Trading standards to investigate Oak Furniture supplier.

The increasingly fierce competition for business amongst furniture retailers could, it seems, be descending into the realms of the illegal. It has been reported that Trading Standards Officers are investigating claims that the Norfolk furniture retailer Pine Solutions is passing off products as coming from West Country-based company Devonshire Pine Ltd. when they are in fact lower quality products imported from elsewhere.
Over the years Devonshire Pine has earned a good reputation amongst furniture retailers and consumers for its oak furniture ranges, including the Devonshire New Solid Oak range. Pine Solutions, until recently a Devonshire Pine stockist, has started selling what it describes as ‘New Devon Oak’ furniture.

The styling is similar to Devonshire New Solid Oak products although the prices are significantly lower.These activities have caused confusion amongst customers and concern for retailers. “Customers think they are getting the genuine item at a discount price, but when they take delivery, the lower grade of finish and generally poorer quality lead them to think that Devonshire Pine Ltd is no longer producing the sort of quality on which it has built its reputation,” said one retailer. “In the long term both the stockists of the genuine Devonshire Pine Ltd ranges and their customers will suffer if this problem is left unchecked.”Customers are advised to check with Devonshire Pine Ltd to ensure the retailer is an official stockist. Points to look for on the non-genuine furniture include drawer bases, drawer runners and cabinet backs not being made from oak, a generally poorer finish and the use of lower grade Chinese Oak for construction, rather than the American Oak used in Devonshire Pine Ltd’s products. One of Devonshire Pine Ltd’s leading retailers is A world of furniture in Salisbury, Poole and Blandford with our online site http://www.bestpricefurniture.co.uk/