Sofology

JoanneSK

I purchased a corner leather couch from Sofology in Aug 2017 and purchased their Sofashield in store as introduced by their sales agent who said we are covered for any scenario for 5 years,. 2 weeks after delivery, the seating in 1 cushion had flattened, Sofology sent a technician to add more padding. In 2018 the stitching started to come undone on the corner seat, again Sofology sent a technician to repair it.
August 2020, the stitching came undone on the arm of the chair, the sofa shield declined to repair and also Sofology have too. Sofology consider my complaint of being mis sold the warranty and a defective product (they have never addressed the defective product complaint) "unjustified" as stated in their final response letter which they omitted to show my complaints rights. They state I was given T&C's instore, which I wasn't and they say I was emailed documents regarding Sofa shield, these were never received.
I also cannot find any permissions on the FCA register for them to sell warranties, only permissions showing is Credit Broker.
Sofology state that Structural damage is frame, webbing, springs and  mechanical, Castelan state different in claim guidance as below.
I have escalated my complaint to FOS but as yet not had a reply.
Do I have any further rights that I am not aware of?
Thank you

Aylesbury_Duck

You have no paperwork at all for the warranty?  So you paid for it but didn't receive it.  Did you not query that at the time?  Have you got anything to show you bought it or is it simply your recollection you did?  Have they acknowledged you purchased it?

That picture seems to show a DIY repair of a tear, and the stitching coming undone is perhaps a consequence of that.  That vertical stitching doesn't look original - have you cobbled a repair yourself?

I think you're going to struggle to get any action.  It seems you have shaky evidence of having bought the Sofashield insurance which leaves you with the consumer rights route.  After three years, the onus is on you to get a report to show that the fault is inherent, and that tear looks like wear/misuse to me.

JoanneSK

They have acknowledged I purchased the Sofa shield yes. The stitching at the top you see is where I tried to put a few stitches to stop it tearing upwards anymore. The original damage is from where the stitching came undone
Definitely not mis use as there is only myself and husband that lives here. Wear after 3 years when paying 1700.00 is poor!

Aylesbury_Duck

JoanneSK said:

They have acknowledged I purchased the Sofa shield yes. The stitching at the top you see is where I tried to put a few stitches to stop it tearing upwards anymore. The original damage is from where the stitching came undone
Definitely not mis use as there is only myself and husband that lives here. Wear after 3 years when paying 1700.00 is poor!

That's a start.  So can they not re-send you the policy documents?  On what grounds did the Sofashield policy provider refuse to help?

It doesn't matter how many or how few people live there, someone constantly sitting on the arm might cause that damage, for example.  I'm not accusing you of damaging it but it's an example of an argument Sofology or Sofashield might employ so you need to be prepared for it.  I wouldn't say that wear after three years is poor, it might be considered fair for what isn't a particularly expensive sofa.  The other problem you have is that by cobbling it yourself, they might reasonably say that they can't repair the original damage even if they were minded to.  It would now need to have an entirely new leather panel measured, colour-matched and fitted.

I'm sorry to say that unless you know what the terms of the Sofashield policy are, and that you have grounds for claiming using them, I suspect you're a bit stuck.  Your ultimate option would be to get the damage independently looked at, obtain a quote for repair and try and sue Sofology for that amount.  One last question: did you pay for it on finance by any chance?

jon81uk

Sofasheild terms are here https://www.sofology.co.uk/sofashield-terms

But by attempting a repair yourself it could be seen as deliberate?

Aylesbury_Duck

jon81uk said:

Sofasheild terms are here https://www.sofology.co.uk/sofashield-terms

But by attempting a repair yourself it could be seen as deliberate?

Crikey, the list of exclusions doesn't exactly manage the "covered for any scenario" that the OP said the sales adviser mentioned.  It would be simpler to list what is covered.

JoanneSK

Exactly, and apparently these T&Cs were listed to me instore verbally according to my final response letter. I would never buy anything from them again!

JoanneSK

I have just seen your question, yes paid over finance and still have 1 year to go!!

Aylesbury_Duck

JoanneSK said:

I have just seen your question, yes paid over finance and still have 1 year to go!!

That gives you another route, because the finance provider is jointly liable for your consumer rights, with Sofology.  That doesn't make it any easier to overcome what I fear will be a problem exercising those rights, but it does give you another option to do so.

JoanneSK

Great news!!!! I emailed the Head of Compliance at Sofology this morning, within 2 hours someone called me. They are going to repair the couch at no cost to me. Has given me back faith in Sofology!

Aylesbury_Duck

JoanneSK said:

Great news!!!! I emailed the Head of Compliance at Sofology this morning, within 2 hours someone called me. They are going to repair the couch at no cost to me. Has given me back faith in Sofology!

That is good news.  Make sure you update the thread when they're done, because it will be a precedent other customers might hope is repeated.