faulty or different furniture

The consumer guarantees apply to furniture like any other goods. It must be of acceptable quality, meaning free from defects, safe, durable and acceptable in finish (s 54). It must match its description (s 56) and match the display or floor model you were shown (s 57). If you told the salesperson what you needed it for, it must be fit for that purpose (s 55). What a salesperson promises counts as well. The ACCC’s own example: if you’re told a bookshelf will hold 100 kilograms, it must. For a major failure you choose a refund or a replacement. For a minor one the store can repair it. Furniture is often big, so one rule matters a lot here: if goods can’t be returned without significant cost because of their size or how they’re attached, the store must collect them at its own expense within a reasonable time (s 263(3)). The ACCC lists beds among its examples.

No refund is owed for change of mind, for a problem you were clearly told about before you bought (such as a marked floor model sold with the flaw pointed out), or for damage you caused. A store can’t rely on vague labels, though. The ACCC says calling goods “seconds” or “as is” is not enough. The particular defect has to be drawn to your attention.

The most common problems with furniture stores

1. Delivery date passed, and passed again. “Your lounge is on the next container” for months. Claim: put a final delivery date in writing; if it’s missed, cancel and demand the deposit and any other payments back (s 36(4)).
2. Store refuses to return the deposit after it failed to deliver. Claim: the full deposit. A term letting the store keep your deposit when the store is the one in breach may be an unfair contract term (ss 23-25).
3. Custom order that doesn’t match. Wrong fabric, colour, size or configuration. Claim: refund or replacement for a significant difference from what you ordered (ss 56, 260), plus the store collects it.
4. Faulty soon after delivery. Sagging cushions, a recliner that won’t recline, a cracked frame, peeling surfaces. Claim: refund or replacement for a major failure, or a repair for a minor one.
5. Floor model not like the display. Claim: the sample and demonstration model guarantee (s 57).
6. Damaged on delivery. Claim: the store supplied goods that aren’t of acceptable quality. Photograph it before the delivery crew leaves, and note it on the delivery docket.
7. “Contact the manufacturer” or “the warranty only covers repairs”. Claim: the store you bought from is responsible. The ACCC says it can’t send you to the manufacturer, and a warranty can’t reduce your rights.
8. Lay-by cancelled by the store. Claim: a full refund of everything paid (s 99).
9. Hefty cancellation fee on a lay-by. Claim: anything above the store’s reasonable costs (s 97(3)), or the whole fee if the store breached the agreement.
10. Store closed, or in administration or liquidation. Claim: a chargeback through your bank, then register as a creditor. See below.

Store closed or gone into administration

When a furniture retailer collapses, customers who paid deposits can be left out of pocket. The ACCC’s guidance on businesses that “go bust” sets out what to do.

1. Check what has happened. Search the company’s name or number on ASIC’s published notices to see whether it’s insolvent and who has been appointed (a voluntary administrator, liquidator or receiver).
2. Contact your bank or card provider straight away. The ACCC says that if you paid by loan, credit card, debit card or a secure payment provider such as PayPal, your bank or card provider may be able to get your money back by reversing the payment (a chargeback), and that time limits apply, so contact them straight away. This may be your best chance of recovering the full amount.
3. Read the administrator’s announcements. A business under administration may keep trading and may still deliver orders or honour lay-bys, sometimes with conditions. If the business is sold, the buyer generally chooses which customer obligations it takes on.
4. Register as a creditor. If the company has stopped trading, the ACCC says you must register as an unsecured creditor with the administrator to have a chance of getting some or all of your money back. A liquidator will ask you to prove the debt on a formal proof of debt form. Attach your order, receipts and deposit records.
5. Understand the queue. Customers are usually unsecured creditors. They’re paid only after the costs of the liquidation, secured creditors such as the bank, and employees’ entitlements, and each group must be paid in full before the next. The ACCC is blunt: consumers may get some of their money back, or nothing at all.
6. Don’t sue a company in liquidation without advice. ASIC says unsecured creditors can’t start or continue legal action against a company in liquidation unless the court permits. A demand letter or tribunal claim against a liquidated company is usually the wrong tool. The chargeback and the creditor claim are the right ones.

If the administrator won’t help, ASIC can explain your rights as a creditor on 1300 300 630, though it doesn’t resolve individual disputes. Ask your state’s consumer agency whether any compensation fund applies. The ACCC says funds exist for some industries in some states.

Interest-free and in-store finance

If you bought on an interest-free deal or store card arranged at the store, the finance provider may share responsibility. Under the ACL, a “linked credit provider” (for example, one the store regularly refers customers to, or whose forms are signed in the store) can be jointly liable with the store for your loss where the goods fail the consumer guarantees or are never supplied (s 278). Whether your lender is “linked” depends on the facts. If you’re in this position, raise it with the lender in writing. If it isn’t resolved, AFCA, the free financial complaints body, is the next step (1800 931 678).

