Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Deliver?

We understand how important it is for our customers to have careful, professional, courteous and experienced delivery staff. For local deliveries, we generally use our own Clayton's delivery staff. If you live further a field, we either deliver on our own transport or employ specialist delivery companies to deliver to you on our behalf, it really depends upon order volumes in your area at the time your order is ready for despatch.

We generally will unpack the furniture and remove the waste packaging, with plastics and cardboard being taken away for recycling. (We are unable to remove packaging where your purchase is sold as self assembly).

Some smaller items such as rugs etc may be sent by doorstep courier meaning that a signature will be required and the goods handed over to you at your front door.

Our delivery staff are trained to install your furniture purchase in the room of your choice (access permitting). Where we cannot gain access into your room of choice, the goods will usually be left in another room or location at your property so that you can remove windows etc to get the goods in yourself at a later date.

Are You a Real Company, Or Just Another Internet Company?

We at Clayton’s are the real thing; we serve thousands of customers per year. We are a family business who has been selling carpets and furniture in Lincolnshire since 1963. We have steadily grown over the years and now operate from a 48,000sq ft Superstore in Lincoln supported by a 40,000 sq ft distribution centre nearby. Rest assured when you deal with Clayton’s you are not dealing with “man on a computer and a catalogue”, we are a family owned business with great service and a modern outlook.

We hold Lincolnshire’s largest carpet stocks, large stocks of quality beds from all the leading brands, plus huge stocks of quality sofas and chairs. With our expert knowledge and buying power we ensure we offer real savings on quality goods. Plus our membership of A.I.S. the UK’s largest furnishings buying group (membership is only granted with financially secure companies) means not only exclusive products at the right price, but that you are dealing with an established and successful company.

We are specialists in our field, our friendly knowledgeable staff who understand the will ensure that you receive the information, impartial advice and service that you deserve and expect from an established family business.

We know that your furnishings are an expression of your individual style and also a major investment. For this reason you should expect the very best value, our mission is to ensure that you are completely satisfied with your experience with us.

Why not have a look inside our store with Google Store Tour.

How Do I Place An Order Online?

Once you have selected the items you wish to buy, add them to your shopping basket. You should check the basket to confirm that it contains all of the items you wish to purchase. After you have added items to your basket, you will be given the chance to continue shopping where you can buy more items, or proceed to checkout. You can then choose collection from store or delivery to be confirmed. If you choose the delivery confirmed option and proceed to checkout, you will be asked to enter your delivery postcode in the next step. This will then confirm if delivery is available to your area and generate the relevant delivery charge. From here you will be asked to enter your address details etc.

At this point you should also notify us of any important information such as how to find your property, and whether you are in a house or a block of flats etc.

You will be asked to confirm that you have checked access and that the goods will fit satisfactorily.

We will then ask you to choose your preferred payment method, which will either be by credit or debit card. We accept most major cards. If any information is either missing or is erroneous, you will be asked to re-enter this information before you complete the transaction. Once you have confirmed your order, you will automatically be issued with a confirmation email, detailing your order. You should print out this email and keep it in a safe place, please advice us immediately if you feel that any of the details of the order are incorrect.

I’ve Realised There Is A Mistake on My Order, What Do I Do?

If you need to make changes to your order, Email us or Telephone us on 01522 510210 Monday to Friday between 9am and 4.30pm. We will do our best to help. We can usually change an order within 7 days without a problem. After this time, usually the goods will go into production, and we are then bound by law to accept the goods. In circumstances where we are unable to stop an order, we may have to charge a cancellation fee to go towards covering our costs. Changing your order will usually result in an additional lead time, and may result in a change to the price you have paid.

As with all items which are made in batches, goods which are not ordered at the same time as one another may vary in colour. Colour samples are intended as a guide only and colour variations are to be expected when goods are ordered and manufactured at different times. We therefore recommend that you purchase all items which need to match at the same time, for example carpets for adjoining rooms and footstools to go with sofas etc. Please note that many carpet manufacturers will not guarantee a colour match between different widths.

How Long Will My Order Take?

There is no hard and fast rule as to how long your goods will take. Some items are carried in stock and so delivery can sometimes be within just a few days, if however you have chosen a special order which is supplied by one of our partners abroad, this can take anywhere from 8 to 16 weeks. When you browse the product that you wish to buy, you will be given an indication of whether the goods are in stock, or if they are a special order, in which case an approximate order time will be quoted. Please be aware that delivery lead times fluctuate daily and that you should add an additional week to the lead times quoted if they include a bank holiday, or a public holiday such as Easter. Whilst we are open 363 days per year, manufacturers traditionally close for a few days during public holidays.

We quote you delivery lead times in good faith, however they should only be treated as an approximate guide and never as a guarantee of a delivery date. Clayton’s cannot be held responsible for delays beyond our control.

I Want To Check The Progress Of My Order?

For more information or when chasing your order please email us, or call 01522 510210 stating your name and order number. Please call between 9am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday and we will give you an update on how your order is progressing.

