The Range - Poor quality furniture

morticiaskeeper

We bought 2 faux leather sofas from the range last christmas for £799. The seats are reclining. Where the seams on the side of the cushions are stitched (under your knees), holes have appeared.

After a visit in October 2008, customer service sent us a letter stating how good the products are and how quality control doesn't allow faulty goods out - all the usual rubbish, they offered us £250 in gift vouchers as full and final settlement!

When we rejected this offer, they insisted that they have sold high volumes so therefore any manufacturing defect would have become apparent at an earlier stage. We can either take the £250 of vouchers, or a cheque for £100. Neither of these is going to get the holes repaired.

Not sure what to do next. Any ideas?

maninthestreet

Trading standards, small claims court?
Can you post a picture of the problem?

Shambler

By offering compensation surely they are acknowledging liability.

An £800 sofa should last more than a year, take a cushion in and show them.

Ask for a repair...doubt they would bother, or a replacement.

deanos

£800 for pvc sofas does seem quite expensive.

morticiaskeeper

They have inspected the sofas before making the offer to us. I quote: "We have sold high volumes of this item without any issues and due to the length of time you have had this suite, we believe that a manufacturing defect would have become apparent in a much shorter time scale."

They have never even mentioned repair or replacement, just offering us £250 vouchers or £100 cheque as a "goodwill gesture".

All correspondence and photos have been emailed to our local Trading Standards - awaiting a reply.

Photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morticiaskeeper/3206286409
http://www.flickr.com/photos/morticiaskeeper/3206286413
http://www.flickr.com/photos/morticiaskeeper/3206286417

tiannaleigh

I have similar situation,but I dont think I have any rights ,I bought a pvc 2seater and 3 seater sofa from the range 14 months ago
I have the same as your pictures at sides of sofa's but also they now go right across the cushions you sit on,it looks like it has cracked and you can see big lines just like your pictures right across,it is really unsightly ,and has happened to both sofas even though one of them has hardly been sat on
as a single parent on benifits im really gutted,I thought i was gettin a good deal as it was the managers special offer,instead of £800 it was £400

deanos

Dosent look very good does it.

It clearly shouldnt be doing this is a short amount of time, as they have made an offer they must be admiting liability.

What do you want a repair, replacement or refund ?

deanos

tiannaleigh wrote: »

I have similar situation,but I dont think I have any rights ,I bought a pvc 2seater and 3 seater sofa from the range 14 months ago

Yes you do have rights.

I had a fault with a sofa from Harveys and it was 2 years old, they came and fixed it free of charge after i mentioned a sofa should last more than 2 years.

tiannaleigh

deanos wrote: »

Yes you do have rights.

I had a fault with a sofa from Harveys and it was 2 years old, they came and fixed it free of charge after i mentioned a sofa should last more than 2 years.

How did you go about it,do you think I should first ring them,I really have no clue about thease things

deanos

I rang them and they first said as it was over a year old they would not do anything, i asked to speak to a supervisor and explained that a £1000 sofa should last longer than 2 years, he agreed and arranged for Homeserve to some out and they fixed it.

morticiaskeeper

Tiannaleigh, I called them within the warranty period and waited until they came to inspect. They then made the £250 vouchers offer, which I refused.

Deanos, I just want things to be made good. Whether they repair/replace/make a settlement offer that allows me to get it repaired.

The annoying thing is, we spent a couple of weeks trying out sofas in various shops, but these felt the best to sit on, they still do. The only way we could have afforded almost a month wages on two sofas was an inheritance.

I'll see what Trading Standards have to say, but I really want to fight this one. There's no way a sofa should do that within 9 months of delivery.