Allergic to new chair

portchieboy

My 91 yr old Mum treated herself to a new Sherbourne riser/recliner chair recently, not cheap at over £1000. Problem is, now she has it, she is allergic to something on/in the fabric, and comes up in an immediate contact rash.

Now, presumably this is 'hard luck' and not the manufacturers fault, but has she any rights at all? The chair was bought in a shop, not on the net.

ripplyuk

Perhaps it's all those chemicals that come with new furniture.
I believe they will 'wear off' after some time, and a lot of airing. Sometimes it's the stain proof coatings they add too.

Would it help if it was covered with a thick throw or blanket? Or get it professionally washed and shampooed?

Might be a good idea for your mum to see her GP just to be sure the rash isn't something else.

naedanger

portchieboy wrote: »

Now, presumably this is 'hard luck' and not the manufacturers fault, but has she any rights at all? The chair was bought in a shop, not on the net.

Unfortunately for your mother I think she has no rights (assuming the rash is not caused by a fault with the chair).

However I suggest she speaks nicely to the shop. They may be able to suggest something, possibly involving some cost.

hollydays

Contact the manufacturer, it may be something they have experienced before. Is it fabric or leather

portchieboy

It's fabric thanks. Appears that the rep is at the shop on Monday, so they are starting a dialogue.

hollydays

Could be the fire retardant chemicals

ARandomMiser

I think Watchdog did a report a couple of years back in relation to people getting rashes/burns from the chemicals used in furniture manufacture. It might be worthwhile searching for the outcome of their reporting on this.

Hintza

Probably a good time to stay calm and work with the manufacturer. I imagine they will want to explore this very thoroughly. If they aren't careful and a link is proven later it could be very costly for them.

Could just be a rogue batch of material that they can trace back.

robatwork

Have you given it a damn good fabric shampoo?

Might also be time for an antimacassar (always wanted to get that word into a reply)

portchieboy

Thought I'd wait until the rep has seen it/commented before mucking about thanks.