Problems with returning a faulty sofa to Harveys

minimuffin

Hi, I’m new to the forum and wondered if anybody has any advice on the following…
I’m having a major problem with Harveys at the minute and I really need some advice to try and salvage the situation. Myself and my partner bought a sofa, armchair and footstool from Harveys which were delivered in November last year. When they arrived they looked fine but by the end of December the cushions on the sofa had deflated dramatically, they give no support and the sofa looks about 10 years old. I end up with a bad back from sitting on it because of how saggy they have become.

I reported this to Harveys at the start of January and eventually (after repeated calls and emails from me) they sent somebody from Homeserve out to look at it in mid February. In the mean time the stitching on the sofa cushions had started to come away and the stitching on the footstool has come away on all four corners. Bear in mind there are only 2 people in our household and we only use it on evenings and weekends.

Harveys didn’t respond to the report from Homeserve so I ended up having to ring them. They refuse to do anything about the deflated cushions because they say this is how the product is designed and because they are fibre fill cushions they have a ‘relaxed look’. I told the person on the phone that the display model in the shop didn’t look like that but she said she couldn’t comment on that as she hadn’t seen it.

They are sending another Homeserve technician out on Saturday to look at the stitching problem but I think they’re just going to fob us off again. I’m at my wit’s end because we saved up for months for this new suite and I thought it was going to last us a long time, not fall apart at the seams after a few months.

I’ve got no confidence in their ability to repair it because the stitching is coming away all over the sofa and it means they’ll have to come out every month to repair it. I just want to send it back and get a refund but I’ve found their customer service so abysmal I think I’m going to have a real battle on my hands.

Sorry this is a bit of a saga - any advice would be greatly appreciated.

bellabooski

Hi Minimuffin,
I'm also having terrible trouble with Harveys. After 14 weeks of waiting my sofa arrived late January with a 3" tear in the back cushion and it creaks like mad when you sit on it. The delivery men immediately rang Harveys to inform them of the problem. I then rang customer services myself and they advised me to ring the branch, I told them I didn't want a repair or a replacement as I had no longer had any confidence in the product and asked for a refund. The duty manager eventually rang me back and said that he had cleared a refund with his Regional Manager but he would have to arrange for the sofa to be collected first and then I would have to go into the branch and get my refund. Straightforward enough....I thought. After many phone calls and visits to the branch I STILL have a damaged and faulty sofa sitting in my lounge that I don't even sit on. All I get is 'oh dear it someone from transport should have rung you by now to arrange pick up,I'll try and chase them up and get back to you' Here we are in March and I'm still waiting and of course no refund till the sofa's picked up.
I rang today and spoke to the usual Duty Manager.I told him I'm running low on patience and if I don't get a definite date for pick up they've got 48 hours before I escalate the matter to section 75 of the Credit Card Act as fortunately I paid by Mastercard.He has promised to get back to me but I won't be holding my breath.
So believe me Minimuffin I'm totally with you on this one.Their customer service is non existent.I couldn't believe how many negatives about Harveys there were on the forum.
Stand firm and don't back down because that's what I intend to do.Keep us posted with updates and I will too.:mad:

minimuffin

You're exactly right - their customer service is non-existent. I've tried phoning them and emailling them but they simply don't respond to anything. I think they hope that people will just give up and put up with it.

The thing is I can't just put up with it because it's literally falling apart at the seams, every time I move the cushions I see more stitching coming apart and it's so deflated it gives me a bad back from sitting on it.

I've contacted Trading Standards who say it's covered by the Sale of Goods Act and I can claim a refund because of the poor quality and it's not fit for purpose. They've sent me a template letter and told me to send it by recorded delivery. I have no confidence that Harveys will respond though as they simply ignore every attempt at communicating with them.

Would there be any point in physically taking the cushion into the store I bought it from to show them how poor quality it is?

bellabooski

Hi,
Personally, I wouldn't be inclined to take the cushion to the store..why should you be inconvenienced? Take the advice of Trading Standards and warn Harveys that you intend to start a claim at the Small Claims Court if they don't respond within x amount of days. They may or may not respond..they never seem to respond to anything! Did you pay by credit card? That's not me being nosey, but if you did you may be able to put your complaint to the credit card company under section 75 of the credit card act. There is info about section 75 on the main part of this site. If you paid by other means then I would go for the jugular and follow the small claims route as advised by Trading Standards. It may take time but Harveys may end up paying out more than the cost of the dodgy furniture!

minimuffin

Just a quick update - I finally got a response by letter about the deflated cushions. Harveys say they've had the report from Homeserve and they deem it as 'Normal settlement' which is not a manufacturing fault so the case is closed.

