Problems with sofa (Furniture Village)

HowieJ123

Afternoon guys, ill try to cut a very long short.

We had a Moreno corner sofa delivered by Furniture Village on 4th Aug '21. Within a couple of weeks of ownership, we noticed that things weren't right with it. Seams didn't line up, one of the seats were low in one corner and the back of one of the recliners sat 2" further forward than the rest of the sofa. We called FV on 17 Aug who eventually sent out an inspector from Castelan (mid Sept).

The report came back saying that the sofa was within manufacturers tolerances, so I argued with them and asked for guidelines on the 'manufacturers tolerances'. They couldn't supply them but agreed to send some one out for another look. On 26th November the 2nd Castelan guy looked at it, gave us the impressions that the sofa was in fact not right.. but to our surprise the 2nd report came back with exactly the same as the first 'the sofa was within manufacturers tolerances '.

So as far as FV was concerned that was the end of it, I called them and spoke to a manager who agreed to reboost the seat as a gesture of good will and ask Castelan to have one more look with some guidance from the manufacturer.

The 3rd and the most honest Castelan guy came 2 weeks ago. He said that the sorts of issues we had are experiencing are expected with modular furniture as each piece isn't made by the same person or even in the same factory (in China) and he wished that FV and other stores would inform the customer about this before they buy.

Where do I stand guys? This whole thing has been a nightmare.

Sorry it was so long.x

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

If you raise an issue within the first 6 months it is taken that the issue is present unless demonstrated otherwise.

The trader appears to have demonstrated otherwise (in their view) so you would ideally need an independent inspection carried out and something in writing to confirm a fault.

You can then go back to the trader to request a repair or replacement.

If that is impossible, disproportionately expensive or the trader simply doesn’t then you can either exercise the final right to reject for a refund* or seek a price reduction.

*If the date you exercise the final final to reject is longer than 6 months after delivery the refund can be reduced to account for ownership.

Best to see if you have any local furniture businesses or upholstery places that are willing to have a look and give an opinion. The trader should cover any costs if the end result is in your favour.

Goods should be of satisfactory quality with consideration for price paid, this can be subjective, some photos of the issues with the seems will likely gather some opinions here  

JetpackVelociraptor

Before you spend money on bringing in an independent upholsterer to inspect the suite, I would recommend that you check whether the floor is level. If parts of the sofa are at slightly different heights, for any reason, even if it's just one or two of the plastic feet that are affected, this could cause the problems you're describing. A small height difference on a foot can translate into a much larger and more noticeable difference in height or the way two pieces fit together. Is it positioned on carpet or a hard floor? If it's carpet, could some areas sink in more than others? If it's a minor height difference you may be able to correct this by putting something (cardboard, felt pads or plastic glides) under the feet that are sitting too low.

You can also try separating the individual sections and see if they line up correctly when sitting next to each other without being connected. If they don't, adjust the feet height or add stuff under the feet until they do. If they only look wrong when connected, there may be a problem with the parts that clip together - they could be bent, which can be easily done during transit or delivery, or there could be a manufacturing issue and the clips are not in the correct position.

As another alternative, if the corner sofa has sections that could be placed on either side (e.g. a bunch of single seat sections between the corner piece and the end pieces) you may find that they fit together more closely if rearranged. So for example if you have a left hand end, single section A, corner piece, single section B and right hand end, you can try swapping single sections A and B and see if they go together better.