Cole Interiors Pty Ltd trading as National Furniture Australia engulfed in scandal

Customers of a nationwide furniture store claim they have paid thousands of dollars for products that have never showed up, with no refunds received, while landlords say they’re owed more than $700k.

Cole Interiors Pty Ltd trading as National Furniture Australia deemed as ‘Queensland’s #1 Independent Furniture Business’ on their own website.

Customers of a popular Australian retail store claim they are paying for furniture they never receive, with an investigation launched into the business in question.

Cole Interiors Pty Ltd, trading as National Furniture Australia, deemed as “Queensland’s #1 Independent Furniture Business” on their own website has a number of complaints currently being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading. No action has been taken.

Customers from Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland have claimed they never received thousands of dollars of furniture and even in some cases when a refund was promised, the money was never received.

The Courier-Mail has seen text messages, emails, remittance and receipts from multiple customers.

Previous landlords also claim they are owed more than $700,000 combined collectively of rent and other expenses after the company allegedly didn’t pay months of rent and was in breach of its lease.

One customer who has also allegedly paid thousands of dollars for multiple pieces of furniture based in Queensland told The Courier-Mail she had bought furniture from the website, which looked completely legitimate, only to never receive it.

The woman said she called to make sure it was real and the company told her it had a shop.

“They had a shop, we thought it was legit that’s why we purchased it,” she said.

The woman said she assumed the online store was real but when she went to its Beenleigh address in person, she was told it was closed for renovations.

Some of the items advertised by Cole Interiors Pty Ltd trading as National Furniture Australia.

She said the person she spoke to promised a delivery date but there were repeated issues.

“There’s been so many promises. It’s ridiculous, [they’ve] got an excuse for everything,” she said.

“It’s very frustrating. It’s very sad that someone in the world can do that to a customer – take our money and not give us anything.

“Just give me my furniture or just refund me.”

Ben White from Western Australia said he ordered a TV unit from National Furniture in August 2024 and has still yet to receive it.

Text message exchanges show months of chasing, with National Furniture telling Mr White the unit could not be located before eventually agreeing to a refund in January.

Mr White was given his refund on Sunday, after National Furniture was contacted by The Courier-Mail.

Before that he was told he would get the refund within seven days of the form being filled in.

“After seven days, I received nothing,” he said.

“And then I started getting a little bit more worried, and I’m like it smells a little bit fishy, so I started calling more frequently.”

National Furniture Australia's website. Picture: Supplied

Mr White then wrote a negative review and was told he would not receive a refund until he took it down.

“I just don’t want anyone else to get ripped off,” he said.

“And I just think this is the one thing online that really frustrates me, is that we invest in trust, and you just get ones come back like this, and it just blows the trust out of the water for everyone else. So it’s pretty frustrating.”

Mr White was given the money back on Sunday on the condition he took down his review which he has done.

One landlord has shown a legal letter to The Courier-Mail claiming costs of more than $700,000 owed in an alleged breach of lease.

National Furniture Australia has had shops in Beenleigh, Wynnum and is now at Capalaba.

“They were just constantly behind on his rent and we were constantly giving him 30 days to make good,” he said.

“They weren’t making it good with hundreds of excuses and remittances sent with no cash in the account, the property manager would call me and go, ‘still nothing in there’, and we were all perplexed as to why.”

Some of the items advertised by Cole Interiors Pty Ltd trading as National Furniture Australia.

The previous landlord said then one day they just packed their furniture.

“We got left with a shop that was empty and full of rubbish that we had to clean out and get ready to retenant,” he said.

Peter Vandermeer, who was the landlord of a warehouse the company previously had before the Beenleigh store said he even took the business to Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The QCAT decision on October 3, 2024 showed Cole Interiors was to pay Mr Vandermeer $11,906.13 within 21 days. However Mr Vandermeer claims he still hasn’t received the cash.

“[They were] often late with rent. I was often chasing [them],” he said.

“[They] decided [they were] going to vacate the premises – under the terms of [the] lease, [they were] required to pay rent up until the new tenant could be found.

“[They] didn’t do that. [They] actually moved all [their] gear out of there. [They] owed me over three months’ rent plus under terms of the lease some other extras total value about 15, triple-0.”

He said he had received some of the funds but was still owed money.

“When [they] moved out I didn’t know [they were] moving out,” he said.

“The reason I found out was that my real estate agent became aware of it and he told me, but I was never told directly at all.”

National Furniture Australia was contacted for comment.

Originally published as Cole Interiors Pty Ltd trading as National Furniture Australia engulfed in scandal