Hi everyone,

2 months ago me and my wife were looking to buy a corner couch for our newly rented apartment. I have prepared an apartment plan in advance, that I carried with me at all times since I was using it for other furniture pieces as well.

Long story short, we ended up at Höffner trying to decide between 2 different models. At that point, an employee approached us and asked if he could help. He offered to do it an English and then recommended one of the couches, spoke about it, we asked our questions and we decided that we liked it. I then showed him the apartment plan, we spoke about the doors and he said that we shouldn't worry since we have 80 cm wide doors and that's all that matters for the couch to fit. We then signed the bill he just printed, paid 100€ (out of 900€) in advance and we were told that the couch will arrive in 8 to 12 weeks.

Fast forward to this morning. After being announced yesterday that the couch will be here today, I took a day off from work and waited. They called at 6:30 in the morning and came with the couch at 7:20 but, what do you think? It didn't fit through the door. Getting the couch inside through the window is also not an option. One of the delivery guys was also very rude, telling me on an angry tone that I should take measurements before buying something. When I tried to explain with my bad German that I did take measurements and I was told it's fine, he just said something like "kein Englisch" and left. His colleague, who spoke a bit of English, asked me where should they leave the couch. Is it fine downstairs? he said. I said that this must be a joke and I don't want it, of course. He then wrote that it did not fit on a product return document, I signed it, and they left. Probably I shouldn't have even signed it since I did not actually return the product, I just didn't accept it, but that's on me.

A few hours later I went to Höffner and told them the story. One of the customer support guy told me that he thinks the employee that convinced me to buy the couch just wanted to make an easy sell even though it was clear that the couch will not fit. He basically took advantage of my lack of German. The thing is that not only I cannot prove that I showed him the house plan, but according to them, it's all my fault, since the employee wrote on the bill that he offered to send someone to take measurements but I said no, which is total bullcrap. He never asked and he said that we shouldn't worry because it will fit. This is what he wrote:

ausreichende Stellfläche. Ein Aufmaß wurde angeboten. Bitte Füße Demontiert liefern!!

They said that they will try to find out if they can ship it in smaller pieces, which they doubt, but they will let me know by Tuesday. Otherwise, I have to options:

Option 1: I buy another couch from them but I only get 90% back from the old sum I paid and I have to wait another few months.

Option 2: I get a 75% refund, which means I'd have to pay them 125€ more on top of the 100€ advance I have already paid.

It's incredibly frustrating to have waited for a couch for 2 months only to have this happening to me. I wasn't expecting this kind of tricks to be pulled in Germany but the good impression that Germany left me until now made me leave my guard down completely. If we do buy another one, we will definitely ask a German speaker's help before signing anything.

I'm aware that my signature on the bill goes against my claims, but if there is anything that could be done so I could at least recover my money, I'm open to any suggestion.

Thank you.

TL;DR: Höffner employer convinced me to buy a couch that didn't fit through my door. He knew the size of my doors and said I shouldn't worry. Now Höffner only offers a 75% refund or 90% if I spend them at their store. Is there something I can do?

EDIT:

Update.

I went to Höffner with a German colleague and asked to speak to a supervisor. After explaining the situation he admitted that he sees no reason for me to have lied about showing the apartment plan to the seller. He said that in case they will not, for any reason, deliver the product, I will get a full refund. I also got that in writing.

Yesterday I received an email. They will come again with the couch next Wednesday. Hoping for the best.

Thank you for the constructive advice and for the well deserved criticism.