DFS complaint - consumer rights help

Lucy503

We've recently purchased a sofa suite from DFS who made lots of promises about delivery and quality etc. Which they simply have not adhered to. We now have a sofa in our home which creaks when you sit on it and a foot stool with snagged material. We've written a lengthy complaint to the company covering all of our concerns who are sending their service manager out to 'fix' the problems (he has been once already) however, terrible customer service aside, I don't want a product which is not durable and will not last me 10 years or so (as my previous suite did). This one has only been in my home one month and is already looking like it's been there years. I have been offered £159 refund from the £2k suite, £59 is a delivery fee refund which I didn't even know I had paid in the first place and 5% of the value of the suite.

Could anyone help me understand my rights on getting the sofa refunded and gaining compensation for my wasted time and troubles? I know I can go through small claims and I'm not against doing so as I think I have a very strong case looking into the laws on it all, but I would rather not waste much more time on the matter. I know DFS complaints are a common thing but has anyone else dealt with similar?

I think they should be held accountable especially given the impending merger with sofology, is it something I should also be flagging with the CMA watchdog? I know they won't help me with the complaint but I would hate for anyone else to have to go through this.

Thanks - Lucy

cono1717

How long in days has the sofa been in your house before you made the complaint? If it's less than 30 you may have an option to reject the goods under the CRA.

However after that you generally will be been seen to accept the goods so it falls back to the standard if there is a fault then DFS need to offer a refund, repair or replacement but that is at DFS' discretion which they do unless they can prove it's not a manufacturing defect.

Even if you managed to get the full amount refunded your compensation claim will be a frivolous journey causing more stress than it will ultimately be worth, I would drop that part of it.

askmeaboutsofas

Cono1717's advice is good, as they said you can't really claim for your trouble but if you raised your complaint within the first 30 days of having the suite delivered you should be able to reject it for a refund.
If you don't mind my asking, which model is it? It's not relevant to your claim with DFS at all, I'm just curious, sorry! It seems unlikely it will last 10 years given that you've already had problems with it.

BorisThomson

I think they should be held accountable especially given the impending merger with sofology, is it something I should also be flagging with the CMA watchdog? I know they won't help me with the complaint but I would hate for anyone else to have to go through this.

Both retailers are known for offering poor customer service. You wouldn't be telling them anything that is not already common knowledge.