British Heart Foundation Furniture & Electrical Stores Reviews 

I wish I had read these reviews first. I would not recommend Newcastle BHF.
We contacted BHF and a local charity about donating 2 sofas. The local asked for photos and said they would be
Delighted to take them but unfortunately I had already taken the BHF call and booked the collection slot with them so turned down the local charity. BIG Mistake.
BHF turned up in the morning booked for collection and the drivers refused to take the sofas because “ the colours did not match” - these are good sofas with some sun fading and a few small marks but still in good condition. So we were left with the sofas and unable to delay our new sofa delivery, to make things worse the drivers arrived at 10am with just a 10 min phone call notification from the driver but then at 3pm I received a formal 2 hour notification slot from BHF to say that my driver would be coming between 16:15-18:15 and so I thought maybe they were coming again to relook but then after changing plans to wait in again no driver turned up and the tracking saying that I was slot no 9 changed to finished and no one turned up.
Really unprofessional service and if the charity only want immaculate as new furniture donations they should make this clear from outset, or ask for photos to be uploaded before collection arranged.
It has left us with a really bad experience of this charity and one I would not want to support in future.

Really disappointed with the heart foundation Dunfermline we arranged for things from a house clearance due to a bereavement we told them when we phoned what items there were toasters kettles air fryers slow cookers amongst other things and they we’re delighted to organise a collection for today, they said they had a big van so could do this, guys turned up in a wee van took all the electrical to one side and said we can’t take these, no thank you nothing, I could have organised another more grateful charity to take these things so now I’m left with lots of electrical in my garden that he’s just dumped back. So if your like us clearing a deceased relatives house think carefully of what charity you want to use, because this was terrible the way it was done.

Quite disappointed with my BHF collection, I donated a childs wardrobe set, contains, a bedside table, wardrobe and chest of draws, it was bought in 2020 off marketplace. The complaints about the bedside table and the wardrobe, by the driver I thought were trivial, he said the bedside table has some water damage, this has been the same as when I first bought it and I have had no problems with it since. He said the wardrobe has a gap which means it has come away and should not be like that, is this guy qualified ? I've had no issues with that wardrobe set and I was very upset to see how he separated the chest of draws from the whole set. Happy to take the other item (tv stand), never again will i donate to this organisation, i will give them away for free next time. Very disappointed

We organised a collection for a dining table, which is in excellent condition and fully within the specifications on the website. On the day of the collection the guy turned up, took one look at it and claimed "we don't take that old style any more"
I contacted bhf and they asked if it was a drop leaf table (it isn't), however after I told them it was not and included photos I never heard back from them again, even when I chased it up
In my opinion, the collection driver just didn't want to move the table and came up with an excuse

I have donated items several times in the past and booking a collection was no problem.
In early June I tried to book a collection for several items which were all in excellent condition and met their criteria. My request was acknowledged but then .. nothing !!
I tried re-booking in early July - same items. Got the acknowledgment but then no further communication again.
I sent a follow up email after nearly 2 weeks of nothing, asking for a response, only to receive a call on Thursday morning claiming that they had tried to contact me which was utter nonsense. I did receive a call for my first request which hung up after one ring followed by an email saying that they couldn’t contact me by email ??? or phone. So they send an email to tell me they can’t contact me by email??
My second request went unanswered for almost two weeks and I only received a call after I sent 2 follow up emails.
Absolutely pathetic service. Sorry to say that I won’t be donating to British Heart again.

