Sofology sofas not fit for purpose

JasonW42

Earlier in the year we purchased two sofas and a foot stool from Sofology. We bought it in store and paid for it using an interest free credit deal. The total cost was just over £3000.

It was delivered about 6 weeks after ordering. After using it for a few days, it became obvious that there was an issue with the cushions. They very quickly become compressed to the point where your legs are resting on the wooden frame. This makes sitting down on it extremely uncomfortable.

We complained to Sofology within 4 days of delivery. We had great difficulty in contacting Sofology and were passed around from person to person and had little response from the online customer service system. Eventually we contacted the Furniture Ombudsman and then the finance company (V12) but have had no joy in getting a solution to the problem that the sofa is basically not of suitable quality and not fit for purpose.

Below is a brief timeline of our progress so far. It has been heavily condensed as we have tried many many ways to get in touch with the various parties concerned.

We feel that the furniture is not of suitable quality and not fit for purpose considering we paid over £3000 for it. We are seeking that the seat cushions be repaired to standard where they are comfortable to sit on for an extended period of time.

We are at our wits end now and were hoping that you kind folks could advise us on what action to take next.

Many thanks

Jason

Timeline

• 27/01/18 Bought sofa
• 12/03/18 Sofa delivered
• 16/03/18 Raised initial complaint with Sofology
• 04/05/18 No response with Sofology despite constant calling and attempted contacts through online customer service system, so contacted Furniture Ombudsman.
• 25/05/18 As a result of contacting Furniture Ombudsman an inspector from Homeserve visited to assess the sofa. The inspector said he understood how we felt about the sofa and the cushions were very soft but then reported back to Sofology that there was no manufacturing fault found. (We still haven't seen this report)
• 01/06/18 to 05/06/18 Chased Furniture Ombudsman twice a week. No response.
• 06/07/18 Finally got response from Furniture Ombudsman saying they were closing the case. Advised to get second independent report but no advice on where to get that done. Invoke consumer protection advice (whatever that is)
• 19/07/18 Email to Trading Standards asking for advice.
• 20/07/18 Followed up with phone call. Advised to contact Finance Company (V12). Said that if not satisfied with them contact Finance Ombudsman and Small Court on a repair or replace basis.
• 20/07/18 Contact V12 Finance by phone. Explained situation. Very helpful and forwarded complain to the "Resolutions Department". Advised could take up to 30 days.
• 24/07/18 Letter received from V12. This confirmed a case reference and next step.
• 08/08/18 Email received from Sofology. This email summarised all our issues with the purchase and said we'd have a response within 2 weeks. See 1 below
• 14/08/18 Automated email from Sofology saying the case was complete.
• 16/08/18 No response received from V12 so called to chase. Was informed that they had seen the report from Homeserve and are closing the case.
• 17/08/18 Responded to Sofology to say we are still not satisfied and as far as we are concerned the case is not closed. Awaiting outcome of this.
• 17/08/18 Contacted Financial Ombudsman to complain that we are not satisfied with V12 Finance's response. Advised that we have to wait 8 weeks after initial complaint from V12 before getting back in contact.

Greta_Sharbo

JasonW42 wrote: »

..
[*]16/08/18 No response received from V12 so called to chase. Was informed that they had seen the report from Homeserve and are closing the case.
.
[/LIST]

You should not have to wait for the whole 8 weeks if you have had a final response from finco. Ask finco to email/post you that final response and go back to FOS.

JasonW42

Thank for that.



We'll give them a call Monday and report back.

kaggi

I am also having an issue with sofology that I have now had to pass to the ombudsman, and came across your thread.  How did it all work out in the end?

davidmcn

kaggi said:

I am also having an issue with sofology that I have now had to pass to the ombudsman, and came across your thread.  How did it all work out in the end?

They haven't logged into the site since their post above, over two years ago.