What you can claim from a furniture store

• Your deposit and every other payment back, when the store failed to deliver within the time it gave or a reasonable time, delivered something materially different, or cancelled a lay-by.
• A refund or replacement for faulty furniture with a major failure, with the store collecting it at its cost.
• A free repair for a minor fault, or the reasonable cost of a repair elsewhere if the store won’t do it within a reasonable time.
• Compensation for the drop in value if you keep a faulty item.
• Foreseeable loss, such as extra delivery or removal costs, or the price difference of buying a comparable item elsewhere when the store didn’t deliver, where you can show it was caused by the failure.

Example (round numbers, for illustration only): you order a $4,000 modular lounge, pay a $1,000 deposit, and are told delivery will be “6 to 8 weeks”. Five months later there’s still no lounge and no firm date. You write giving the store 14 days to deliver, and it doesn’t. You can cancel and claim the $1,000 deposit back, because the store didn’t supply within the period it specified (s 36(4)). If you also had to pay $150 to hire furniture you’d planned to replace, include it as loss caused by the breach (s 236), with the receipt.

Evidence to gather

1. The order form or contract, including the fine print on deposits, cancellation and delivery.
2. Anything in writing about the delivery date: the order form, emails, texts, a business card with a date written on it.
3. Receipts and card statements for the deposit and every payment, and the lay-by agreement if there is one.
4. Photos of the floor model or display, the catalogue page or web listing, and fabric or colour samples you chose.
5. Photos and video of faults or delivery damage, taken on the day, and the signed delivery docket with any notes.
6. Every message with the store, plus a dated diary of calls (who you spoke to and what you were promised).
7. The store’s legal name, ABN or ACN. For a company, this is how you check ASIC notices and name it correctly in a claim.
8. Receipts for any extra costs the delay or fault caused.
9. If the store has collapsed: the administrator’s notices, your chargeback reference and your proof of debt.

How to get your money back: 5 steps

Step 1: Tell the store in writing what went wrong and what you want

Write to the store (and to head office for a chain) with your order number, the delivery date you were given, and what you want. That might be delivery by a firm final date, a refund of your deposit, or collection of the faulty piece and a refund. Give a short deadline and keep a copy. If delivery is the problem, a written final date makes the store’s failure clear. If you suspect the store is in trouble (phones unanswered, showroom closed, social media gone quiet), contact your bank about a chargeback now. Don’t wait for the formal steps. For wording help, see how to write a letter of demand, and for other kinds of business, our get your money back hub.

Step 2: No answer, a refusal or a runaround? Send a formal demand

Our Consumer Guarantee Letter sets out the store’s obligations under the ACL (s 36 for delivery and deposits, the guarantees for faulty furniture, and the lay-by rules where they apply), the amount and a 14-day deadline. It’s the letter a tribunal expects to see before you file. Where the dispute is only about money owed back to you, the general Letter of Demand ($49) is a fallback. Don’t send either to a company in liquidation. Register with the liquidator instead.

Send a Consumer Guarantee Letter – $49

Step 3: Complain to Fair Trading in the store’s state

Lodge a complaint with the consumer regulator where the store is, attaching your letter. It’s free, and the regulator can contact the store, but it can’t order the store to pay you. You can also report the store to the ACCC, which uses reports to decide where to focus its enforcement work.

• NSW: NSW Fair Trading, 13 32 20, online complaint form.
• VIC: Consumer Affairs Victoria, 1300 55 81 81, general complaint form.
• QLD: Office of Fair Trading, 13 QGOV (13 74 68), consumer complaint.
• ACT: Access Canberra, 13 22 81, get help with a consumer issue.
• NT: NT Consumer Affairs, 1800 019 319 or 08 8999 1999, conciliation request.
• WA: Consumer Protection, 1300 30 40 54, complaints.
• SA: Consumer and Business Services, 131 882, contact CBS.
• TAS: Consumer Affairs Tasmania, 1300 654 499, enquiry and complaint form.

Step 4: Still unpaid? Send the final demand

The final demand quotes your first letter, the store’s response and any Fair Trading reference number, and says you’ll file without further notice. In South Australia, the courts say a final notice should be given and 21 days allowed before filing, or you may not recover your filing costs. Check ASIC’s published notices again before sending: if the company has gone into liquidation in the meantime, switch to the creditor process.

Send the final demand – $49

Step 5: File at the tribunal or court in the store’s state

If the store is still trading, file in the state where it is (table below). Bring the order form, the delivery promises in writing, payment records and photos. Our Hearing Bundle ($97) puts them in the order a tribunal member or magistrate expects. In WA, SA and Tasmania the claim goes to the Magistrates Court and the same product prepares your court claim.

Prepare your tribunal application – $97

Where your claim goes in each state

The forum is in the state where the store is.

Small stores run by an individual interstate. If the store is run by an individual (not a company) who lives in a different state from you, NCAT can’t decide the claim because of the High Court’s decision in Burns v Corbett [2018] HCA 15. It goes to the Local or District Court instead. Claims against a company aren’t affected. VCAT also says it can’t hear some cases where a party lives in another state.