If this is normal why don't the sofas in the shop look like that. I really feel like I've been totally ripped off, I'm so angry about it.

I'm going to pursue the case, as the Sale of Goods Act states that items must have durability - a sofa surely has to last more than 2 months without collapsing and coming apart at the seams.

The Homeserve man is coming out again to examine the stitching on the cushions and the foot stool. I expect it will take Harveys weeks to respond to his report and again they will try and shirk their responsibility.

I'm not holding my breath on this one - anyone who is considering Harveys needs to be warned. It's literally the worst quality item I have ever bought and the worst customer service I have ever experienced.

bellabooski

....that's just typical of Harveys. Don't give up, keep up the fight.
Don't forget to keep us posted as to your progress.
Good luck!
Bella:)

minimuffin

Latest news - the man from Homeserve came around at the weekend and had a look at the stitching that is falling apart on all 3 items (foot stool, arm chair and 3 seater).

He took photos and said that he wouldn't be able to repair any of them and described them as 'unfixable' (which I'm going to quote him on).
It's the fact that the stitching is coming away on the cushion covers but the fabric on both sides has frayed away so there's nothing there to stitch back on to.

I'm still waiting to get a repsonse from Harveys on this. They told me when I bought it that if anything went wrong their first response is to try and repair it - can I legally refuse this option and go straight for a refund? I just know they're going to try any kind of delaying tactics they can so that they don't have to refund me.

I can't get a replacement because this range has been discontinued since I bought it.

neilmcl

Well if it can't be repaired, either practically or economically, and a suitable replacement can't be offered, then they have no choice than to offer a refund.

Bexm

Hi MiniMuffin

I had a sofa problem with John Lewis and posted here if you are interested:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1741853

I was sold a sofabed, and was told it was fine to use as a sofa in the living room, and less than 6 months later the cushions had completely collapsed and it was so uncomfortable!
I kept phoning and writing and never getting any response.. and when an engineer eventually came out he said they cushions needed re-stuffing and it'd never be fit for use!
All JL said they'd charge us to re-stuff them and prob would need to again ever 6months.. so I phoned consumer direct who advised me to quote the misrepresentation act and I wrote directly to the MD of John Lewis and I'd got a full refund within a week, and now I have a lovely sofa from DFS!

Sounds like you have a similar situation.. Maybe you could write to the MD of Harveys (I'm sure you can find the name and address on the net, or some kind person here will be able to supply you with it)

Use your template letter quoting the sale of good act or which ever one you have been advised stating when you bought it, exactly what's happened and especially what the man said about it being unfixable.

Hopefully going straight to the top will get it sorted for you too!

Good luck and let us know what happens!

Bex

katie1234

i too am having the same problem only with reid furniture (which im led to believe are now owned by harveys). the base of my sofa has snapped in half and they are also refusing to replace it unless it was a manufacturing default. if we want our sofa looked at its gona cost us £70 and im just worried they will fob us off and il lose more money on top of an insurance policy i mistakingly took with them (wont cover either!). the fabric on the sofa would also need taken apart to inspect the area. i understand your pain very well! its so hard to work out what your rights are with this.

minimuffin

It seems like once these companies have your money they wash their hands of the whole situation - even when they are 100% in the wrong.

The man from Homeserve has put his report in to Harveys to say the foot stool is unrepairable but Harveys didn't tell him to inspect the 3 seater or arm chair - even though I've emailled them and rang twice to report the faults. So I have to take a day off on Monday for the Homeserve man to come out again and look at the other two pieces of furniture. (Which he has already looked at on the last two occasions he came out). What a carry on.

I really believe that companies like Harveys try to make these processes as long-winded as possible so that the customer will just give up and put up with it. And if I hear the phrase 'not a manufacturing fault' one more time I think I'll scream. How on earth can they describe something as not faulty when it falls apart after 2 months?!

The saga continues....