Westelm Reviews 

Please be aware the return process is horrendous. West Elm do not have the expected modern procedures of an established company in returning an order. No QR codes, no online forms, or instructions or anything to make the return efficient. You will have to phone a poor soul who has no idea what's going on and seems to try their best, but are trapped within what seems like a deliberately obscure and difficult process.
I was reassured that I did not need to chase up the return request when I clearly had to. During the second call I was told that there was no record of a return being requested on the order. Then suddenly the "notes" were available.
We are told we have to return an item within a certain time limit which is fine if they even recognise that the order has been delivered and paid for instead of being permanently "pending"...
You can sit for ages waiting on a silent line not even knowing if you are still connected as someone types in their request for you. The lines are only open between 8 -5.30 so tough on you if you're working. It is very hard not to be suspicious that the return process is deliberately contrived to make it so that you just give up the whole thing. I have already paid tax and £15.83 on postage and have no idea how much they will charge me for the return if I eventually do get my order processed.
Personally , I will not order from them again and would advice anyone else to be very wary. Also, the quality isn't as good as the prices would suggest.

Dear "WEST ELM"
Regarding the reply below my review you have not contacted me to ask for information. Neither by returned telephone call or email. Am I supposed to post my order no. on a public forum for all to see?
To your further reply.
Wouldn't this problem be more efficiently solved if you had an actual email through which your customers could contact you? Oh, and I still have had no return contact or information after my second call or even a confirmatory email that I have even spoken to anyone.

Worst customer service ever. Order 3190623. Never received the items. Whenever I call, I talk to absolutely obnoxious female customer service agents with horrible attitudes. They will simply just hang up and refuse to fix any problems WEST ELM is responsible for. Horrific customer service. Do yourself a favor and STAY AWAY FROM WEST ELM.

bought a throw and cushion covers. Ive had them 6 weeks they are a disgrace cushion covers are all pulled and the throw is all bobbly. Absoloute disgrace for the prices they charge. Never shopping on their website again and will never reccomend them

The deadline to submit information has passed! Please resend it

Delivered broken bowl, won't respond to my refund request.

Sadly More lies.

I got a response saying that my refund was approved well it most certainly has not! I called and called and have been told it will show but it still has not. Imagine waiting more than a month for refund?!?
And it was West Elm who cancelled my order 2 days before delivery because suddenly they were out of stock when I bought and paid for the item on June 12th.

Customer service was unhelpful and rude. We have purchased many items, and we have problems hanging the mirror. After a couple of phone calls, they said that the agent left a message for us, waiting for us to provide details. Yet, when I called a few days ago, no one passed this message to us.

Update: The reply from West Elm below says it all and is a great illustration of just how bad their customer service and PR is. I'm a leadership coach and am always interested when a company's top team lets this be the customer-facing approach. To just not care so visably is, I'm sure, not what they want as their USP.

Just to be clear on the situation for anyone making up their mind whether to buy from this company, we had the table outside for one summer, used minimally as we travel a lot, followed by storing it covered, as per their instructions, for the fall, winter and early spring. The paint has flaked off all over the top of the table, making it look very unattractive and clearly of bad quality, and due to the construction, it can't be sanded to repair it. Indeed, they have never offered to repair it (even though it was within a year of ownership), a nor have they offered a colour matched paint which if it were possible, we could have at least tried. Since the first polite email from us their attitude has been 'not our problem, sort it out yourselves'.

Interestingly, they have discontinued this item now which you would hope is because the product is of such bad quality, but they said it was because they simply changed their product range. Either way, I would go literally anywhere else only due to their customer service and quality of product. It's a shame as their designs are great and the showroom staff are lovely, but unfortunately if you can't trust the quality of the product and you have a massive problem with the back end of your customer service dept, and ultimately with the leadership team who should be all over this, it doesn't matter how good something looks in the showroom, you will always be a company who people are happy to leave behind for another who demonstrates some aspect of care.

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Original post:

Absolutely awful customer service and product quality. We bought a Portside outdoor table and chair set which lasted one season before the paint started disintegrating. We contacted them to discuss it with them and they said that we needed to paint it each year. It’s not possible to do this with any neatness due to the construction of the items but anyway furniture of this cost should definitely last more than one year. We stupidly spent almost £3000 on the whole set. I would definitely go elsewhere in the future and would have given 0 stars here if I could.