Time limits: NCAT says to apply within 3 years of when the problem began; VCAT says generally within six years. Chargeback limits are much shorter.

After you win: getting paid

If a store that’s still trading ignores the order, it can be enforced. In most states the order is registered or filed with the court and enforced as a judgment, using a garnishee order on the business’s bank account, seizure and sale of property or stock, or an examination of the business about its finances. Move quickly: a store that won’t refund deposits may be in financial trouble. If it goes into liquidation before you’re paid, you’ll need to prove your debt with the liquidator instead.

Tribunals do not collect the money for you. In NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and the NT, an unpaid tribunal money order is first registered, recorded or filed with a court. In WA, SA and Tasmania the Magistrates Court decides the claim, so you already have a court judgment. Then you apply for the court’s enforcement tools.

Enforce your order – $97

Enforce your order – $97

Questions people ask

Can I get my deposit back if the furniture store doesn’t deliver?

Usually yes. A store that accepts payment, including a deposit, must deliver within the time it gave you or, if none, a reasonable time (ACL s 36(4), (7)). If it doesn’t, put a final date in writing, then cancel and demand the deposit back. Our Consumer Guarantee Letter ($49) sets this out formally.

How long can a furniture store delay delivery?

No longer than the period it gave you when it took your money, or a reasonable time if it gave none. A delay genuinely beyond the store’s control, despite reasonable precautions, isn’t a breach, but the ACCC expects the store to keep you updated and offer a solution, which may include a refund.

Can a furniture store keep my deposit if I cancel?

It depends on why you cancel. If you simply changed your mind, the contract usually decides, although a standard-form term that is unfair can be void (ACL ss 23-25). If the store failed to deliver within the time it gave you, it breached s 36(4), and you can claim the loss that breach caused you (s 236), which normally includes the deposit. For a lay-by, the store can only keep a charge covering its reasonable costs.

What are my rights on a furniture lay-by?

You can cancel any time before delivery and get everything back, less any termination charge in the written agreement, capped at the store’s reasonable costs (ACL ss 97, 99). There’s no charge if the store breached the agreement. If the store cancels, it must refund everything you paid.

The furniture store went into administration. Will I get my deposit back?

Possibly, but act fast. Contact your bank or card provider about a chargeback immediately, because time limits apply. Then follow the administrator’s announcements, since the business may still deliver, and register as an unsecured creditor if it has stopped trading. The ACCC warns that customers may get some, or none, of their money back that way.

Can I sue a furniture store that is in liquidation?

Generally not without the court’s permission. ASIC says unsecured creditors can’t start or continue legal action against a company in liquidation unless the court permits. Lodge a proof of debt with the liquidator instead, with your receipts and order. A chargeback through your bank is often the better route to getting the money back.

My new sofa is faulty. Can I get a refund?

Yes, if the fault is a major failure, such as a broken frame, a fault that makes it unsafe, or one you wouldn’t have bought it with. You choose a refund or replacement, and the store must collect a bulky item at its own cost (s 263(3)). For a minor fault, the store can repair it within a reasonable time.

The furniture delivered doesn’t match the floor model. What can I do?

Goods must match any sample or demonstration model you were shown and any description given (ACL ss 56-57). A significant difference is a major failure, so you choose a refund or a replacement. Photograph the delivered piece next to your order details and the catalogue or floor model photos.

Who pays to return a faulty bed or couch?

The store, in most cases. If goods can’t be returned without significant cost because of their size or the nature of the fault, the store must collect them within a reasonable time at its expense (ACL s 263(3)). The ACCC lists beds as an example of goods the business must collect or pay to ship.

I paid with an interest-free deal from the store. Does that help?

It can. If the lender is a “linked credit provider” of the store, for example one whose forms you signed in the store, it can be jointly liable for your loss when goods aren’t supplied or fail the guarantees (ACL s 278). Raise it with the lender in writing, then AFCA if needed.

Can the store make me take a different item or store credit?

No, not unless you agree. A store that offers a substitute instead of what you ordered needs your agreement (ACL s 36(6)). When you reject faulty goods for a refund, it can’t make you accept other goods instead (s 263(5)). Our Consumer Guarantee Letter ($49) puts your choice in writing.

Sources

Checked 19 October 2026.

• Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Schedule 2 (Australian Consumer Law), compilation 167: ss 23-26, 36, 54-57, 96-99, 236, 259-263, 278
• ACCC: When a business goes bust
• ACCC: Not receiving products or services that are paid for
• ACCC: Payment methods (lay-by)
• ACCC: Repair, replace, refund, cancel
• ACCC: Warranties
• ASIC: Liquidation, a guide for creditors (INFO 45)
• ASIC published notices
• Moneysmart: How to complain (AFCA)
• NCAT: Federal jurisdiction
• NCAT fees, VCAT goods and services fees, QCAT fees, ACAT fees, NTCAT fees, WA Magistrates Court fees, SA Magistrates Court fees, Tasmanian Magistrates Court fees

Claim Done is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. This page is general information. For a complex or high-value matter, speak to a lawyer or a free community legal centre.