Swivel chair - very short lifespan

lenht1951

Some three and a half years ago I bought a 'bonded leather' chair from a main high street store inernet site. At the time no mention was made of what 'bonded leather' was. The chair is now moulting all the leather and looks and eyesore. The chair has not been abused and the household consists of two people. I have contacted the stores customer services who have fobbed me off, even though I explained that I considered the item was not of satisfactory quality, as described, fit for puorpose or lasted a reasonable length of time. They state once the guarantee runs out that's it. I am of the opinion that a chair should last longer than three and a half years.Any sensible advice would be appreciated.

sheramber

https://www.officechairs.com/blog/bonded-leather

With proper care and gentle use, a bonded leather couch can last as long as two to three years without issues.

TW1234

You could try the "Furniture Trade Ombudsman service" (Google) for advice.
Ultimately, after 6 months from purchase, you would need to convince a court that the item was not fit for purpose or did not perform for a reasonable amount of time given the nature of the item and its price. Neither of those is an easy clear cut definition and you would need an expert opinion to support your position.
Any award would take into consideration a deduction for the amount of use actually achieved

Manxman_in_exile

What sort of chair is it? Office or living room?


I don't think it's necessarily a question of how many people are in the household rather than how frequently it's used - and how.


I'd heard of bonded leather before but didn't know what it was* until I read sheramber's link. Sounds like three and a half years is reasonable if it's been looked after properly.


* I assume you didn't either.

tacpot12

Bonded leather is a cheap leather substitute and will not last anything like as long as real leather. Real leather's lifespan is also determined by its thickness, and high-quality grades can last a lifetime, but cheap bonded leather is only going to last as long as the guarantee says it will. The Chinese manufacturers do test their products so they know that they will only last a couple of years, hence the guarantee. If you want a chair to last a long time, you need to buy a real leather chair from a manufacturer with a reputation to protect.

Put the money it will cost you to fight this towards a good quality leather chair.

DoaM

The clue was in the name - bonded leather. This means it has real leather in it, but it is not pure leather therefore cannot be considered to be of the same quality.

DoaM

tacpot12 wrote: »

and high-quality grades can last a lifetime

Pedant alert! Everything lasts a lifetime.

askmeaboutsofas

Two to three years is exactly how long I would expect a bonded leather chair to last under normal use, so I'm not at all surprised it's now peeling.

Bonded leather is made by layering a very thin layer of leather over a fabric backing, held together by adhesive. Once the adhesive fails, which it inevitably will after a couple of years, the leather coating peels off. It's a cheap product with a fairly short lifespan, but this should be reflected in the price when compared to real leather chairs. How much did you pay? Or if you don't want to say, which I quite understand, it's worthwhile having a look at real leather chairs in a similar style and comparing the price of them with the price you paid for your chair. Yours should cost quite a bit less.


There are unscrupulous companies out there that mislead their customers about the materials used, but as you were informed that the chair was made specifically from bonded leather I don't think you can really argue that they were misleading.

cajef

Three and a half years for a bonded leather chair is good, I had one several years ago used as my office computer chair it lasted just about two years before it started to peel, I then bought a real leather one which cost four times as much and still looks good after four years.

lenht1951

Well had a letter from head of customer non care regarding what I would describe as the inferior quality chair. Had I known, or even been informed, the chair was soooo bad I would never have purchased it. It would appear that Debenhams give a 12/24 month guarantee on all furiture, but once that guarantee has expired its down to you, irrespective of the cost of your purchase whether it be £10 or £2500. Moral of this tale is avoid Debenhams like the plague, I know I will.

Manxman_in_exile

lenht1951 wrote: »

Well had a letter from head of customer non care regarding what I would describe as the inferior quality chair. Had I known, or even been informed, the chair was soooo bad I would never have purchased it. It would appear that Debenhams give a 12/24 month guarantee on all furiture, but once that guarantee has expired its down to you, irrespective of the cost of your purchase whether it be £10 or £2500. Moral of this tale is avoid Debenhams like the plague, I know I will.

I'm not sure it's a problem with Debenhams? The other eight posters on this thread seem to think three and a half years to be good going for a chair advertised as "bonded leather". Did you check what that meant before buying it?