Guardsmen Protection insurance SCS declined.

jenkinskay

Hi all new to this website.


I have a 3 seater that was purchased July 2009 and a 2 seater couch that was purchased the same time, they are both cream half suede and half fabric.

We recieved the couch damaged as there was black marks all over the suede scatter cushions and arms, so they sent someone out to look at it and said that was the natural suede and its not there fault so no claim can be made... Ok... Fair enough... Im no expert on suede.

Several months down the line, i have been maintaining my setee as instructed in my care manual, but unfortuately my scatter cushions are now less than 3 cm thick. and the cushions that you sit on are about 5cm thick, not very comfy and you can feel the springs.

Well we paid for the full package of the the insurance I blieve it was something like £500.

So we called guardmen proctection to come out and have a look at the furniture, it took 16 weeks for them to send someone out and us constantly calling them and filling out forms for their mistakes.

So the repairman came out today....


look at the couches and said " Ahhhh.... Yeah insurance wont cover this... The cushions are fibre, and we dont cover fibre cushions, and we dont cover the suede only fabric" Then he continued to say, " Have you been maintaining the cushion?" I agreed and showed him the care manual what I have been doing, he began to patronise me, and started showing me what to do, which is clearly marked in the bleeding manual. The repairmen made a comment which truely and utterly shocked me, I am 8 months pregnant, Im not overweight, im not ridiculously tall/short/stubby/skinny/athetlic nothing just average, he said " well the reason your couch has got so slack and thing is because of your weight, you know... because youre pregnant." I was gob struck! I asked him to confirm that we was not covered for suede, and to confirm that our insurance policy does not cover fibre. He confirmed this correct.

When he went i was straight on the phone to GUARDSMEN, forwarded a complaint and asked why i was sold a policy that doesnt cover me, advised that isnt this mis selling a product, and surely FSA look into claims like this, GUARDSMEN informed me that they apologise for the comments that was made, and confirmed that my policy only covers leather and fabric and foam cushions.

What should I do???

Devonian_Rodders

jenkinskay wrote: »

Hi all new to this website.


I have a 3 seater that was purchased July 2009 and a 2 seater couch that was purchased the same time, they are both cream half suede and half fabric.

We recieved the couch damaged as there was black marks all over the suede scatter cushions and arms, so they sent someone out to look at it and said that was the natural suede and its not there fault so no claim can be made... Ok... Fair enough... Im no expert on suede.

Several months down the line, i have been maintaining my setee as instructed in my care manual, but unfortuately my scatter cushions are now less than 3 cm thick. and the cushions that you sit on are about 5cm thick, not very comfy and you can feel the springs.

Well we paid for the full package of the the insurance I blieve it was something like £500.

So we called guardmen proctection to come out and have a look at the furniture, it took 16 weeks for them to send someone out and us constantly calling them and filling out forms for their mistakes.

So the repairman came out today....


look at the couches and said " Ahhhh.... Yeah insurance wont cover this... The cushions are fibre, and we dont cover fibre cushions, and we dont cover the suede only fabric" Then he continued to say, " Have you been maintaining the cushion?" I agreed and showed him the care manual what I have been doing, he began to patronise me, and started showing me what to do, which is clearly marked in the bleeding manual. The repairmen made a comment which truely and utterly shocked me, I am 8 months pregnant, Im not overweight, im not ridiculously tall/short/stubby/skinny/athetlic nothing just average, he said " well the reason your couch has got so slack and thing is because of your weight, you know... because youre pregnant." I was gob struck! I asked him to confirm that we was not covered for suede, and to confirm that our insurance policy does not cover fibre. He confirmed this correct.

When he went i was straight on the phone to GUARDSMEN, forwarded a complaint and asked why i was sold a policy that doesnt cover me, advised that isnt this mis selling a product, and surely FSA look into claims like this, GUARDSMEN informed me that they apologise for the comments that was made, and confirmed that my policy only covers leather and fabric and foam cushions.

What should I do???

Hi, Small comfort I know but you are not alone ref SCS.

I too (and probably many others) have experienced the 'brush off' from them. However, I do NOT accept tactics such as theirs and am considering maximum adverse publicity via local /National TV and or newspapers. In addition there is always Consumer Direct or Trading Standards. They will probably cite the Sale of Goods Act, which has many benefits to thye consumer.

I have copied below a report sent by SCS which to say the least is quite offensive, and highlights the lengths they will go to avoid meeting their responsibilities.

"Invalid claim Wear and tear. Suite is now 14months old. Both customer sit on the chair most of the time and are not on the small size. I feel that over time the seat cushions have gone flat due to wear. The inside backs have gone flat as well. This to is the cause of wear to the chairs. I do feel this is not a fault, but normal wear to the suite."

ACTION TAKEN "None at the moment. If to carry out repairs to the chairs then I will require 2 seat cushions and dacron for the inside backs which I can refill. This is only as a good will gesture." A covering letter arrived endorsing the "technicians??" views and a final comment "We do understand that you may not be entirely happy with the decision but assure you that we do believe this to be correct.".

Hope you have some success.

Devonian_Rodders

Devonian_Rodders wrote: »

Hi, Small comfort I know but you are not alone ref SCS.

I too (and probably many others) have experienced the 'brush off' from them. However, I do NOT accept tactics such as theirs and am considering maximum adverse publicity via local /National TV and or newspapers. In addition there is always Consumer Direct or Trading Standards. They will probably cite the Sale of Goods Act, which has many benefits to thye consumer.

I have copied below a report sent by SCS which to say the least is quite offensive, and highlights the lengths they will go to avoid meeting their responsibilities.

"Invalid claim Wear and tear. Suite is now 14months old. Both customer sit on the chair most of the time and are not on the small size. I feel that over time the seat cushions have gone flat due to wear. The inside backs have gone flat as well. This to is the cause of wear to the chairs. I do feel this is not a fault, but normal wear to the suite."

ACTION TAKEN "None at the moment. If to carry out repairs to the chairs then I will require 2 seat cushions and dacron for the inside backs which I can refill. This is only as a good will gesture." A covering letter arrived endorsing the "technicians??" views and a final comment "We do understand that you may not be entirely happy with the decision but assure you that we do believe this to be correct.".

Hope you have some success.

Further to the above, my 3 pce suite was finally repaired under the Guardsman Insurance policy at a cost in excess of the premium, and the policy still has some three years to run.
My T S D say SCS will fight any claims on them to the bitter end. Writing to them is pointless as even sending recorded delivery produces no more than a standard acknowledgement.

As a matter of interest, a disgruntled customer in my area took measures into his own hands by distributing leaflets near an SCS store to highlight his plight. Perhaps this is the most appropriate action to take with companies who simply take your cash, and NOT provide after sales support.

SCS will no longer be on my list of "preferred2 retailers.