SCS peeling leather sofas

tracy1979uk

Hi there,
I ordered 2 sofas and a footstool from the SCS store in Speke on 30 Jan 2015, delivered 15 May 2015

It was a replacement so the previous balance was deducted and remainder was paid monthly, we also had our insurance transferred to the new suite.

I raised a claim with the insurance company on 15 July 2016 due to the leather peeling on both sofas.

The inspector asked what I used to clean the leather and I explained Only used a damp cloth as advised by SCS. He told me I should not have wet the leather and reported that I have caused the problem as the leather was wet when he inspected it. This is not true as we were sitting on the sofas when he arrived.

As this is our second replacement suite in 2 years we would like our money back.

Any advice is appreciated so that I can be prepared when I go to the store

daveyjp

If you hadn't cleaned them it would have been your fault for them either not being cleaned or drying out!

You are up against a company who sell poor quality goods and use fob off techniques hoping you will go away.

You need to do some research about your rights.

CAB website is a good source and start with a letter, not an e-mail or phone call, to the store setting out what you expect them to do and see how they react.

Quote the law you are relying on to get a refund (which may be reduced to reflect the use you have had out of the product).

Be prepared for a fight, but keep at it.

societys_child

Tracy1979uk wrote: »

Hi there,
I ordered 2 sofas and a footstool from the SCS store in Speke on 30 Jan 2015, delivered 15 May 2015

It was a replacement so the previous balance was deducted and remainder was paid monthly, we also had our insurance transferred to the new suite.

The contract doesn't start afresh, any "guarantee" dates back to the time of the original purchase. What was replaced and when did you buy it?

I raised a claim with the insurance company on 15 July 2016 due to the leather peeling on both sofas.

The inspector asked what I used to clean the leather and I explained Only used a damp cloth as advised by SCS. He told me I should not have wet the leather and reported that I have caused the problem as the leather was wet when he inspected it. This is not true as we were sitting on the sofas when he arrived.
As this is our second replacement suite in 2 years we would like our money back.
Any advice is appreciated so that I can be prepared when I go to the store

What sort of leather is this? Leather should be cleaned regularly with leather cleaner followed by treatment with a leather protection cream to nourish the leather and keep it supple, not wiped over with a damp cloth.

class2ldn

My friends had no end of problems with scs and the poor quality of the sofas.
Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole

Chickabiddybex

If the leather has a certain coating it will only want a damp cloth on it. Like if it's bycast or similar. Sounds like it is if it's peeling. I hope it was a cheap suite, if you're gonna shell out it should be great quality leather or there's just no point.

unholyangel

OP was this sofa sold to you as leather? Or did they tell you it was bicast/bonded/PU?

tracy1979uk

thanks everyone, we were advised to only wipe with damp cloth and use the leather kit provided every six months to feed the leather, which we have done.
it was not stated that it was not real leather, it is a LA Z BOY suite which is supposed to be excellent quality and comes with a 10 year maufacturer's guarantee.
they want a £60 non refundable fee for an independant inspection

winkydink

Totally agree with class2ldn. SCS are your best friend when you're ordering the goods. As soon as there's a problem, they're not interested. I've got issues with wrong goods supplied going back to December last year.
Even their own contracted carpet fitter has verified that the item is faulty and can't be rectified but they won't believe him - they are sending someone else to check it.
Be prepared for a battle but keep going. Don't let them fob you off. I wrote to the CEO in the end. Amazing how fast they jumped then! Good luck!!

oldoakey

What you have bought is not leather at all - its called Bicast some call it Bicast leather but that is utter nonsense in my mind.

I Think of it as the fish fingers of leather - what they do is compress all the sweepings up add glue and a back fabric then label it leather. This will just about always peel over time especially on the heavy wear areas such as the front of the arms.

Leather comes from either a cow or bull and is a skin which you should not dampen but use a proper quality leather cleaning cream and leather moisturizer as and when required.

Its way past time these unscrupulous companies were brought to book for their misleading sales techniques of fooling you into thinking you had bought a real leather product when you clearly you have not.

Check this blog I have just found http://advleather.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/insights-into-bicast.html

very best of luck

unholyangel

oldoakey wrote: »

What you have bought is not leather at all - its called Bicast some call it Bicast leather but that is utter nonsense in my mind.

I Think of it as the fish fingers of leather - what they do is compress all the sweepings up add glue and a back fabric then label it leather. This will just about always peel over time especially on the heavy wear areas such as the front of the arms.

Leather comes from either a cow or bull and is a skin which you should not dampen but use a proper quality leather cleaning cream and leather moisturizer as and when required.

Its way past time these unscrupulous companies were brought to book for their misleading sales techniques of fooling you into thinking you had bought a real leather product when you clearly you have not.

Check this blog I have just found http://advleather.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/insights-into-bicast.html

very best of luck

I believe ASA have upheld complaints of this nature as have Trading Standards. IIRC, you're not supposed to describe it as "leather" unless its 100% leather.

Reconstituted/bonded leather doesn't meet the description set by BS 2780 and nor does coated leather where the coating is thicker than 0.15mm.

Doesn't stop retailers from making the false claims though - just gives customers a redress if they fall prey to the claims.

Help_me_scs_stress

I bought a high quality digital corner group sofa, twister chair, 3 seater and footstool in January 2015 too all which began to peel within 3-6 months.
These were my second set of sofas (a replacement ) as the first set had been delivered to the wrong address and by the time they arrived at mine they were unpacked and scratched so I returned them. Now for these sofas I rang Scs to tell them of the peeling leather. They sent someone out to repair them but when he arrived and saw them he said that they will continue to peel as the leather has not been treated properly whilst being coloured and was told Scs would get in contact. They didn't I rang. They admitted fault but said they only give refund if i would of reported fault in 24 hours they said they could not repair the sofas either because it would cost them a lot to strip the leather and put new leather on and deliver them again. Then they said that all they can do is let me pick some other sofas at the same price. I went to 2 different Scs stores and didn't like any that were there or for £2040 the amount I spent. I told them I didn't like any other and i wanted my money back as i have a right to get it back as trading standards had told me whilst I discussed it with them. Then Scs said to me that we deal with trading standards all the time if you want to go down that route of small claims court etc you can it doesn't bother us we can deal with that. Now I'm confused as to what I should do. I picked out some other sofas yesterday just to put an end to it and they were more than what I had paid and was told I would have to pay the difference so I didn't buy them. So still stuck and trying to find a way to sort this mess out! scs are at fault but I'm the one suffering. So confused right now ��