DFS Sofa Fault - Advice please

sofacreak

Hi all. 

Quite a simple one. Nothing complicated yet. 

Took delivery of DFS sofa in Jan 2020. Ever since new it has been really creaky. During the pandemic I didn’t want to raise it of course. Recently I’ve raised it (couple of months ago) as it drives me mad. When someone’s on it and they shift their weight it creaks and clacks. 

Frustratingly it doesn’t always do it. I think maybe it’s worse when it’s cooler in the evening, or when someone has been sat on it for a while. 

The first visit was from homeserve who weren’t able to help as they couldn’t hear it. Second visit was from service manager who looked inside and did some general tightening of the construction (spring pins). 

Issue is still present however. It’s so annoying it makes me want to get a different sofa entirely which obviously shouldn’t be the case. 

I’m going to go back to them again, but I just want to understand what my approach should be. I understand it’s an awkward one to hear and diagnose but that doesn’t mean the issue doesn’t exist!

does anyone have any advice? I’m not even after a new sofa etc, I just want the sofa I’m still paying for to not be so noisy! 

If it was out of warranty I’d have a look myself and add some screws or extra wood, anything, but of course that’s not the approach I want when it’s still under warranty and being paid for. 

Aylesbury_Duck

After this amount of time, the onus is on you to prove a fault beyond normal wear and tear if you want to exercise your consumer rights (which are separate to any applicable warranty).  It sounds as if they've been helpful to date, so I'd maintain a positive approach to it and see what they suggest.  If they won't do any more, then you need to commission a proper inspection.  If that shows a fault, then DFS have to refund, repair or replace.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

sofacreak said:

If it was out of warranty I’d have a look myself and add some screws or extra wood, anything, but of course that’s not the approach I want when it’s still under warranty and being paid for. 

OP you have two avenues, one is the warranty which must be carried out in accordance with it's terms.

The other is consumer rights. 

In either case if DFS dispute a problem exists you'd first need to show one does, they may ask you to sow that problem hasn't been caused by user error or misuse which would require an independent inspection from someone who deals with furniture. 

Can you not film the squeaking on your phone to show them? 

sofacreak

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

sofacreak said:

If it was out of warranty I’d have a look myself and add some screws or extra wood, anything, but of course that’s not the approach I want when it’s still under warranty and being paid for. 

OP you have two avenues, one is the warranty which must be carried out in accordance with it's terms.

The other is consumer rights. 

In either case if DFS dispute a problem exists you'd first need to show one does, they may ask you to sow that problem hasn't been caused by user error or misuse which would require an independent inspection from someone who deals with furniture. 

Can you not film the squeaking on your phone to show them? 

I have filmed, but they say it’s difficult to fix or adjust without hearing it in person. Which I totally accept of course - if you can’t reproduce the creak on demand you’re working on the dark. But that doesn’t mean the fault isn’t there of course!

so I do have proof that the issue exists. It’s quite clear from the sofa condition that it hasn’t been from misuse. It’s barely been used in all honesty. 

I’ll keep pursuing.