Sofa faulty after 2 years

Nessa_H

I bought a 2 seater sofa just 2 years ago, mainly only me that's sits on it...no children etc.  Been good so ordered the 3 seater to match and replace an  very old one.  Company gave 7-10 wks delivery (same as 2 years ago) said could be a little longer.  We are now at 23 weeks and no estimated date!  The company are useless with communication, I keep ringing to get the same script.."covid, suppliers, bla bla, we have a 2 seater if you want it...bla bla"
Meanwhile the 2 seater has become increasingly uncomfortable, thought it was just my back (I do suffer) but eventually my husband sat on the same seat and said he thought it was broken/sunk.  I have contacted the company, said out of warranty, bla bla..so I booked and paid for an independent assessment which states 'UPHOLSTERY MANUFACTURING FAULT'.  Eventually the company agreed to collect, repair and return same day, but will organise in a few weeks.  Separately I have requested to cancel the 3 seater as I want to ensure that the repaired one is of good quality..and tbh doubt it is even on order!   They have come back and said the offer to repair the other has been 'retracted' as they were only doing it because I was waiting for the other one.  What!   Any advise?

JetpackVelociraptor

You already have a report from the upholsterer to state that it's a manufacturing fault, which is going to be useful. It's not on them to decide that they won't deal with your problem because you're not continuing to buy from them.

For the faulty sofa, you should send a letter via recorded/signed for mail, informing them that the item is faulty, that you have a report stating it's a manufacturing defect, and telling them what your preferred resolution would be. If they choose to refund you instead of repairing, they can deduct a reasonable amount from the refund based on the amount of use you have had from it over the last 2 years versus the expected lifespan of the product.

If they refuse to help you, your next port of call would be your card company if you paid by credit card, or the finance company if you used finance. You will need to contact them about making a section 75 claim.

After that, if you still don't get anywhere, you can report them to trading standards and see about taking them to small claims court.

Nessa_H

Thank you very much.  They have refunded for the cancelled order and I have not responded just yet.  Your comments and looking at the Sale of goods act 2015 has given be the confidence to fight, thanks.  Just waiting for the independent report  company to quote me for the repair costs form them so I could use that amount as an option for partial refund etc.  

bris

Independent report company who want to charge you for repairs are not an independent company, they have a beneficial interest in claiming anything they want to get the business.

The original vendors can push back and get their own report if they so desire, that will most likely be in their favour so it's probably going to be in the small claims court that settles this.

JetpackVelociraptor

Bris, by that reckoning there is no such thing as an independent report - if you need an expert opinion on a sofa, it's going to be from an upholsterer, either someone who does repairs or someone who manufactures. You could just as easily argue that an upholsterer who makes sofas instead of repairing them would have an interest in selling you a new one.

The company that did the inspection will have produced (or will produce) a report stating the fault, they will also be aware that their report may end up in small claims court with their company or personal name attached to it. That means their reputation is on the line, and as they're paid by the customer and not the retailer, that reputation should be worth more to them than the cost of a single repair.