Placed an order on the 14th of April and spent £786.00. Called the customer care line on the 2nd of July and asked them to cancel the order because they could not give me a date for delivery!

Called back on the 14th of July as there was no sign of my refund, only to be told the order had not been cancelled. I was promised an email to confirm my cancellation and refund within 24 hours - instead I received an email from West Elm Au on the 16th of July saying the expected in-stock date was the 20th of August or I could cancel if I wanted to - by calling the number I have already called twice TO CANCEL.

I emailed their customer care team regarding cancellation and a refund on the 17th of July and to date have had no acknowledgement.

I will be initiating a chargeback with my credit card company as West Elm are breaching my consumer rights and keeping cash that is not theirs to keep.

Their service and customer care is a shambles - and its a real shame because I have purchased some fantastic quality furniture and lighting from them previously.

Oh and when I logged on to look at the status of my order today it is showing estimated dispatch 17/04/2025 - maybe they mean 2026.....

UPDATE - Not much of an apology from West Elm. I've not yet initiated a chargeback so if you really are about to refund me - I expect to see those funds in my account this week.0 stars would be a nice choice for West Elm!

Company deserves to be shut down and refused from selling their goods to the public. Unfortunately, I had to give them 1 star but If I could I would give them 0 not that they are deserving of that either.

Their customer service is diabolical and no one in their customer service department is helpful, knowledgeable or infact willing to help with your enquiries. Or capable may I add.

Item arrived in the post damaged and then I requested to return the goods but was informed that no one in the UK was able to return any items by courier due to a problem with their systems. Seems like a poor excuse for a company of this size to not be able to return an item. After waiting 1 hour on the phone someone then advised me that they were still unable to help. Situation is still not resolved and I just hope that in time trust pilot will act on behalf of the customers who have written a review about this dreadful company and work alongside the necessary organisations to shut it down.

How can West Elm continue trading?

They don’t deliver service they deliver a disaster.

Rude female salesperson,really bad attitude.I can only think she disliked her job and wanted to disrupt the company making any money.i decided to take my business elsewhere.

We finally found some office chairs we loved, but several online reviews mentioned the swivel mechanism failing within 18 months. Given the price of the chairs, this was concerning.

To get reassurance, I called West Elm's customer service - unfortunately, this only confirmed our doubts. I explained that we were planning to buy two of the Mid-Century Modern Swivel Office Chairs – Metal Legs (totalling £750) and were worried about the reliability of the swivel mechanism based on customer feedback. I asked if there was any warranty, and was told they only offer a 30-day return policy.

To clarify, I asked: “So if the chair fails after 30 days, you won’t take it back?” I was told again that they only offer 30 days.

I then had to explain the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, which provides protection for consumers if goods are not of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, or as described. Within the first 30 days, a full refund is usually available. After that, customers are entitled to a repair or replacement, and a refund if those fail.

After I brought this up, the representative said they might consider a replacement as a “one-off” exception.

This is unacceptable for a company that positions itself as premium. The customer service experience was incredibly poor, not just unhelpful, but also dismissive and uninformed. I only realized how widespread these issues are after checking Trustpilot and seeing similar complaints from other customers.

We were ready to spend £750, but due to this disappointing interaction, we’ll be looking elsewhere. My advice: train your staff in both customer service and UK consumer law - because you just lost a sale.

Ordered a very expensive chest of drawers, paid £129 for delivery… have so far waited more than 6 weeks with 3 failed deliveries so far… when I try to escalate they just punt it to the useless delivery company Wincanton who offer me another slot in 3 weeks time… I’ve called West Elm and they’ve so far been unwilling or incapable of doing anything

What a shambles of a company. I placed an order on Tuesday with dispatch expected the next day ready to recieve by the weekend. Come Friday items have still not been dispatched and there is no update as to when they might be sent. Can't cancel online, web chat doesn't work, and calling customer service got me nowhere. Will never use again.

I have now bought from West Elm twice and both times the products arrived broken. It is difficult to reach customer services and returns take ages. Considering the high prices and delivery fees, the requirement to wait for them to arrange pick-up and then wait for them to receive and inspect the product before they authorise a refund, I will not buy from this company again.

