If you want to get a refund for a damaged IKEA item, God help you if you take a few minutes to put it together first. Alan ordered a desk, which had a small dent in the side of the box. Figuring the item inside was fine, he put it together. This turned out to be a fatal mistake, since assembling an item means you’re then unable to

I recently purchased a Vika Amon tabletop and Vika Moliden legs from Ikea, for a cheap yet decent-looking desk project. The box arrived, with a substantial dent on one side that didn’t concern me at first — I have received boxes in far worse shape, and the merchandise inside was fine. Once the desk was assembled (by which I mean, attaching 4 legs with 5 screws. Probably 20 minutes of work). You’ll immediately notice what I’m talking about from the attached pictures.

I contacted Ikea about this, and at first they were responsive — emails within 24 hours. They asked for a number of pictures of the damage, which I gladly supplied (pictures attached). Unfortunately, I had to resend them four times, as they apparently have a total attachment size limit they don’t know about, yet they ask for 5+ pictures. A little annoying, but not a big deal.

The response was:

“We have received the information provided in your email. At this time
we can offer you an 15% accommodation to keep the merchandise As-Is.
Unfortunately we are unable to issue replacements for assembled
merchandise. Please respond confirming this email so that your credit
can be issued.”

So, if I had spent the 20 minutes to unscrew the legs from the top, I’d get a refund, but now they can only offer me 15% off a $100 desk I paid $40 to ship. Unbelievable, and unacceptable.

I was understandably upset, and I let them know I would accept nothing except a new desk, and that I would like to speak to a supervisor if they didn’t have the authority to provide it. I’ve heard nothing in 2 days, even after a couple further attempts to contact them.

I’m normally not one to complain in situations like this, this time, I feel it’s warranted. I’ve never had a problem like this with any other merchant.

The lesson here: inspect every part of your flat-pack furniture for damage before you get out the screwdriver.

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