When Will You Deliver?

As soon as your goods are in stock, a dispatcher will contact you to arrange a mutually convenient time for delivery / collection. We will offer you delivery options as to when we are in your area. We group deliveries by area and would respectfully request that you make arrangements to accept the first delivery date offered to you.

I’m not Ready, Can You Store the Goods?

Unfortunately not, we are unable to offer storage of goods. Due to the high volume of furniture and carpets arriving with us daily, we require that you take delivery of your goods, usually no later than 7 days after they become available. By delivering goods promptly and keeping storage overheads to a minimum, we can offer you the best value for money.

What Happens On The Delivery Day?

You will have been contacted prior to the delivery day, and will have been given an Am or Pm delivery slot. We will make our best endeavour to deliver for morning deliveries between 8.30 am and 1pm and for afternoon deliveries between 12.00pm and 6.30pm. However, these are only guide times and should not be taken as guaranteed. We never know how long the jobs before and after yours will take, so it is impossible to be more accurate than this.

Assuming your goods are not self assembly, we will position the goods as directed and will remove all packaging materials, unless of course you wish to keep packaging. We require a signature for the goods; you should ensure there is an adult at the property to sign for goods.

Can I Specify A Delivery Time?

We will always give a morning or an afternoon delivery slot as a guide in an attempt to minimise your waiting in time. Deliveries will be grouped by area to minimise the amount of unnecessary journeys from one side of the county to another.

We regret that we cannot give an exact delivery time, as we are delivering large items of furniture, into customer’s homes and usually not simply leaving them on the doorstep, we never know whether the job before you will take 20 minutes or two hours.

What If I am Out When You Deliver?

As your goods need to be signed for, unfortunately, we will be unable to leave your goods. We will attempt to contact you by telephone, to see if you are near the property, otherwise the goods will be returned to our distribution centre. You will be asked to contact our dispatcher to arrange another delivery date. There will be an additional delivery charge payable by you (even where you were initially given free delivery) as the contractors levy a re delivery charge. It is really important that if you know we are delivering to you, that you do not go out on delivery day until we have delivered!

Can I Collect The Goods To Save On Delivery Charges?

Yes, we would be happy for you to collect and save yourself the delivery charge. In fact as long as the collection is pre arranged, usually 48hrs notice is required, we can ensure that the goods are picked out ready to minimise you’re waiting time upon collection. You will be required to fully inspect the goods on collection. You can collect directly from our distribution centre, which is 100 metres from our Superstore, Tritton Road, Lincoln LN6 7BN 01522 510210

Delivery Charges

Delivery Charges vary depending upon the item(s) purchased and your location. When you have added all of the items you wish to purchase to the shopping basket, you click proceed to checkout. You can then select either collect from store or "delivery to be confirmed". Where you select delivery to be confirmed, then proceed to checkout, you will be asked to enter your postcode in the next step, we will then confirm if delivery is available to your area and the cost of this (or Free delivery if your order qualifies for this).

Many of our local customers save money on small orders by arranging to collect from our Lincoln based distribution centre, why don’t you do the same and save!

Do You Have A Lowest Price Guarantee?

Yes, we do! We check our prices daily to ensure that ours are the lowest. We are so confident that you cannot buy the same product for less we offer a PRICE PROMISE. If you find the same product advertised for less including all charges, before you have placed your order and before you have taken delivery of your goods, once verified by us, we will beat it. Once an order is placed with us at an agreed price, the price made between us on the day the order is placed is firm, this way if the price goes up before your order is delivered we won't contact you for a price increase, but if it the price is reduced, we will be unable to reduce it either.

What If My Furniture/Carpets Don’t Fit?

We must stress that it is you, the customer who must satisfy yourself that the goods you have ordered are the correct dimensions for your home. As we do not visit your home until delivery of the goods, it is impossible for us to know in advance if your goods will fit. Please check access properly and make particular note of any awkward turns or obstacles that could hinder delivery. Delivery is officially to the front door only, we will deliver into room of choice where we can, but this is not a condition of sale. Please see our measuring guides.

If the unthinkable happens and our delivery staff are unable to get your furniture in. Don’t panic, often the removal of a window by a local glazing company to allow access can provide the solution. This is often, the simplest and lowest cost solution for you, particularly if you have modern PVC windows from which the glazing can be removed without disturbing the frame. If we cannot get the goods into your room of choice, they will be left in another room and will be deemed to have been delivered. You will be asked to sign for the goods. From this point onwards, you will be responsible for installing the goods into your room of choice.

When ordering carpets, you must ensure that you have allowed sufficient extra carpet to compensate for going into doorways and recesses. We always recommend that you add a percentage to your order to allow for walls being out of square (even in brand new properties!).

We regret that we are unable to allow refunds on special orders. “Special order” means all goods manufactured in your choice of configuration or finish or goods which have been cut to size. I.e. any goods which are not ‘from stock’ are considered special order goods and non returnable.

