M&S Abbey Sofabed faulty - do not buy

DeanBeth

We have had a Marks & Spencer - M&S Abbey Boston leather sofabed for two years. Recently the metalwork frame has failed. The part where the hinge meets the legs has bent/compressed to the point at which the bed cannot now be used.

Marks & Spencer’s service is appalling. Firstly I was told I HAVE TO DEAL WITH FIRA. This is contrary to the sale of goods act as confirmed by the kind people at the Citizens advice Bureau (formerly Consumer direct). My contract was with M&S not FIRA. I had a visit from the FIRA engineer, who turned up with a tape measure and stated that it must be damage not a manufacturing fault. In discussion he did however slip out. "It’s not the worst I have seen; there was one in Newquay...." FIRA duly reported that there was no manufacturing fault with the Marks & Spencer , Abbey leather sofabed.

I rang M&S to discuss this. They said that they could not help. I WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE FURNITURE OMBUDSMAN. I duly submitted a report to the Furniture Ombudsman. They waited until one day before they had to respond and stated that "on the balance of probabilities the issues that have arisen are indeed a result of an event occurring during the use of the product" From the responses I have received I do not believe that the furniture ombudsman or Fira are independent at all, they are both paid for via Marks & Spencer plus other retailers and surprise surprise the result is that they all agree with each other. I agree with the thoughts of Miles Brignall at Guardian Money (just google FIRA Furniture ombudsman not independent)

After this I measured the Metal and compared it to another M&S Sofabed (the one the Abbey replaced). this has been going strong for over 13 years. By my amateur calculations the metal is over 30% thinner, 3.1mm on the original sofabed 2.1mm on the Abbey Boston leather sofabed (This is at the point where the tube is compressed flat.). This was measured using a micrometer. This confirms my opinion that the Abbey Boston sofabed by M&S is not fit for purpose. It has been value engineered to a point where it fails.

The Abbey Boston Sofabed in my opinion is clearly not fit for purpose or as described. It has had light use(less than 12wks sleeping on), not the "Heavy Domestic Use" as it is described. I feel that M&S are trying to find fault with us, rather than admitting the poor quality and faults with the Abbey Sofabed. We have not misused the sofabed and the lack of response and interest from Marks & Spencer proves the point that M&S are trying to fob us off. In the Fira report, the engineer states that the sofabed is in A1 condition. How then can we be accused by implication of abusing the sofabed. I do not appreciate the “Frustrate and conquer” tactics that M&S, FIRA, and the Furniture Ombudsman are using against us.

Marks & Spencer has now informed me that in their opinion there is nothing else they can do. So I am left with a Premium Marks & Spencer Abbey Boston leather Sofabed, that cost nearly £1,700, that is unsafe to use, has less than 12wks sleeping on, that is effectively scrap. I don't expect this poor level of service or poor quality of product from Marks & Spencer. All we wanted was to be treated fairly and the sofabed repaired.

If anyone else has had any issues like this with M&S please reply to this review. As I am currently considering taking Marks & Spencer to the small claims court under my rights under the sale of goods act.

Thank you for reading this. I feel that I need support to take this action further. Can anyone help me?

wealdroam

DeanBeth wrote: »

We have had a Marks & Spencer - M&S Abbey Boston leather sofabed for two years. Recently the metalwork frame has failed. The part where the hinge meets the legs has bent/compressed to the point at which the bed cannot now be used.

Marks & Spencer’s service is appalling. Firstly I was told I HAVE TO DEAL WITH FIRA. This is contrary to the sale of goods act as confirmed by the kind people at the Citizens advice Bureau (formerly Consumer direct). My contract was with M&S not FIRA. I had a visit from the FIRA engineer, who turned up with a tape measure and stated that it must be damage not a manufacturing fault. In discussion he did however slip out. "It’s not the worst I have seen; there was one in Newquay...." FIRA duly reported that there was no manufacturing fault with the Marks & Spencer , Abbey leather sofabed.

