Leather sofa ruined by company clean

Willow123456

Hi, everyone I have an aniline vintage looking tan chesterfield leather sofa that's just over a year old that I decided to sell, I sold it on ebay although in very good condition at no extra cost to the buyer I booked the sofa to be cleaned, The man came out he looked at my sofa and said it was sun damaged I explained that the sofa is meant to look old and worn and it isn't sun damaged , he said I would be wasting my money as it will not look that different I replied I didn't want it looking different just looking like it had been cleaned, he said he needed to do a patch test he poured oil onto a cloth and in a very visible place rubbed a large area with the cloth this went very dark straight away and spread , I was immediately concerned and asked if it would stay like that he said no it will dry and the patch test is fine so he will clean the sofa, the sofa is in my office I asked him if he wanted me to move a very expensive chair that was also in the office he said no it's fine where it is, I went down stairs 40 mins later I went to check and couldn't believe what I saw! the whole of my sofa was a completely different colour! it was a vile cheap looking red tan! I said it's a completely different colour he replied yes doesn't it look much better! I explained that is not the sofa that a customer had bought on eBay he told me it would lighten in colour, he kept showing me the tin and pointing out it says tan on the tin! I knew the sofa was ruined , the following day the sofa looked even worse I sent him a message telling him he needed to come and sort it out there was no way I could let the buyer have it like that, he came back out he said he would remove some of the colour and blend in the black marks that were now all over the sofa including from the patch test, the result the sofa looks even worse! he then told me he had done enough most people wouldn't of even come back and he is not doing anymore! my sofa is a vile cheap red tan with streaks of red including run marks were he has just poured it over and left it! the oil has raised to the surface leave black ring marks and patches all over the sofa, the sofa is a very noticable different colour at the front to the sides and back is also a different colour to the rest of the sofa there is a hole at the front of the backrest of the sofa! and the cushions feel plastic one of the cushions the leather has started to peel! it looks like he has scrubbed it with something! and he has also got dye over my chair! I had to refund the buyer, I have contacted a leather cleaner specialist they told me nothing can be done that the sofa is ruined and not just the colour but also the leather she said the patch test would never have dried it will be a permanent stain, and the leather will keep deteriorating this man is registered on a approved site! on the receipt it says clean on my messages it says clean I did not at any time give him permission to change the colour of my sofa! I now need to send a letter to this man claiming for the cost of my sofa the cost of my chair and the money I paid for the clean, I know I have to make sure I use the correct wording and this is what I need help with please, also if he does pay and wants the sofa and chair do I have to give them to him? how much notice do I have to give him before taking him to small claims court? I would be very grateful for any advice

Money_maker

You may find that breaking this down into readable paragraphs will help as peeps tend to bypass big blocks of text.

peter_the_piper

Not much help to the OP but its a shame he/she did not find the specialist before choosing the one they chose.

tacpot12

If he offers you a sum to settle his liability, you don't have to give him the chair and sofa, but as you don't want them any longer why not let him have them if he wants them, it will save you the trouble of taking them to the tip.

You need to write a "letter before action" to him and give him time to respond. I would give him two weeks. Your letter needs to explain why you hold him liable, what your loss is (you mention a chair but nothing about what happened to the chair), and what you want him to do and when, and what will happen if he doesn't respond. You should consider whether you can resolve your dispute via an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, i.e. something other than going to court. If he is a member of "an approved site", the site may offer an ADR process. If you are prepared to use ADR, your letter before action should say this.

You need evidence of your loss. You need the specialist company that inspected the sofa and the chair to write a report that states what they believe the cleaner has done wrong, e.g. dyed the sofa when cleaning would have been possible. They also need to explain what the cleaner did wrong regarding the chair.

pulliptears

Edited it for you.

Hi, everyone I have an aniline vintage looking tan chesterfield leather sofa that's just over a year old that I decided to sell, I sold it on ebay although in very good condition at no extra cost to the buyer I booked the sofa to be cleaned.

The man came out he looked at my sofa and said it was sun damaged I explained that the sofa is meant to look old and worn and it isn't sun damaged , he said I would be wasting my money as it will not look that different I replied I didn't want it looking different just looking like it had been cleaned, he said he needed to do a patch test he poured oil onto a cloth and in a very visible place rubbed a large area with the cloth this went very dark straight away and spread.

I was immediately concerned and asked if it would stay like that he said no it will dry and the patch test is fine so he will clean the sofa, the sofa is in my office I asked him if he wanted me to move a very expensive chair that was also in the office he said no it's fine where it is.

I went down stairs 40 mins later I went to check and couldn't believe what I saw! the whole of my sofa was a completely different colour! it was a vile cheap looking red tan! I said it's a completely different colour he replied yes doesn't it look much better! I explained that is not the sofa that a customer had bought on eBay he told me it would lighten in colour, he kept showing me the tin and pointing out it says tan on the tin! I knew the sofa was ruined. T

he following day the sofa looked even worse I sent him a message telling him he needed to come and sort it out there was no way I could let the buyer have it like that.
he came back out he said he would remove some of the colour and blend in the black marks that were now all over the sofa including from the patch test, the result the sofa looks even worse!
He then told me he had done enough most people wouldn't of even come back and he is not doing anymore!

My sofa is a vile cheap red tan with streaks of red including run marks were he has just poured it over and left it! the oil has raised to the surface leave black ring marks and patches all over the sofa, the sofa is a very noticable different colour at the front to the sides and back is also a different colour to the rest of the sofa there is a hole at the front of the backrest of the sofa! and the cushions feel plastic one of the cushions the leather has started to peel! it looks like he has scrubbed it with something! and he has also got dye over my chair!

I had to refund the buyer, I have contacted a leather cleaner specialist they told me nothing can be done that the sofa is ruined and not just the colour but also the leather she said the patch test would never have dried it will be a permanent stain, and the leather will keep deteriorating.

This man is registered on a approved site! on the receipt it says clean on my messages it says clean I did not at any time give him permission to change the colour of my sofa! I now need to send a letter to this man claiming for the cost of my sofa the cost of my chair and the money I paid for the clean, I know I have to make sure I use the correct wording and this is what I need help with please.
Also if he does pay and wants the sofa and chair do I have to give them to him? how much notice do I have to give him before taking him to small claims court? I would be very grateful for any advice

Dean000000

Can’t be bothered to read them all, but yes, if he’s paying for the chair and the sofa to make you go away, the least you can afford him is the property in question.

mattyprice4004

You can’t have the money AND the sofa, and he only has to pay you the second hand value.