Furniture Village faulty Sofa

cmac

Hi,
I hope someone can help me, and I apologise for the long post!
We bought a pale grey/white corner, chaise sofa and chair from Furniture Village and received delivery on 9th October. Cost 3K
2 weeks later I rang to complain that the leather had "puddled" marked, scuffed and the chaise part wasnt sitting straight. A tech was sent out to inspect.
The scuffing is dye transfer from a cream throw!
The puddling is apparently "within tolerance" although the tech said he could heat treat it, which he did, please note I did not ask for this he suggested it, I said I didnt know what was right thing to do. later I was told because I`d accepted this I`d voided my right to getting an exchange! I guess I was stupid and should have known that.
the not straight bit, is a bit epic!

He unscrewd the leg to even it up, and that was it, this is a big heavy piece of furniture I cant turn it over to check that, that had fixed the problem.
I then rang Furniture Village aftercare team again.
Only to be told that nothing was wrong and I would have to accept it as it was. I ask about the leg, nothing had been reported about that. So another tech was sent out.
This one said that the leather was acceptable and he`d seen leather stretch 9 inches and still be deemed as acceptable, again this one said he only been ask to check the leather nothing about the leg! So he didnt even look at it.

The Manager for the aftercare team eventually rang me, one of the nastiest people I have ever spoken to and basically said if I wanted another tech to check this out I needed to pay for a private report myself and sent that in, they were doing nothing else, as far as they were concerned there was no problem

By this stage I`m feeling like Im banging my head against a brick wall.

So I contacted the Furniture Ombusman gave a lady called Katie a brief outline of the problem and hoped for the best.

I also rang Furniture Village aftercare to inform them of my actions, this lady did actually listen and admited to me that the first tech had reported there was a problem with the leather but because id accepted the heat treatment, I now had no come back on that! I think he should have told me that before he did it.
She also agreed to send another tech out to check the wonky chaise, as this has never been reported! Also the recliner had started to make grinding noises.
The same tech as before came out basically, and Im trying to be brief here. Lol
He upturned the chaise part, and the base doesnt fit! its attached on one side to the frame , but not on the other as its too short, a difference of 3 cms.

Now Katie from the Ombusman has seen the report, but I have not, she hasnt taken any more details from me, other than the breif outline I gave at the start, and has decided that I should accept a repair!

No 1 how are they going to repair something like that
No2 i only got this in October and first complained about it 2 weeks later
Do I really have to accept this? the least I would have expected was a replacement.

Any help at all will be gratefully received
Thank you x

shaun_from_Africa

cmac wrote: »

Now Katie from the Ombusman has seen the report, but I have not, she hasnt taken any more details from me, other than the breif outline I gave at the start, and has decided that I should accept a repair!

You do not have to accept a repair.
The Consumer rights act states that a consumer only has to accept one repair and if the goods still don't conform to contract then they can be rejected. If this is done in the first 6 months then the retailer must refund the full amount paid. (except for motor vehicles where a deduction can be made).

I can't post links at the moment but the text below is taken from the government guide to businesses for the CRA.

Consumer only needs to accept one repair/replacement.

The consumer only has to accept one repair or replacement of the goods before s/he has a right to some money back. If you give a repair or replacement but the goods still do not meet the consumer’s rights – either because the original issue continues, or a new issue appears – the consumer has the right to reject the goods for a refund or get some money back (see “7. The Final Right to Reject or Reduction in Price (2nd tier remedies)” for further detail on these remedies).Although the consumer only has to accept one repair or replacement.

There is nothing to stop you offering further repairs or replacements as an alternative to the 2nd tier remedies, provided you do not deny the consumer their right to money back – in some cases the consumer will be content to accept that approach. Equally, if the consumer does not wish to move to a second tier remedy, they are entitled to further repairs/replacements if the goods continue not to conform to the contract.

cmac

Thank you Shaun, does that mean i can ask for a replacement instead of a repair.
Thanks

wealdroam

cmac wrote: »

Thank you Shaun, does that mean i can ask for a replacement instead of a repair.
Thanks

No, not quite.
It means you can insist on a refund. Whether you can use that refund to buy a replacement is up to the seller.

You need to read MSE's Consumer Rights guide.
In there you will see:

If the item is still dodgy after just one attempt at a repair or replacement, the repair or replacement isn’t possible or it hasn’t been carried out quickly enough you’re then entitled to ask for a refund - this could be the full amount within the first six months, or otherwise is likely to be a partial refund.

cmac

Thank you Wealdroam, Ill read that now.

hcb42

Good luck, they are an awful company

cmac

Thank you hcb42, I've quickly discovered theyre very "tricky"

cmac

It would seem I have to accept the repair, as furniture village haven't logged the problem with the chaise not sitting straight until after 30 days, and I didn't have the sense to record my phone calls to them. If anyone out there is buying from them and has a problem please record your calls, you'll need them as evidence.
I'm so upset guess they can just sell unsatisfactory goods and get away with it.
Thanks for all your help x

shaun_from_Africa

cmac wrote: »

It would seem I have to accept the repair, as furniture village haven't logged the problem with the chaise not sitting straight until after 30 days, and I didn't have the sense to record my phone calls to them.

Do you by any chance have any e-mails relating to the initial problem or any other details of the work that was carried out?

isplumm

cmac wrote: »

It would seem I have to accept the repair, as furniture village haven't logged the problem with the chaise not sitting straight until after 30 days, and I didn't have the sense to record my phone calls to them. If anyone out there is buying from them and has a problem please record your calls, you'll need them as evidence.
I'm so upset guess they can just sell unsatisfactory goods and get away with it.
Thanks for all your help x

I assume you called them - does your phone bill show that you called them before the 30 days was up?

Mark

fleshandbone

Why are all furniture companies so bad at service, the problems seem inherit from the delivery drivers all the way up to the Directors...so sad.