PLEASE NOTE THAT UPON DELIVERY IF THE GOODS DO NOT FIT, YOU MUST STILL ACCEPT THEM INTO A GARAGE OR CONSERVATORY OR SIMILAR, IF YOU REFUSE THEM AT POINT OF DELIVERY & SEND THEM AWAY, YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY THE COST OF RE-DELIVERY.

Cancellations and Refunds

Cancelling Stock Items BEFORE Delivery.

If you have purchased goods from this website which are ‘in stock’ at the time of ordering, you may cancel your order at any point before delivery. This does not apply to such goods as flooring that has been cut from a stock roll. You must advise us by telephone and in writing of your wish to cancel the order. Once we are in receipt of your cancellation, we will give you a full refund using the same method as your original payment. We will then send you a cancellation notice and confirmation of the refund of your funds.

Cancelling Special Orders BEFORE Delivery.

If the items you have ordered are not in stock at the time of ordering (indicated by a delivery lead time rather than the words ‘in stock’ next to an item description), we will have commissioned a supplier to order in materials and make them in your choice of combination or colour. Unless we receive your cancellation or amendment by both telephone and in writing within 7 days of you placing the order on the website, we regret that we will have to make a cancellation / amendment charge.

Now I’ve got Them, I don’t like the Goods, What Can I Do?

Stock Items

If you have ordered stock items from our website, you have 7 days from when you receive the goods to return them to us for a refund. (this applies to website orders only and in store purchases are excluded). If you wish to cancel and return goods ‘from stock’ then you may do this within seven days of receiving the goods, as long as the goods have not been used. Divan Beds, Mattresses and pillows for hygiene reasons must be returned still in their heat sealed packaging, we regret that once opened, these goods cannot be returned.

You will be responsible for returning goods to us, within 7 days, all goods must be in ‘as new’ condition. All transport and other costs involved in returning the goods will be borne by you as the customer; we do not operate a free returns policy.

Once we are in receipt of the goods and we have inspected them, we will confirm your refund amount. You will then receive your refund within 30 days of cancellation and return of the goods.

Special Orders / Bespoke Items

Items which have been made specifically for you in your own choice of colour and combination, or items that have been made or cut down to size are deemed as Bespoke and Special order items. We regret that we are unable to accept returns on items which have been made or altered/cut to the specifications selected by you on this website, as they have been made at your request.

What If My Goods Are Damaged?

We make every effort to ensure that goods are handled with extreme care. We know how disappointing it can be when you have purchased an expensive item to find that it has been damaged on delivery. If you do find that there is delivery damage, don’t panic, there is usually an easy solution. We have listed below solutions to some scenarios.

The Goods Have Creases / Crushing

Furniture and carpets are generally packed tightly in plastic shrink wrapped plastic for protection against damage. One of the side effects of this packaging is that sometimes leather and fabrics can appear to be badly creased and crushed when unpacked for the first time. Carpets can have sections which appear flattened; these are usually pole markings from where the carpet has been rolled up. These are natural phenomena caused by pile pressure and these creases and crushes will usually disappear within 14 days. The combination of a warm home environment, and the fact that coverings are allowed to breathe means that they usually recover quickly. This is not a fault with the goods and is usual with all furniture and carpets.

The Sofa / Mattress Is Harder Than the One in the Shop

It is common for people to comment that their new suite is firmer than the one that they tried in the store. During the manufacturing process, foam is put through a process which partially softens the foam (75% approx) leaving the additional 25% softening to occur naturally through the first few weeks of use by the customer. You should move yourself around your furniture ensuring that each seat and each side of a mattress is used; this will help to soften it in. The best advice is persevere with it and give the furniture a chance to settle in, it will soften with use.

My Furniture Is Scuffed / Damaged

It is disappointing to find that your furniture is scuffed or has suffered from delivery damage. We have our own in house upholsterers and fully trained leather technicians with over 20 years experience in the job. These master craftsmen have been thoroughly trained and are qualified to carry out all our repairs and re-upholstery. Believe it or not, we also carry out specialist repairs for one of the national high street furniture chains who are not equipped with their own upholsterers!

If there is delivery damage, we will repair to manufacturing standards or where we cannot repair, we will replace faulty parts with new pieces/panels. We will endeavour to source replacement parts as quickly as possible, although these parts may well have a lead time due to them having to go through the production process.

As with any problem, we know that it is important that it is remedied correctly so that you can get on with enjoying your new purchase. In the unlikely event that we cannot repair the goods, or where damage or faults are severe, we will replace them. It is very unusual for our craftsmen not to be able to put goods right for you on site. Your statutory rights are not affected.

How do I report a fault?

You can report a problem by telephoning 01522 510210 Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm or you can write to us at:

Web Sales Customer Services dept
Claytons Carpet & Upholstery Superstore
Tritton Road
Dixon Street
LINCOLN
LN6 7BN

Your statutory rights are not affected.