British Heart Foundation Furniture & Electrical Stores Reviews 

Requested a furniture collection and the service was incredibly poor. Driver was late with no forewarning of lateness. Refused to collect because 'there was nowhere to park'. There was. They can pull up on the street like every other delivery driver and courier has done for weeks, months, and years. I even offered to bring it down to kerbside so they could load it up. They still refused, insisting they literally could NOT stop, while on the phone.....so the driver must have been driving and using the phone at the same time! Driver was incredibly rude and did not offer any solutions or compromises, just flat out refused.

Our Barker and Stonehouse leather sofa and chair had fire tags on them but they were refused as they said they had to he a stitched on the underside of them both. They were in great condition. What made it even worse was I had to wait in from 8am until 5pm with a no show. I rang up several times to be told they would come. They did not show as the manager of the washington branch didn't book it!! I called him the next day to ask for a AM on the next arranged date as my new sofa was being delivered and he said he would arrange it. He did not and they both arrived together. I would never use these again. Absolutely a disgrace!!!

I went to the BHF on Clayton street I am a regular costumer, I asked someone for help and they ignored me, I went to pay and was accused of trying to steal. The man went into the back to check that I wasn't lying about the price of a 50p toy. Then when I complained, he doubled down and said they have cameras. What the hell is wrong with these people? I go in there all the time and never see any students from other areas being bothered, but because I am a northerner I am a criminal? Disgraceful. Should be ashamed.

They are incredibly finickity about what they will take, and it apparently must be in immaculate condition. I had a sofa bed and armchair both in good condition (especially the armchair). The collection men (who were initially very polite) made exaggerated comments like "this is incredibly stained" or "its extremely faded" when there were maybe two tiny faded marks on either of them. I had spent time dismantling these items, but didn't dismantle the table and chairs because they were so light and small I didn't think it necessary - the man was then sarcastic and quite shirty with me -"this is why we don't do this - if we had to do it for everybody then good customers who want to donate will get missed". I was mortified. They also say on the website the furniture collectors can take bags of clothing and books etc - collectors said no. I've now arranged for the council to collect my furniture items which is a shame, but a much better service.

Failed to collect an arranged donation of furniture. No tracking link sent. Poor communication, I had to keep phoning the store for updates and eventually they said they'd turn up at 3pm when I booked a morning slot. Won't deal with them again. Their logistics need to improve.

Appalling! 3rd time trying to get furniture picked up. 3 of us offered to carry stuff downstairs for them to put in their van (I'm 80). Said they were parked too far away(didn't follow instructions). Said they didn't have time (we carried all the furniture downstairs onto the lawn for them). Then lied to the shop that the table was too damaged and scratched - its beautiful/Georgian style/solid mahogany with a table top protector. Previous visit said the 2 sofas didn't have fire labels but didn't look. They are covered in them. They don't want the money and have just lost several thousand pounds in my Will. My advice: don't go there!

Absolutely bizarre experience with the Ipswich branch today .Was eager to donate sofas worth approximately £6,000 brand new and were informed on the day of collection they couldn’t accept due to a ‘mark’ on the arm of one of the chairs . We had booked this day off work to arrange for the collection . We phoned BHF to raise a complaint and were then informed that following reviewing the photos provided by the collection driver they were unclear themselves why the items were rejected . We wanted to do a good deed and donate our unwanted items to charity , however using the premise of an established charity , BHF are clearly operating like a business and are seeking to maximise profit . Would strongly avoid this ‘charity’ in the future and recommend donating to other more appreciative and worthy charities

Bizarre and needlessly stressful experience.

We had two 3 seater sofas in good condition that we were happy to donate, but one had the top half of one of those small buttons missing on the arm, which we explicitly stated at booking and was told "no problem", to then have the van drivers turn up, say "can't take this mate there's a button missing" and then take "the good one".

Who's given the *drivers* the final say on condition? Are they selling them? Before I started speaking to them they jumped straight into "gotta have a look at what they look like mate"

Looks like this echoes other reviews in that they seem to just take the stuff they feel like taking.

This sofa met your "saleable condition" criteria, in fact, we could have sold them ourselves for a fair bit!