Contacted them to donate a leather sofa snd foot stool. They requested some details which we provided including aspects of its condition such as wear marks and scuffs. They agreed a time slot to collect (anytime between 8am -3pm). I waited in, they arrived about 1pm and refused to take the sofa saying it was not good enough. Total waste of time.
If you’ve agreed to take it then you have to follow though on it, as well as screening the quality of the goods more carefully. I’ll not be donating in the future and go with local charities who are more appreciative

OK.I know you are a registered charity,but i am not a
charity.
I visited your Peterborough store near ASDA,i saw a small table and 2 chairs priced at £199.00 .And on top off that you also wanted £35 delivery charge.
I found the same item via THE RANGE website delivery FOC for the price of £119.99.
I know your CEO commands a huge salary plus pension

Warning Do not buy any New furniture from here cheap faulty poorly made and you will pay top price spent over £2800 pound on new bedroom furniture when complained about the condition / Damage when we opened each of the boxes after 2 and a half months of sending E-mails and photographs not only to the store but also to the head office and the CEO only to be asked for the receipt you will be fobbed off I am now reporting them to trading standards and seeking legal advice. they dont mind talking your money but not willing to help when things go wrong.

The driver turned up at 7.10am, with only a ten minute text warning. The furniture was refused for not being good enough, when we were offering a perfectly good brown leather sofa which had many years use left. All fire labels were attached.

I mean even a one star is possibly too much. We have a lovely Italian four seater sofa that we wanted to give away. It was over £3000 brand new. We called up and explained that it was quite a big sofa and if they did want it we'd have to pay someone to dismantle it. The person taking the booking assured us that yes go ahead, get it dismantled, we'll collect. The delivery drivers then came in and said oh yeah that's gonna be too heavy we don't want it. When we called the store back and complained that we had been asked to pay to dismantle the sofa that the drivers had refused to collect, the manager said sorry it's a health and safety thing. When we asked for credit for what we'd spent, she said you're asking for money from a charity? Really bad customer service, and all we wanted to do was donate a great sofa for someone who might need it. Now we're left with a sofa we can't even use because it's dismantled and we can't get our new furniture in either so it's costing us a lot of money. I'd suggest going to Sue Ryder or a local service instead.

I’m not one to leave a review for a charity but after being let down twice, I feel others should be aware of my experience.

I arranged for the British Heart Foundation to collect a mattress in excellent condition. On the first visit, the driver refused to take it, claiming it didn’t have a fire safety label. This was simply incorrect – the label was clearly attached, and I had photographs to prove it, along with Ring doorbell footage of the reason given.

The Worksop Store Manager Hazel apologised, confirmed the team had been informed that the label was present, and rearranged the collection.

On the second collection date, I waited at home all day. At 1pm, I called the store and spoke to Hazel and was told I was the in the last collection time slots of the day and would receive a email time slot when they get to this consignment. No confirmation email, no time slot, no phone call, and no collection ever arrived. By the time I realised nobody was coming, the store had closed.

I work as the Head of Service for a major furniture retailer, so I understand that mistakes can happen. What is far harder to accept is the complete lack of communication and the inconvenience caused to customers. I lost two days waiting for collections that either should never have failed or never took place.

The charity itself does fantastic work, and I fully support its cause. However, the collection service I experienced was extremely disappointing and fell well below the standard I would expect from any organisation.

I have now submitted a formal complaint and hope the British Heart Foundation reviews its collection process so that future donors are treated with the respect and communication they deserve.

This isn’t about furniture although I know from past experience the BHF is excellent. I’d like to pay tribute to a young man who called to my house today encouraging people to donate to new technologies which can detect potential heart disease in the future. His name was Cory, he was a very polite, informed and professional young man, a real credit to your charity. I prefer to donate on line rather than at the doorstep and when I explained this to Cory he was full of encouragement and wished me a good day.

Booked in for a 7am-12 collection of an arm chair (small) I put it outside on our drive but behind electric gates10 minutes to 7am, on the hottest day of the year. We were at home.
Did not turn up, on ringing them next day I was told it had been collected and signed for!!
Rang, disappointed with service but rebooked.
Then received a tel call from BHF to say driver came saw arms were broken but because not in the house they went away
Discussion took place with unhelpful staff, who could be heard talking to the driver, I explained no arms were broken and in v good condition. I asked them to ask the driver what colour chair did they see, oh it was blue!! I informed them it was brown/cream stripe!!! Manager took over call and replied drivers are not allowed to collect anything left outside!! Unbelievable and will not use again.
Have now donated to another charity.
Drivers are rude and unreliable as noted in previous reviews.

