DFS Sofa Issue

Iamcoops

Hello

I received our DFS sofas around 8 weeks ago. Recently I noticed that certain sections of the sofas have discoloured. I contacted DFS and they have since sent an 'engineer' out to inspect them. The told me that its down to sun bleaching, even when I pointed out that the cushion front had faded but the front panel beneath hadn't (they both see the same amount of sunlight).

DFS are refusing to do anything. Their T&C's state nothing about sun bleaching not being covered and knowhere either on their website or any documentation does it state to keep the sofas away from sunlight. 

In my view, the fabric they use is clearly not fit for purpose.

My 

Alderbank

Iamcoops said:

Hello

I received our DFS sofas around 8 weeks ago. Recently I noticed that certain sections of the sofas have discoloured. I contacted DFS and they have since sent an 'engineer' out to inspect them. The told me that its down to sun bleaching, even when I pointed out that the cushion front had faded but the front panel beneath hadn't (they both see the same amount of sunlight).

DFS are refusing to do anything. Their T&C's state nothing about sun bleaching not being covered and knowhere either on their website or any documentation does it state to keep the sofas away from sunlight. 

In my view, the fabric they use is clearly not fit for purpose.

My 

Welcome to the Forum!
You will get several opinions about whether the fabric has faded or not.
However it doesn't matter what we think.
Since DFS don't accept your claim that it has faded and therefore is faulty, you will need to get an independent report to support your belief. Expect to pay for this.
Before you actually do so, tell DFS that unless they replace the faulty cushions you intend to get an independent report from xxx and you will then make a MCoL claim for a refund and the cost of the report.

Bradden

If it was the sun causing the issue I'd expect the fading to be in patches where the sun hits it... is the whole cushion affected or just that corner? It's hard to tell from the photo. 

ThumbRemote

Sun bleaching is just an excuse for them to try and get out of repairing. 

1. If it was sun bleaching, both bits of adjacent fabric should have bleached to the same degree.

2. Even if it is sun bleaching, the consumer rights acts says goods must be of satisfactory quality, which includes the phrase "fitness for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are usually supplied;" and "appearance and finish;". Unless you're using the sofa outside, then putting a sofa in a room of a house is exactly a purpose for which it is supplied, and the appearance and finish have changed, 

I'd guess they've used two different batches of fabric, and one is substandard. While it's annoying to have to do so, I think this would be a straightforward win in small claims court (via money claim online). 

Grumpy_chap

It is hard to tell from the photo, but the cushion(s) looks to have a uniform colour different to the uniform colour of the base / back.  As @Bradden says, that is not what would be expected - would expect some shading across the whole.
Is it possible to provide a larger angle photo rather than the close up?

If there is no shading on the cushion, DFS may be suggesting that the cushions have been laundered.

Alderbank

Iamcoops, what care instructions came with your sofas?

Bradden

ThumbRemote said:

2. Even if it is sun bleaching, the consumer rights acts says goods must be of satisfactory quality, which includes the phrase "fitness for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are usually supplied;" and "appearance and finish;". Unless you're using the sofa outside, then putting a sofa in a room of a house is exactly a purpose for which it is supplied, and the appearance and finish have changed, 

Are you sure about this? Natural Fibres are known for bleaching in direct sunlight.

pinkshoes

Bradden said:

ThumbRemote said:

2. Even if it is sun bleaching, the consumer rights acts says goods must be of satisfactory quality, which includes the phrase "fitness for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are usually supplied;" and "appearance and finish;". Unless you're using the sofa outside, then putting a sofa in a room of a house is exactly a purpose for which it is supplied, and the appearance and finish have changed, 

Are you sure about this? Natural Fibres are known for bleaching in direct sunlight.

That's true, but here you have one part of the sofa that has lost all its colour, and the other part in the same plane has not.

It would imply they have used two different materials or different batches of the same material, one of which is faulty. This is quite extreme sun fade for 8 weeks!

Bradden

Thanks @pinkshoes I agree in this case it doesn't look like sun fading.. @ThumbRemote implied that any sun bleaching would be considered a manufacturing fault which I'm not sure is correct.

daveyjp

It almost looks like a different batch of fabric has been used which hasn't had dye fixer added, or has been affected during one of the manufacturing processes.

There is no way it should fade within a few weeks, especially in such discrete areas.  Eg Why hasn't the arm faded as well as the cushion?

If you need an expert opinion there is such a thing as the Society of Dyers and Colourists sdc.org.uk whose members include fabric manufacturers and dyers and they may be able to assist.

ThumbRemote

Bradden said:

Thanks @pinkshoes I agree in this case it doesn't look like sun fading.. @ThumbRemote implied that any sun bleaching would be considered a manufacturing fault which I'm not sure is correct.

I didn't actually say manufacturing fault; I said not of satisfactory quality. I cannot see how significant sun bleaching after 8 weeks can be considered even vaguely satisfactory.