I know it was a free collection so I can't expect much, 2 stars because it wasn't outright completely refused, but we planned this around the one day a week they work and this has royally messed up our house-moving plans, costing us time and money now, which is what we were trying to avoid, while helping a charity!

Thanks!

Disappointing experience

Honestly you try to be a good person and they just do not let you.

a) Dismantling: The very crucial bit about dismantling is ONLY mentioned in the email you receive as confirmation. NOT in any steps of the booking process is mentioned. It should be part of your Terms & Conditions and clearly noted PRIOR to someone booking a collection.

b) Fire Labels: BE SPECIFIC about the amount of fire labels you require. If a fire label, stitched on the inside of a seating, says "covers and fillings" it means covers & FILLINGS but somehow BHF do not accept that this label covers the whole couch, they said to me and I quote "oh thats only for the covers". HOW!
BE SPECIFIC about what you require! Be specific about IKEA sofas (which a very well know brand in the UK, its not niche) or other big brands.

c) Re pillows: I understand some people will try to donate their crusty old pillows and thats unacceptable. However, if in the selection for pillows you have it listed as "new/packaged" in the English grammar, slash as a symbol means either or. Its EITHER new OR Packaged.

Creating stress in an already stressful period which is moving is not the vibe guys. Honestly. Be specific about your requirements.

I just had a very negative experience at my local BHF in Kingswood. I seen a settee i really liked. I saved up the £100and went to purchase today only to find the price had increased by £25 since I last looked at it 2days ago. I asked the assistant about the price increase and he said the sale was over. There was nothing 2 days before stating about any sales starting or ending. This furniture is donated which means local people can buy affordable furniture whilst raising money. I also showed the assistant a photo of a cabinet which he said was saleable but said they cannot collect as there isn't enough money in it for them. I've donated a lot of stuff to this charity but will now find another charity to support. Very disappointing experience

Last week, I spotted a delightful old DVD in a British Heart Foundation charity shop in Whitby. Unfortunately, only three of the words on its cover were in English – the rest was a mixture of Spanish and French. (Occasionally in the past, I’ve unintentionally bought DVDs from charity shops, later discovering that they were in foreign languages!) So I asked the woman at the counter if it had an English track. She wasn’t sure, but offered to call the manageress down.

This manageress radiated an inflexible “take-it-or-leave-it” drop-dead attitude, inconsistent with the shop’s status as a registered charity. At that point, it emerged that this shop (and probably others like it) doesn’t even have the equipment to test DVDs before putting them on sale though still willing to sell them to unsuspecting members of the public!

I offered to buy it IF, after returning home and finding there was no English track, I could return it with the receipt for a refund. The manageress totally refused to give a refund, even though her refusal was probably breaking Consumer Rights law! So I left, vowing NEVER AGAIN to buy a DVD from any British Heart Foundation shop in future.

Sadly, charity shops today have evolved into unashamed money-making scams, in which CHARITY has been replaced by the desire to make hefty profits! These “charity shops” are charities in name only, all ethical principles as to pricing and suitability for sale abandoned in their scramble to make money.

So be warned: BUY AT CHARITY SHOPS AT YOUR PERIL!

This review is about the British Heart Foundation Weekly Flutter Raffle. I was persuaded to sign up to a monthly donation whilst shopping in Asda and assumed that the majority of my donation would go to charity. Only when I looked into it did I find that 20% goes to charity and 75% to the marketing companies that run the raffle!! This seems like an extraordinarily inefficient way of raising funds, poor value for money, and against the ethos of charitable giving. It doesn't sit well with me when charities start operating more like a large corporate business and less like a charity. I think the British Heart Foundation have negotiated a really poor deal with the marketing companies running this raffle. If you want to make sure most of your donation actually goes to charity, just go to the website and donate there.

Horrendous collection 'service'. Rude and no empathy. Lazy. Scraped vintage valuable furniture that was my late mum and more recently,dad's, by not lifting it. Back chatting. Banging furniture like it was worthless and looking at it in the same way. Saying 'Can't take this' even though they'd had photographs and booking info of what it was and how old it was. They moaned about taking the rest and so left it. Wanted them out of the house asap. I was in tears afterwards.

