Faulty sofa from furniture village.

BoBo_the_clown

Please could anyone out there PM me any small claims court ref numbers they have (past or ongoing) as I will present them to the judge at court during my claim to show that this is not a 'one off' occurance.

I have a list which is growing....

Bobo

PViney

Hi, I have posted once before on a Dreams Bed centre topic, but just spotted this after a search.
I have just heard back from Dreams regarding a compliant that my bed head board advertised as Leather is made from Bi cast Leather.
Smells and looks and feels like PVC and tested under X-Ray Florescence as PVC! Dreams have told me that they are allowed to say it is leather as the PVC coating is less than 0.15% of the thickness of the material.
Want I would like to know is it legal to sell an item as Leather when it is really Bi cast Leather in the UK and I did not know it was Bi cast?
And also where can I get the PVC layer thickness tested?

I am getting to the point of taking the bed frame back to Dreams and demanding complete refund! I don't care if they think it is leather or not, I feel cheated and know it is not what I expected or paid for.
Any help welcomed.
Cheers,
Paul.

visidigi

Did they advertise it with the real leather kite mark?

That's what furniture village did and that's what's caused their trouble...

judyb

It is illegal in the UK to sell something as leather that is not. Bicast leather should be sold as Bicast Leather or Laminated Leather.
Have won several court cases on this matter.
Hope this helps
Judyb

PViney

"It is illegal in the UK to sell something as leather that is not. Bicast leather should be sold as Bicast Leather or Laminated Leather.
Have won several court cases on this matter.
Hope this helps
Judyb"

Thanks Judyb:)

I had read online that it may be illegal but I have no proof to back that up. It is just the thought that they can sell a product described as Leather when it clearly is not that makes me cross. It may have a content of leather but it is not as expected and in my humble opinion it is wrong to sell an item in this way.

No different if you buy an Aston Martin only to find the body is made from steel and not Aluminium as it should be.

Thank you for your reply.
Paul.

judyb

There are clear definitions of what is leather and what is not in British Standards. If they are selling something that is not defined as leather as leather then they can be taken to court as it is mis selling.
If you have a sample it can be tested and then if you have the invoice or advert that described it as leather that is all you need.
Hope this helps
Judyb

PViney

I have no sample to use for testing without destroying the headboard. The sample I tested at work with an XRF Analyser were tiny bits I managed to hook out from a seam without damaging the bed.
I found a place that can test the materials but they want a sample
20cm square.
I have the advert saved. I was hoping BBC Watchdog would be able to assist with this.

bod1467

Click that :spam: button people on sarahjacobs01's post.

Snowangel

Hi all

I bought 2 Scala sofas from FV in October 2005 on 6 months interest free credit. They were sold as real leather and I still have the paperwork which states this.
The 2 seater sofa started peeling about 4 years ago but I didn't do anything about it; to be honest I've never owned leather furniture before and rather naively thought that maybe it was just wear and tear. I decided to try to see if I could buy a second hand replacement for the sofa because I can't afford a new one; having googled "Scala sofa" I was led to this forum and now feel that I need to try to pursue Furniture Village because it seems clear that I was mis-sold the sofas in the first place; they are not real leather at all. The problem is I really don't know where to start; what to say or how to go about trying to get them to replace the sofas with the actual real leather Dante model. I rang Consumer Advice today and they said because I bought the sofas more than 6 years ago I now have no statutory rights and would just have to ask FV to make a gesture of goodwill. The lady I spoke to said she could not tell me whether or not FV had any ruling made against them for mis-selling.Does anyone out there have any advice on how I should start? I feel that I need to have plenty of ammo to throw at them but have no idea what to say!

Cheers people

judyb

It is illegal to sell something as leather which is not - no matter when this was. As long as you prove it is not leather then you should have a case. Testing can be done on a small sample if you can get one and a report will state that it is not leather.
Hope this helps
Judyb