Poor quality, late delivery and completely ignored
We are extremely disappointed with our experience of purchasing a Dudley Safes safe through Collins & Sons, Preston and the complete lack of support from them. Despite spending £2,500 on a custom-painted safe, we experienced significant delays, were left £240 out of pocket, and received no meaningful assistance from them when we encountered issues with the delivery and quality of the safe.
The safe arrived two days later than the delivery date explicitly confirmed by both Dudley Safes and Collins & Sons in writing and over the phone. We triple-checked this date before booking installers, making it clear that we needed certainty. When the delivery was missed, it caused major disruption, leaving us scrambling to reschedule a crew to move the 300kg safe indoors on Christmas Eve at an additional cost of £240. Despite notifying Collins & Sons immediately about the failed delivery and wasting an entire day waiting, their only response was that they would “come back as soon as they had information”—which they never did.
When we spoke on the phone, Collins & Sons acknowledged the issue but refused to take any responsibility, despite the fact that they themselves had confirmed the delivery date both via email and on a call where we had explicitly mentioned that we were booking installers. Instead of offering any real help or resolution, this company simply apologised and left us to deal directly with Dudley Safes. Given that Collins & Sons (SafeSafe) was the reseller and the company we actually purchased from, this was unacceptable. At no point did Collins & Sons offer any support, empathy, or a solution—despite the fact that a 300kg safe had arrived on our doorstep on the wrong day with no means of getting it installed 2 days before Christmas.
To make matters worse, when we finally unwrapped the safe, we were shocked at the poor quality of the finish: patchy and uneven paintwork; visible dirt trapped under the paint; scratched shelves, and improperly installed components; including a handle that appears to be mounted upside down and a missing bolt cap that is clearly referenced in the fitting instructions. We immediately reached out via email to both Collins & Sons and Dudley Safes and with detailed photos— most recently on January 9, 2025. Over four weeks later, we have still been completely ignored. Despite assurances that we would be contacted in the New Year, neither Dudley Safes, nor Collins & Sons ever followed up.
This experience has made us seriously question Collins & Sons commitment to customer service. Their complete failure to assist with a major issue involving both late delivery and quality defects is inexcusable. Given that Dudley Safes claims to comply with ISO 9001:2025—covering customer confidence, quality control, and effective complaint resolution—Collins & Sons should be ensuring that their supplier upholds these standards. Instead, they have been entirely hands-off, failing to advocate for us in any way.
While the safe comes with a 5-year manufacturer warranty and a 12-month lock warranty, we have lost all trust in both due to the quality issues and the complete lack of response from both Collins & Sons and Dudley Safes.
If you value reliability, accountability, and after-sales support, we strongly recommend looking elsewhere. Collins & Sons was happy to take £2,500 of our money but provided no help when things went wrong. Their lack of involvement and silence after they made the sale speaks volumes.