sog12345

Thanks for the kind words... I am no expert in finding out leather from PU myself, esp. with these new form of bonded / mixed / recycled leathers coming in. But even then, I could figure (so imagine how obvious it was) Basically...they can make PU look like leather, but three things i looks at - 1. Smoothness (texture)- mine was as smooth as fabric - very similar to the ikea chair i had bought some time back which i knew was PU 2. Crease formed when you press your finger on it - if ugly grainy stretch mark type creases form...its leather 3. Color tone - pure leather can never be fully uniform color. They use the full cow (sorry to be crass), but this is what the salesperson of a very high end store told me. neck area etc are of different tones. genuine cowhide will have different tones. its its beautifully one tone - there's something fishy. That's all i know...and did. and was (sadly) enough in my case because the thing was so obviously synthetic...and they agreed without much pressurizing as well. sog

BAD reviews of FCC (they have a shop in Sungei Kadut and one at Traders hub) are all over the place…experiences much worse than mine - but it’s my misfortune that I read them all after placing the order. To my horror…when delivery happened – all my fears came true!! Date – 15th Oct – I like to plan things in future…wanted delivery by Dec 15th, as we were moving into our new house then. To be doubly sure I am ahead of the Chinese new year rush, I made sure I ordered the Couch (L shaped sofa) well in advance. That fateful day I land up in FCC Sungei Kadut. Extremely friendly (but English challenged) saleslady…came down to the point of using “please buy – I am parttimer and need the money”…but we ordered a half leather L shaped couch for $1430. Paid half in deposit. The color for us is VERY important…we chose a dark red color. Since I am paranoid…I made her write 3 things on the invoice – 1. Delivery date of Dec 15th 2. COLOR code of the sofa 3. Half LEATHER and not PU – I made her write on INVOICE Very happy to get the dream sofa. Fast forward to Dec 15th…just moved into dream house. Couch delivery guy calls….delivery on time, as promised at 2pm. 1 out of 3 correct. Couch comes – BRIGHT ORANGE color!!! Absolute horror!! I ask the delivery guy to take it right back from the door. The owner calls immediately – please keep it in your house. I will personally come in evening to sort out. Ok. Keep it in living room. That’s when I check the material – OUT and out PU – no sign of LEATHER. Now that’s friggin CHEATING!! Color I can understand human error…they have taken money for Leather and giving PU!! Anyways…the lady saunters in at 9pm (after promising 630pm) – no apologies. She is a heavy set lady (name – Chan) with a salesguy. The sales guy tries to apologize and work a solution. The lady just says NO to everything. Color – sorry, cannot change now. Please accept. What about PU instead of leather??? See, its written on the invoice!! Answer.. “ Hmm…ok. Actually this is not leather…agree, but has 40% recycled leather…that’s what we meant by half leather!!” CAN YOU BELIEVE THE GALL!! Ends up being a shouting match…when I realize she is not budging. Basically they came to push us the pu orange sofa. All she kept saying…I will give discount…you take this only. If you want new one with right color – wait till Jan 20th !!! THAT’S EXACTLY what I wanted to avoid. Time now – 10pm – we go to her shop close to midnight from East coast to Sungei Kadut. I wanted to show her the color samples a chose and the leather samples. At 1030 – I have the leather sample. We reach an agreement – I agree to get a sofa in Jan 20 with right color. Then she drops the bomb – Please top up $300 more  Speechless. I walk out, to save my blood vessels from exploding. Couldn’t believe its happening in Singapore!! While walking out..I just ask her to take the sofa out and pay be my balance. I threaten to give feedback on forum. Next day she calls…says no top up needed…she will do it. But I ask her – can you please write cowhide leather on invoice and promise delivery before Chinese new year? NO. Ok, no worries…am desperate now. Can you bring us the color samples for us to select again? No – you some to sungei kadut and do it. That’s it – I told her to give me cash the next day and have it collected. She says – boss…keep the orange sofa no? For $730 only. I say no…to accommodate her…take the day off and make sure she takes it. Gives back my money on Dec 25th. Now, here I am…in my new house, without a sofa. THERE is NO shop in Singapore that says they can deliver a sofa I like before Feb 1st, if not March 1st because of Chinese New Year. Have upped my budget to $2200, been to 20 more shops. I CURSE THE DAY I WENT TO FCC (FURNITURE COLLECTION CENTER) TO BUY THE DAMNED COUCH!! I EARNESTLY WANT TO DO MY BEST TO WARN OTHERS TO NOT FALL FOR THE SAME TRAP. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM FCC. THEY ARE A DISGRACE TO PROFESSIONALISM AND FURNITURE SHOPS. WORLDWIDE. IF YOU ARE THINKING OF IT…PM ME AND I WILL PERSONALLY PERSUADE YOU OUT OF IT.

Hi everyone, I am writing this short note as a way of paying back to reno talk for helping me out in times of my reno. I am not a local here...bought a house for the first time (resale), and like all resale units, found at the time of handover that a LOT of work needs to be done!! Budget was tight...so didn't want to involve some fancy renovation company (though did go to a lot of them - most of them didn't bother to respond back since our bill was <10K, the others gave wildly expensive bills). Anyways ...thanks to RENO talk - i got a bunch of recommended contractors - some i used, some new ones i found out via some friends. Anyways...I wanted to make some recommendation and feedback for folks here (Feedback in *, 5*'s being the best) 1. Plumbing / Tiling work Mr. Ah Sua (*****) - (90531538)INCREDIBLE guy, one man army and highly highly recommended for cementing / tiling work. His english is not very good, but he's one of the most honest and dedicated people i have ever seen. Old man, but incredibly hard working. I was so happy with his work, I ended up paying him $200 more, just as a mark of appreciation. One request - he is a genuinely good man, and incredible tiling / finishing. Please don't drive a hard bargain with him - be nice. 2. Electrician - Mr. Chua Gen Seng (****) (93825260)- He was the opennet (fibre optic cable laying)contractor for my condo, but asked him to fix some fans with regulators, conceal wiring indide wall, etc. Very professional, cheap and responsible. He fix all the regulators, but when i complained one of them was not working well, he came the next day and replaced all of them without any extra charge. 3. Carpentry - Mr. Chua (****)(96680248) - He is a bit expensive for sure. But why i loved him is his depth of knowledge. He is one of those guys who you will have complete trust on...because not only does he know his work...he can actually tell you where you are going wrong and make really valuable recommendations. He knows it all. Workmanship and professionalism great as well. He is not cheap though 4. Painting / floor polishing work - will not recommend my guy Hope this helps... Sog

Hi, Can you please mail me your electricians HP# or mail me at saugat81 at gmail? Thanks