I rang M&S to discuss this. They said that they could not help. I WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE FURNITURE OMBUDSMAN. I duly submitted a report to the Furniture Ombudsman. They waited until one day before they had to respond and stated that "on the balance of probabilities the issues that have arisen are indeed a result of an event occurring during the use of the product" From the responses I have received I do not believe that the furniture ombudsman or Fira are independent at all, they are both paid for via Marks & Spencer plus other retailers and surprise surprise the result is that they all agree with each other. I agree with the thoughts of Miles Brignall at Guardian Money (just google FIRA Furniture ombudsman not independent)

After this I measured the Metal and compared it to another M&S Sofabed (the one the Abbey replaced). this has been going strong for over 13 years. By my amateur calculations the metal is over 30% thinner, 3.1mm on the original sofabed 2.1mm on the Abbey Boston leather sofabed (This is at the point where the tube is compressed flat.). This was measured using a micrometer. This confirms my opinion that the Abbey Boston sofabed by M&S is not fit for purpose. It has been value engineered to a point where it fails.

The Abbey Boston Sofabed in my opinion is clearly not fit for purpose or as described. It has had light use(less than 12wks sleeping on), not the "Heavy Domestic Use" as it is described. I feel that M&S are trying to find fault with us, rather than admitting the poor quality and faults with the Abbey Sofabed. We have not misused the sofabed and the lack of response and interest from Marks & Spencer proves the point that M&S are trying to fob us off. In the Fira report, the engineer states that the sofabed is in A1 condition. How then can we be accused by implication of abusing the sofabed. I do not appreciate the “Frustrate and conquer” tactics that M&S, FIRA, and the Furniture Ombudsman are using against us.

Marks & Spencer has now informed me that in their opinion there is nothing else they can do. So I am left with a Premium Marks & Spencer Abbey Boston leather Sofabed, that cost nearly £1,700, that is unsafe to use, has less than 12wks sleeping on, that is effectively scrap. I don't expect this poor level of service or poor quality of product from Marks & Spencer. All we wanted was to be treated fairly and the sofabed repaired.

If anyone else has had any issues like this with M&S please reply to this review. As I am currently considering taking Marks & Spencer to the small claims court under my rights under the sale of goods act.

Thank you for reading this. I feel that I need support to take this action further. Can anyone help me?

If a problem appears after six months, the onus is on the consumer to prove to the seller that the problem is due to an inherent fault.

An inherent fault is one that was present at the time of sale but not necessarliy apparent at that time.
In your case, you seem to be saying that a piece of the metal structure is too small and has therefore failed after a period of time.

What you need to do is get your own independent engineer to write a report confirming your suspicions.
Without that report, you will get nowhere with M&S.
Do not consider court action without that report.

Assuming you get a favourable report, present it to M&S and ask them to reconsider.
Advise them that if they still refuse a remedy you'll see them in court.

Remember, if the report is not in your favour, you will have to bear the cost.
Also, a remedy could be a partial refund, taking into account the two years use you have had.

Have a read of MSE's articles:

• Consumer Rights
• How to Complain

Roxy1234

Hi there, I've had an incident with M&S where I bought some furniture instore but of course if was not on display and now I am asking for a refund as it is different to what is online. I have had no luck and have been told they can't do anything.

Any advise would be appreciated. I am seriously considering Small Claims Court.

Roxy.

themull1

In what way different?

wealdroam

Roxy1234 wrote: »

Hi there, I've had an incident with M&S where I bought some furniture instore but of course if was not on display and now I am asking for a refund as it is different to what is online. I have had no luck and have been told they can't do anything.

Any advise would be appreciated. I am seriously considering Small Claims Court.

Roxy.

As you didn't see the furniture in store, what did you base your buying decision on?

If the product is different to that which you ordered then you should be entitled to reject the goods for a full refund.

You'll find this explained in MSE's Consumer Rights guide linked to in my earlier post.

How long ago did you place the order?
When was the thing delivered?