SOFOLOGY - Leather Peeling - Less than 6 months old - My rights?

Twisty1975

Hi everyone, I would appreciate your guidance on my rights and options please.

We purchased a 3 piece leather suite from Sofology mid November and reported to them early April (well within 6 months) of the leather peeling on 3 areas of one of the armchairs.

They finally inspected and the rep from Sofology confirmed verbally to me that it was defective and we would be entitled to have this fully repaired or able to have a store credit to the value (which is £4k) to get an alternative.

Today we have been contacted by Sofology to confirm that they would complete a repair which I have rejected on the grounds that we have no confidence in the product they have sold us and we want the store credit, and they should seek credit themselves from their manufacturer.

They initially declined but are now escalating due to me rejecting this.

They said hair oils can cause this, and also skin can cause this on the bottom part of the chair which I feel is ridiculous as a chair is for sitting on and unavoidable to make contact with the chair, therefore I deem this to be unfit for purpose and feel we should have the right to an alternative.

If they was to repair that would mean having to go through the rigmarol again with them and if this happens beyond the 2 years then would be beyond the warranty period.

What are my consumer rights please, if they do not agree to the credit to allow us to choose another?

If skin/hair can cause this then surely they should be making this clear to us when going through options etc with the sales advisor in store.

They also suggested if repaired to get covers to go over the headrests of the chairs and for £4000 I don't want to have to do that as I bought the suite in good faith wanting to use it for purpose and as I viewed it in store, again with them recommending this surely points to the fact this happens regularly.

Many thanks for your time reading and in advance for guidance/next steps given.

Tony

aprieto

Did you ever sort this, having a similar issue?

Alter_ego

So far as I am aware leather does not peel. Perhaps it's some sort of plastic.

elsien

aprieto said:

Did you ever sort this, having a similar issue?

OP hasn't logged in since June 2020. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

In the first instance they can repair (or replace).

If the issue persists after that repair you may then reject the goods for a refund (as that will be after 6 months of ownership they can make a reduction to cover the use of the product, although that should be relatively small if within the first year).

If the repair doesn’t solve the matter you are entitled to a refund via the method you paid.

If they offer a full refund in store credit (after 6 months of ownership) that may be preferable to accept than a reduced refund depending upon whether you wish to buy anything else from them

Sorry one thing to add you could be entitled to a full refund if you reported the fault within 30 days of delivery?

Ath_Wat

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

In the first instance they can repair (or replace).

If the issue persists after that repair you may then reject the goods for a refund (as that will be after 6 months of ownership they can make a reduction to cover the use of the product, although that should be relatively small if within the first year).

If the repair doesn’t solve the matter you are entitled to a refund via the method you paid.

If they offer a full refund in store credit (after 6 months of ownership) that may be preferable to accept than a reduced refund depending upon whether you wish to buy anything else from them

Sorry one thing to add you could be entitled to a full refund if you reported the fault within 30 days of delivery?

The OP posted that two years ago.

JetpackVelociraptor

OP has hopefully already had a satisfactory resolution to this! I just wanted to clarify a couple of things.

Leather itself doesn't peel unless it is bonded leather, which is basically made of leather fibres felted together with adhesive and stuck to a fabric backing. If it peels off to reveal a plain fabric underneath, it's bonded leather and may have been mis-sold if you weren't informed that it was bonded when you bought it. Nothing upholstered in bonded leather should be costing £4000, it's cheap and honestly if you're thinking of bonded you would be better off with plastic - PVC generally lasts a little longer.

If what you're seeing is the top layer of colour peeling off to reveal a lighter or different colour leather underneath, then it is real leather with a protective top coating of pigment. This is not necessarily a cheap option and in some cases can be a very high quality leather. It may have failed due to a pre-existing problem with the quality of the finish, or it may have become damaged while in your home. This can be caused by damage from:

• cleaning with unsuitable soaps or cleansers, such as washing up liquid, some types of laundry detergent, alcohol based sanitiser, some baby wipes, some types of wipe cleansers. Basically anything that contains salts is bad news for leather.
  
• solvents, especially nail polish remover, anything designed to remove stickers or sticky residue, degreasants etc.
  
• certain cosmetics, particularly some kinds of fake tan and possibly some types of hair treatments and moisturisers
  
• natural oils from your skin and hair, although this is usually only if you are on certain types of heart medication

I have heard anecdotally that people who have naturally acidic skin can damage leather with their skin oils without being on medication, but I haven't seen it myself. The same people usually have an allergy to base metals on their skin, and find some perfumes that smell nice in the bottle smell horrible on them, although personally I have both of those problems and have never corroded a sofa just by touching it.

sheramber

i cannot wear a leather watch strap as it rots. 

I can only wear pure metal jewellery as any other tarnishes.

I have never had a problem with leather furniture.