DFS

Roline83

Hi

In April 2019 I purchased two sofas and a foot stool from DFS.  All was fine with it, had no problems at all, however in March of this year my water bottle leaked on the footstool, I dabbed it with tissue paper and followed the cleaning instructions which were set out in the after care package I received, I noticed however that it had left quite a large watermark.  I contacted DFS about this but as we were in lockdown they took an absolute age to reply, in the meantime more watermarks appeared, some from condensation on a glass of lemonade and the biggest being from my daughter who came out of the bath and while her hair was still relatively damp, sat on the sofa and was leaning against the arm for about twenty minutes or so and when she got up there was quite a big watermark on the arm of the sofa from her hair.  I got back in touch with DFS and they finally replied to me saying they would get someone from the local store to get in touch with me which I then had to chase, I eventually spoke to someone who told me that a Service Manager would come out and inspect the furniture, again I had to chase this up.  DFS then called me and told me that I could claim for the watermarks on my sofa under the protection plan that we had purchased, I was unsure about this but they insisted that this was the way to proceed.  I then made a claim with Guardsman who sent me a stain remover wipe out to use on the watermarks, the wipe did absolutely nothing, got back in touch with them to tell them this and they then sent a letter today saying that "The insurance you have purchased is designed to cover for sudden and unforeseen damage that occurs in a single incident of staining and accidental damage defined as sudden and unintentional damage to the product as shown in the Coverage section on the front of your certificate. We do not cover any gradually occurring stains or damage(s). You are required to report each incident as soon as possible as detailed in your terms and conditions. We do not cover any gradually occurring stain or damage, any gradually occurring general soiling which results in build up or any multiple stains occurring over a period of time as detailed in Section 4 of your protection plan certificate as this prejudices our ability to remove the stain successfully.".  I 100% appreciate what they are saying however surely a sofa shouldn't be marked so easily by water/wet hair/ condensation.  I have contacted DFS yet again but have not had a reply yet. 

Does anyone know where I stand?

Thanks 

sheramber

What material is it made from?  Some materials mark more easily than others.
I would think the water bottle leaking is accidental damage but your daughter sitting on it with wet hair would not be.
Your policy document will advise you  of the complaints procedure if you are not satisfied with their response.

Aylesbury_Duck

That insurance wording does look comprehensive and reasonable, so if that avenue is closed, your only other route is exercising your consumer rights.  That would involve getting an independent inspection of the furniture to see if there is an inherent fault with the material that makes it stain as soon as it gets wet from water if it's not supposed to do so.    If there is an inherent fault, then DFS have to act.

It sounds like a long shot to me, I'm afraid.

Roline83

Thanks both. I'll look into that future and push DFS to look into it.  This is the mark from my daughters wet hair...... 

Fosterdog

Have you tried using an upholstery cleaner/shampoo over the whole thing? While the water bottle leak would be accidental, a water make from a glass being rested on it and the mark from the wet hair wouldn't be accidental and would be more like neglect so I can't see that being covered under a protection plan or consumer rights.

JJ_Egan

Material looks very absorbent as well .

Aylesbury_Duck

Are the covers removable and washable?  If so, that might "even out" the problem but beware of care instructions.  Many years ago I had a sofa with washable covers and whilst a godsend when my children were young, it was an ordeal trying to get the covers back onto the sofas after washing!

I'm not an expert on fabric but it looks to me like the dye isn't set fast enough to resist leaching as the water spreads and evaporates.  Have you got the original product brochure or factsheet?  Is there anything in there about not exposing the fabric to water, for example?  

Roline83

I've not tried using a cleaner over the whole thing yet as it wasn't recommended on the cleaning instructions so I wasn't sure if this would void the protection plan. The covers are removable but recommend dry clean only, our last sofa had removable/washable covers and one shrunk and was almost impossible to get back on, it ended up tearing. 

That's interesting.  I will dig the paperwork out when I finish work  and see if it's says anything, from what I can remember it doesn't say anything specifically about not exposing it to water.  

Roline83

I've checked through all of the paperwork and there is nothing to say about not exposing the fabric to water, just to blot any stains/spillages and not to rub or use any cleaning products on it...

Fosterdog

Roline83 said:

I've checked through all of the paperwork and there is nothing to say about not exposing the fabric to water, just to blot any stains/spillages and not to rub or use any cleaning products on it...

I still don't see that as a valid point to argue, I'm guessing it also doesn't say not to expose it to paint, or oil but common sense would tell you not to do that. It would be more like if it could be exposed to water it would state that rather than listing everything it shouldn't be exposed to.

Aylesbury_Duck

I think you have three options. 
1. Get someone to inspect it to see if it's faulty (which will cost you but if it is deemed faulty, then you can claim the cost of the inspection from DFS).
2. Try the dry cleaning route, which sounds risky.
3. Live with it, perhaps getting throws for the sofas and getting the footstool re-upholstered.