Okay. Ordered a mirror, lasted 2 years before rusting. Complained and received a new one for free.

I have had a terrific experience with west elm. I see a lot of terrible reviews so to clairify I have purchased and ordered all of my items in person in store in both London locations. The customer service is excellent with ordered five pieces of furniture all have come beautifully packaged and undamaged. The delivery has been easy. The customer service has been great and the refund process has been very smooth. Sailing managers have been helpful if I had any small issues and overall it’s been a fantastic experience shopping with them.

The worst company I have ever had to deal with. Would never ever recommend for anyone to use their service and have to deal with their extremely rude and unhelpful customer service team. After two weeks, I am still trying to return an order which was sent incorrect from their side and after daily calls still not a step closer to returning the items and receiving the money owed by them. Absolutely disgusting customer service!!

I normally love West Elm & their items (when you can purchase and take home smaller items in store) but I just made an online order (2 drinks tables + a planter) and the order arrived without 1 of the tables. Customer service has been bad, not yet resolved the issue and I am having to chase them for updates. I was surprised to see the amount of similar reviews on here.
with the same issue with delivery and customer service. Would never use again for items that need to be delivered!

This is turning out to be the most pointless purchases ever. Thought I would treat myself to a nice bath mat even though it was expensive. delivery was estimated between 28th March -2nd April. Got a message saying it's been dispatched after that nothing, no tracking link nothing, (considering delivery cost was £12 you would expect to be able to get a proper tracking link). Impossible to get a hold of customer service with chat only apparently being available from 5am -7pm PST.

I have never dealt with a company as frustrating, incompetent, and misleading as West Elm. If you're considering buying from them, please think twice—this experience has been a year-long nightmare.

The Order (March 2024)

I ordered a made-to-order couch on March 18, 2024 (order #2951018). What followed was a ridiculous, infuriating, and never-ending cycle of delays, miscommunication, and outright lies.

Delivery Disaster #1 (July 2024)

- Four months after ordering, West Elm attempted delivery through Wincanton (3rd party courier).
- They only sent two delivery personnel, despite it being clearly stated that it required a four-person team. The team left with my sofa, without attempting delivery.
- After multiple calls to West Elm and Wincanton customer service, I had to reschedule.

Delivery Disaster #2 (July 2024, Again)

- Again, only two delivery personnel arrived.
- Because the couch didn’t fit in the elevator, they carried it up the stairs—damaging my property in the process.
- They removed the couch from the box and carried it up unprotected.
- Broken light fixtures, scratched walls, and damage to the couch itself from scraping against a metal door frame (they did not bother to repackage the sofa).
- Photo evidence of the damage was sent and West Elm promised a replacement.

The Never-Ending Replacement Saga (July 2024 - Present) Since July, I have been chasing West Elm for months to understand when my replacement would arrive.

- August 2024: They told us October 2024.
- October 2024: That became January 2025.
- January 2025: They suddenly claimed the couch was ready and told us to contact the delivery company.
We called multiple times. The delivery company said they were "trying to reach us," but we had received zero calls or emails.
- March 2025 (1 year anniversary of our order): We called West Elm again—they now said our couch was on backorder (aka out of stock) and wouldn’t be available until July 2025!
- At this point, we just wanted this to be over so we called again to keep the damaged couch at 50% off (a perfectly reasonable request). West Elm refused, noting that, suddenly, the couch is "ready for delivery"?!
- We again request to simply keep the damaged piece at 50% off, ending this saga. Again, they refuse. The most they offer to make this right is 20% off (but only AFTER the damaged sofa has been replaced). I'm a longtime customer—this is my third west elm sofa in a decade—and that's the best you can do?! Clearly no respect for customer time, money, property, or loyalty.

Avoid at all costs!

The countless hours my partner and I have wasted on customer service calls, the constant misinformation, the complete disregard for my time and property—it’s disgraceful. I have honestly never felt so ridiculed by a company. The lies, the back-and-forth, and the fact that one year later, I still don’t have an undamaged couch or a refund? This company is a scam.

Do yourself a favor and AVOID this company at all costs. I honestly wouldn’t wish this ordeal on anyone. And I will never order from West Elm again. (Try Heals or Loaf instead! I've ordered from both and the difference in customer service is profound.)