Damaged sofa. Manufacturer not playing ball?

deano1_3

Hi,

Hope someone can help. About 3 years ago we purchased two leather sofas from a quality manufacturer at a cost of £2,500 each.

This month we have had reason to call them as a fault as developed. Unfortunately I cannot show you a link to a pic as a new user to this site.

I have contacted the manufacturer who wants me to return the seat cover and asked for the other three to use as templates to make new seat covers without stitching running across the area you sit.

I have an issue with this. In that it is poor design in the first place and considering the price we paid for each sofa I would anticipate that they would last well beyond the time we have had them.

The company now want to charge us £300 for new leather seat covers!!!

Do I have any thing in law that could be used to get them to correct what I believe is very wrong?

Thanks for your help.

Dean

wealdroam

Did you purchase direct from the manufacturer?

If not, then the manufacturer only has to provide what is stated in any manufacturer's guarantee.

You do have statutory rights with/against whoever sold the goods to you.

If the fault can be deemed to be inherent, and after six months it is down to you to prove this, then the seller must provide a remedy.
That remedy could be either a repair, replacement or refund.
You can request a particular remedy,but you cannot force the seller to provide a disproportionate remedy. In other words, the seller effectively chooses the cheapest remedy without causing you significant inconvenience.
If a refund is decided upon, that can be reduced to take account of the use you have had.

Now, if a repair or replacement is to happen, the the seller must cover all costs involved in doing that.

Have a read of MSE's Consumer Rights guide for more info.

deano1_3

Hi

Thanks for the reply - most helpful.

The company manufacturers hand made sofas to order and we purchased direct from them.

frugal_mike

If they have admitted the sofa is inherently faulty then they (as the retailer that sold it to you) have to provide one of the solutions listed by wealdroam. They can't charge you for it either.

If they have not admitted they are inherently faulty and refuse to budge on that then you may have to consider sending a letter before action and then initiating a claim in the small claims court.

System

frugal_mike wrote: »

If they have not admitted they are inherently faulty and refuse to budge on that then you may have to consider sending a letter before action and then initiating a claim in the small claims court.

Bad advice. You need to prove the fault was inherent to stand any chance through small claims and then they must still be refusing to remedy as per the current consumer laws

frugal_mike

!!!!!! wrote: »

Bad advice. You need to prove the fault was inherent to stand any chance through small claims and then they must still be refusing to remedy as per the current consumer laws

Wealdrom has already pointed out that after 6 months it is OP's responsibility to show it is inherently faulty...

deano1_3

Hi

The company has not admitted anything!

Quite simply they want us to return the leather seat covers we have to use as templates in order to make new seat covers without stitching and charge us £300 for the privilege.

My argument is that surely a leather sofa of such quality should last longer than 3 years? It's not abused or jumped all over just used daily for its purpose.

If you can find anything on their web site that might help the company is called Saxon Leather.

Here is the image just add http:// at the front

postimg.org/image/tyns1rm25

frugal_mike

deano1 wrote: »

Hi

The company has not admitted anything!

Quite simply they want us to return the leather seat covers we have to use as templates in order to make new seat covers without stitchin

g and charge us £300 for the privilege.

My argument is that surely a leather sofa of such quality should last longer than 3 years? It's not abused or jumped all over just used daily for its purpose.

If you can find anything on their web site that might help the company is called Saxon Leather.

Here is the image just add http:// at the front

postimg.org/image/tyns1rm25

Did you tell them that you are claiming under the Sale of Goods Act and that the sofas have not lasted a reasonable time? I do agree that sofas of that value should last longer, as long as the fault was not caused by misuse.

wealdroam

deano1 wrote: »

Hi

The company has not admitted anything!

Quite simply they want us to return the leather seat covers we have to use as templates in order to make new seat covers without stitching and charge us £300 for the privilege.

My argument is that surely a leather sofa of such quality should last longer than 3 years? It's not abused or jumped all over just used daily for its purpose.

If you can find anything on their web site that might help the company is called Saxon Leather.

Here is the image just add http:// at the front

postimg.org/image/tyns1rm25

Have the company refused to provide a remedy under SoGA?
(a bit different from 'not admitted anything')

If so, you will need to gather your evidence that there is an inherent fault and send them a letter before action, followed by small claims court action if necessary.

Firstly you will need to get a report stating that the fault is inherent, i.e. that the fault was present at the time of sale but not necessarily apparent at that time.
For example, if the lovering was substandard such that it was bound to tear at the stitching, then that could be considered an inherent fault. Similarly, if the stitching thread was not suitable such that it would fail prematurely, then that too could be considered an inherent fault.

When you have that report, I would ask the seller to reconsider.

If they still refuse a remedy, then move on to a letter before action.

There's good guidance and a sample LBA here:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_taking_action_e/consumer_legal_actions_e/consumer_going_to_court_e/before_you_take_someone_to_court/step_one_write_a_letter_before_action.htm

Just to add:
I notice that Saxon Leather offer a 10 year guarantee on their website:

For Quality, Choice and Value – trust Saxon
All Furniture Handmade to Order in our own UK Workshop
10 Year Construction Guarantee
28 Day Money Back Guarantee
Made to Measure service available on all styles

Alias_Omega

Here is your link.. http://postimg.org/image/tyns1rm25

The damage looks to have been caused by the 2 pieces of leather pulling against each other.

Is this on the sit-down section of the sofa? Does someone sit down in certain way pulling the leather to one side, causing tension?

I think here that the material has been pulled across the sofa, maybe the excess material was caught up down the side of an arm, or down the back then overtime its become tensioned, then worn on the stitching. You cant keep pulling something tight, then apply a heavy weight onto it, as its just going to apply tension to the stitching, then its going to split...

Good luck anyhow, and report back to us on how you get on.

deano1_3

Thank you all for your useful comments.

I will be looking further onto this now I have some 'ammo' to use.

The 10 year guarantee is on the framework of the sofas and they provide 2 years on the material - less wear and tear. Just to add to that the furniture is not abused in any way - we just sit on it!

That stitching you now see in the pic runs across the seating of the cushion and has quite simply worn out. Stupid design!!

Thanks once again to all for contributions.