Really efficient furniture collection service. Good communication and the three chaps who collected did v good work. Pleased ,y furniture can have a second home and help to raise funds.

Went to my local shop in Woking, bought and paid for a chair and agreed a time and date for delivery, which I paid for. Two emails sent to me confirming this. It's now 8 pm and no sign of the chair or any phone call to explain. When I rang the shop at 5 pm I was told they would deliver today up to 7 pm. They haven't and I've taken time off work for nothing.

On 20 June, two BHF staff came to our home in Sutton High Street to collect two cabinets that were in excellent condition, as we were about to move out.

Their attitude was appalling. They arrived looking visibly unhappy, barely acknowledged our greetings, and gave us a look of complete contempt throughout the collection. We were left feeling as though we were an inconvenience rather than people making a donation.

Let me remind BHF of something. This collection service exists because you are a charity that benefits from public support and charitable tax relief. We donated these cabinets to reduce waste and support your cause—not because we were incapable of disposing of them ourselves. You were receiving valuable, reusable furniture in excellent condition free of charge.

Your staff are the face of your organisation. If this is the standard of professionalism and courtesy BHF considers acceptable, then it reflects very poorly on the charity as a whole.

This was one of the worst collection experiences I have ever had. If this is how BHF treats people who are donating quality furniture, it seriously needs to rethink its customer service and staff training.

I encourage anyone who has experienced similar treatment to leave an honest review. Charities should not assume that being a charity excuses poor behaviour or disrespect towards the people who support them.

Not even worthy of one star. Clearly explained what was available. No indication that there would be any problems such as the ones encountered in the day. For example "oh we can't take dining chairs if they don't come with a table - this comment about a set of virtually brand new Oakland solid oak & leather dining chairs with fire labels in virtually new condition which cost £700!" Don't waste your time like we did; we ended up hiring a van at very short notice to take items to a recycling shop who were very grateful.

We had arranged for several items to be collected, including cabinets, a large usueful meeting table, and a number of office chairs to be collected by the Uxbridge branch. The guys attended a a day late, unfortunately the overall experience was very disappointing.
Upon arrival, one of your drivers (wearing a BHF polo shirt) was at the door but did not properly introduce himself as his head was lowered and not directly a face-to-face contact. Not a great start, a simple introduction would have been appreciated. A second colleague then entered later, not in uniform, and also did not introduce himself.
As I showed him the items for collection, communication was limited which made things difficult as he surveyed what we had. Instead he pointed out to the meeting table and that it needed to be dismantled but said it in an abrupt way which i wasn't happy with his attitude which made the atmosphre more tense. I answered back quickly saying it will be done! however to our surprise the team ultimately chose not to take it as they said it wasn’t compliant but really didn't explain it which totally made the previous observation useless and we soon realised he wasn't the main point of contact!
It also became apparent that they were selectively choosing which items they were able to collect, rather than taking the items we had prepared which were in very good condition and compliant. They didn't explain the process at any stage when my colleague who called a week before when he arranged the collection with the Uxbridge contact. There was no clear guidance provided on what could or could not be accepted as i had to interjet in order to get the answers from the other person. As a result, only two low cabinets and two chairs were taken.
The lack of communication made it difficult to understand or who was leading the collection. A brief explanation at the outset, along with a walkthrough of what could be accepted, would have made a significant difference.
While I appreciate the recent hot weather may have made conditions challenging, basic customer service—such as introductions, clear communication, and a positive attitude—remains important. Unfortunately, the team came across as disengaged, which added to the overall poor experience.
This was particularly disappointing given that we were offering good quality office furniture for donation. Have emailed the British Heart Fioundation and have yet to receive an acknowledgement of my email which i sent over a week ago

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!!!