Faulty sofa 18 months after purchase

paulmcfadyen

Purchased two sofas of the same type 18 months ago from Harveys - a 2 seater and a 3 seater. The 2 seater remains 100% comfortable but recently the 3 seater has lost much of its firmness and is less and less comfy to sit on.

Contacted Harveys head office who weren't interested and referred me back to the store. Store manager suggested that i's acceptable to lose 10-20% firmness in normal use, however he duly arranged inspection by homeserve rep who agreed with me that at least 50% of firmness had been lost. Homeserve rep told me he was ordering two replacement cushions from Harveys.

Today received a letter from homeserve on Harveys' behalf stating that as there is no manufacturing defect or damage from delivery, they are not able to help.

Explained all of the above to Trading Standards this morning. They are going to get back to me with advice. In my opinion the sofa is not sufficiently durable or fit for purpose. I understand that it will be up to me to prove this.

Does anyone have any experience of proving such damage or can offer any guidance on how I might best proceed? Does anyone have any experience of dealing with these companies?

Many thanks!

Darksun

Do you have documentation from the inspection that the soft has lost 50% of firmness, and do you have written proof of Harvey's 10-20% firmness loss policy? This should be enough evidence that your sofa hasn't lasted a reasonable length of time.

Incidentally, how does one quantify firmness? Seems funny to me! :rotfl:

paulmcfadyen

Unfortunately no documentation was left by the inspector and the 10-20% conversation was over the phone with no written backup.

I think you measure it by how much the cushions squish when you sit on them?

Darksun

Write to the people who did the inspection and ask if they have a copy of the inspection report they can send you. Also ask if they will assert the normal loss of firmness figures.

yummymummy79

Because of the timescale there is an element of responsibility for you to have to prove the fault is a manufacturing one. The report would obviously be helpful to back up what you are saying so certainly write to them to try and get this.

Also, if you paid some or all of the money on credit card or finance arranged by Harveys, you should be getting onto the CC/finance co to tell them about the probs as they have legal responsibility to help as well.

swordfish

Are you sure you've not just had a fat 'un sitting on one of them??:D

(tongue firmly in cheek).

paulmcfadyen

Thanks for your comments. Will get onto all of your suggestions. We're not fatter than they could reasonably have anticipated when designing the sofas!

aMeLia'S~MuMMY

To The OP (paulmcfadyen), hmm I have just this week recieved basically the same thing from the very same company, however mine involved my wardrobe, have got 2 (1 large and 1 small) but the problem is only with the larger one, bits fell off which inturn scratched other bits, item has been in situ for about 18 months before any fault arose.

The person who visited did not appear to have a clue, could not really inspect the item due to the weight and size ~ although she did state that she would make a 1 hour booking appointment to fix the broken bit and repair the wood damage.

I again was not left with a copy of the report, but when I received my reply saying err.. sorry but you are not covered by our insurance, they stated that the bases of my wardrobes were severely damaged, ~ nothing of the sort went on the report regarding the bases..but perhaps it could have been added afterwards because I was not left with a copy. how can I prove this?? The only proof that I have is that they are not damaged in any way shape or form!!!!

Oh and the little gem that they threw into my letter was that the damage was caused by me not correctly putting the wardrobes together , how can this be ?? using the manufacturer's instuctions, parts and screws ......I suppose they will tell me next that I shouldn't have used the glass hammer and left handed screwdriver :rolleyes:

Anyway I rang them as I as furious and was told to use their complaints procedure which I am going to do, however I will also contact Trading Standards ~ could you let me know is it local trading standards that you get in touch with?? also have you had any decent info back off them yet?

Thanks in advance
:A

paulmcfadyen

Hi Amelia's Mummy.

I phoned my local trading standards but the number put me straight through to consumer direct, where an adviser took down details and said someone from my local TS will be in touch within two weeks. At the moment I'm still waiting but will keep you updated as things progress...

aMeLia'S~MuMMY

Cheers paul
:beer:

:A

deanos

I had the same issue with Harveys on my nearly 2 year old Leather 2 seater sofa the cushions had gone all soft.

I turned over the sofa and took the cover from underneath which is held in with staples and you can see that the webbing that supports the cushions was rubbing on the wood frame and had snapped thus making it saggy and soft.

I rang Harveys and explained but the phone op was blabbing on about 1 year warranty, i told then that a sofa should be expected to last longer than 2 years she got a manager to phone back and he agreed and got Homeserve to come out and inspect the sofa.

The Homeserve guy came and fixed the webbing and put some cardboard over the wood frame to stope it happening again, he also took photos and said it was a defect from when it was made at the factory.

All was done without hassle and within a week , OP if you can turn the sofa over and take the cover from underneath it is only staples on and have a look at the webbing and see if you have the same problem.

My sofa is called the Reno