I purchased all my furnitures from British Heart Foundation, Bristol in 2024. We had a great experience with the team and all the items were delivered with great care. We were extremely satisfied with the whole experience.
But, it is entirely different, when it comes to donating the same items to them after an year & a half. We decided to move abroad and chose BHF to donate all items we purchased from them (all items were in the exact same condition), hoping that we are being part of something great. Unfortunately, the whole system became more of a used furniture business focused on profit.

They agreed with the list I gave during booking and had a call to discuss details. However, the driver refused to take half of the furnitures saying that they are not up for the market and that he couldn't take it since he had strict orders to decline such items. Although the driver was kind, he refused to collect most of the good furnitures because of tiny scuff marks, which felt unreasonable considering the same was sold by them. Some of those furnitures were in very good condition and might interest someone for a cheaper price, even though it is not so popular in the market.
The overall donation process felt like dealing with a highly profit oriented business, rather than donating items with some quality to a charity. Not going to choose them again. I would rather choose a house clearance.

I have donated to this charity many times over the past twenty years being items of clothing, bedding and furniture and have never had any problem in having my items collected, after all as a charity you would expect that a collection service would be extremely beneficial. I rang my local BHF store at Bishop Auckland and asked if they would like a "bean to cup" coffee machine, practically brand new in its original box with full instructions but a large and heavy item, I was told I had to take it into the store, I explained that I am disabled and as such unable to drive and that the item is heavy and difficult to carry, again I was told no, you have to bring it in. I was absolutely astounded at the fact that a charity I have supported for years would refuse such an item and contacted the head office of BHF, the phone lines were switched off despite being well within the stated opening times so I left a message, a couple of hours later I received a call back by what sounded like a young woman who had an appalling manner, she literally talked without pause, not even attempting to let me speak, what I took from the call was that basically the BHF shops can do exactly as they please when it comes to collecting items, there is no rule regarding this and they can just refuse to collect items even if the donor is disabled and physically unable to take the items being donated to them. I will never, ever support this charity again, from their manner and attitude it appears that they dont need to depend on donations and can quite easily pick and choose where they get their stock from, about a million miles away from what my definition of charity means, tbh they are the most uncharitable charity out there, AVOID.

I purchased an item from the British Heart Foundation that was delivered damaged. While this was disappointing, what was even more frustrating was the poor after-sales service. Although they initially responded to my complaint, communication then became extremely slow and ineffective. Despite my repeated attempts to contact them and resolve the issue, the matter was never properly addressed. The delays continued until the return and warranty period had expired, leaving me with a damaged item and no practical solution. I expected much better customer care from such a well-known charity.

Got a great sofa from their shop in Norwich city centre but was damaged by delivery drivers. Furniture isn’t even wrapped in basic protective plastic lining for delivery.
The staff in the shop are all rude as well.

I wanted to donate a sofa, in pretty much new condition. Fire safety tags, no rips or tears etc.
The website kept crashing on my laptop and also my phone.

I called to enquire how i could help and donate as the website was down, but was answered by a lady who quite frankly couldn't care less and didnt really want a donation.

Gave it to a local charity who were really happy to help. I thought BHF were meant to be one of the 'good ones'?
Ill think twice about offering to BHF in future

I’ve donated a virtually brand new Bosch washing machine, numerous items of furniture including an IKEA table in pristine condition in the past. Now I’ve a virtual new Ninja air fryer I need collecting, I don’t have transportation so it needs picking up. I filled an online form in, got a reference number as well. Someone was going to call and ask for some information,………nothing.!
I called the Halifax store and was told to drop it off because it’s not cost effective to pick it up.
This is very heavy, and if they think I’m catching a bus and bringing it they can think again.
The guy in the store was so unhelpful and uncompromising I gave up.
You try and help charity shops but they get cocky and disrespectful. I didn’t have this problem at Byker in Newcastle.
Reading reviews only proves to me they want everything dropped off. Pathetic.

Great shops, but the new "not plastic" bags are hopeless. The lady in front of me had her bag break before she left the shop. Mine got halfway home before the handle broke and the bottom went through. A paper bag would have been a much better alternative.