Still in dispute after 3 years

tomsolomon

Were still in dispute about our DFS sofa after three years. I stopped paying the full amount for the DD over 18 months ago. And since Santander refused to accept there was problem we are only paying a penny a month.

I have been in touch with DFS who are willing to drop themself in it by writing to me with details of the half a dozen or so times they came out to attempt to repair the sofa in the first 12 months. lets hope Santander get the message. Although they are saying they will only take things further if they have a full independant report, which they know full well I am unable to afford.

The sofa now?
Well the recliner still does not run properly because the guy who installed it forgot to remove the coach bolt, when he lifted the recliner for the first time.
And the corner unit has sunk completely on both sides, there are still big staples sticking out of the side of the arm rest, and the leather is actually so thin, it is wearing into big holes the size of a 1p piece in places.

The suite cost over £2400 and was on sale less than 6 months later for almost half that. I suggest the suite is not even worth half again.

yorksrabbit

Furniture imported from Far East sweat shops is only of the value placed on it by the retailer.

DFS follows MFI's practice of presenting stock at some daft imaginary price for some weeks and then halving it (or more) for others. As a business model, it's clear what happened to MFI -- and a pity, too, because *some* MFI stuff was worth the sale price paid for it.

DFS has a reputation the envy of, er, none.

kiddy_guy

DFS - Damaged from Supplier.

sarahg1969

You bought a suite from DFS that wasn't in the sale?

CHR15

Don't see why you all don't just call it quits and move on.

You stopped paying 18 Months ago but don't mention how much you have paid. If it isn't much, then you haven't spent much on it (certainly nothing like the £2,400)

As we all know, it is worth about £60 tops in reality so DFS have their money too.

I don't recall ever seeing a DFS without a 50% sale on.

mrcol1000

I got a huge sofa from DFS that cost £300 (well £299.99) and its the best sofa I have ever brought.
DFS should refund your money if you get the report done so why didn't you just do the report? DFS have also come out to fix the sofa which considering you never provided a report proving the sofa was broken seems pretty good.

tomsolomon

I've just had the letter from DFS...
It states:
"We delivered your corner unit, chair and footstool on 16th August 2006. We first visited you 2 days later as you had expressed concerns about some stretched leather. Our customer service manager explained about the natural characteristics of leather and that was perfectly normal in full grain leather.

You then called us next on 22nd February as you felt the interiors had gone too soft. We sent 2 different upholsterers this time, one on the 22nd and another on the the 27th February. Both found the softening of the foam seats to be completely normal.

On 6th March 2007 we agreed to add some additional foam to the 1 seat of the corner as you were finding it uncomfortable. We only agreed to do this as a gesture of good will as we did not believe there to be any defect in the seat at all.

On the 11th September we came out to replace a broken arm card. Unfortunately the initial repair slipped so we had to come out and adjust it again on 2nd October. We also added some foam for a second time even though after the 1st time we said we would only be prepared to do this once as was a gesture of good will."


Apart from the literary mistakes, can anybody else see the inconsistency here?

They neglected to mention the fact there were big metal staples sticking out of the arm and the fact that they had to add extra webbing to stop the foam falling through the bottom of the seat. They also failed to mention the fault with the recliner.

High grain leather would not have worn into holes in such a short time, and I very much doubt it would have stretched this much either.

What do I do?

As I recal, I do believe I actually joined this forum to find a solution to this.

Rockporkchop

tomsolomon wrote: »

As I recal, I do believe I actually joined this forum to find a solution to this.

With all due respect, this site is Moneysavingexpert.com and not DFS sofa expert.com.

I can't think of much to suggest. How much have you actually paid in total? You have said that Santander will take the matter further if you provide them with an independent report. As you are no longer paying the direct debit for the suite, can't you save up that amount of money each month until you have enough to pay for the report? You would presumably still have been paying the DD, had the suite been OK. If the suite is as bad as you say, they will surely find in your favour and you will get your money refunded, including the cost of the report.

Otherwise, contact trading standards and see if they can help you take the matter further.

Just being pedantic but if you had the suite delivered on 16 August 06, that makes it 3 years not 4.

Paul_Varjak

http://www.fira.co.uk/services/furnitureOmbudsman.html