DFS refuse to refund a sofa we cannot use due to mis selling. What are our rights?

Redfairy

We bought 2 sofas from DFS in Dec 2022, after trying many and explaining we needed a soft one due to my degenerative disc disease.  We paid by £3K store credit . They were delivered March 2023. We are unable to use them as they are too hard to sit on, and actually gave me back pain after 2 hours of sitting on them. We contacted DFS immediately and were told they will probably soften in time , approx 6months of constant average family use. We are a couple and my husband doesn't use them alot. I am the main user and unable to use them. We have tried numerous times contacting DFS, the CEO, the furniture ombudsman, the credit company . They have all said that as the sofas are not faulty they cannot refund under section 75. We are not disputing that they are not faulty, just the fact that I am unable to bed them in properly as I cannot sit on them. We specifically told them the need for a soft sofa when we were sold them. At no point did the sales person say they would need bedding in. We assumed the model in the showroom would be softer than a new one, but noone told us how different they would be. As a result we have 2 new unused sofas in a room we can no longer use, while we sit on old uncomfortable sofas in a back room as we cannot afford new ones. If we were to sell the new ones we would get approx 1/3 their value, and still paying the credit for another 3 years. Please does anyone have any advice? It is making me ill , I just want them gone so we can buy some new soft ones that I can use. Thanks.

comeandgo

I don’t think there has been any mis selling.  Soft is not a measurable commodity so what you regard as soft someone else may not.  You may be better trying to swap your sofa for another on say Facebook?  As least with a second hand sofa you will know exactly what you are getting.

Alderbank

Just to clarify, you found a sofa in the shop which was soft enough for your needs and therefore decided to buy two of that model.
The salesperson was aware of your specific requirement.
The sofas you eventually received differed from the model you were shown in the shop.

There are two faults here, they do not conform to the model you were shown and they do not conform to your specific requirements which were agreed with the shop.

Tell the shop you are rejecting them as is your right under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 because the goods are in breach of Section 10: Goods to be fit for particular purpose and Section 14: Goods to match a model seen or examined

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

This is probably an instance where the store should have turned down a sale.

I think it's very likely someone with a degenerative disc disease would ask about suitability when buying something like a sofa. 

OP you say store credit, I assume you mean finance as you've tried S75, did they simply decline to open a claim or did they open one and find against you? 

They will have a complaints procedure and you can then escalate this to the regulator. 

You need to ensure you are clear and specific about your rights, in my view that should be

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/10/enacted

Goods to be fit for particular purpose(1)Subsection (3) applies to a contract to supply goods if before the contract is made the consumer makes known to the trader (expressly or by implication) any particular purpose for which the consumer is contracting for the goods.

3)The contract is to be treated as including a term that the goods are reasonably fit for that purpose, whether or not that is a purpose for which goods of that kind are usually supplied.

This means you made the store aware that the sofa was for someone with a degenerative disc disease and by selling it to you they agreed the goods were fit for that purpose. 

Redfairy

Thank you . Alderbank we did exercise our right to reject the sofa 4 days after delivery under section 14. After numerous emails, letters( which were signed for, but they claim were never received ) and an inspection by DFS,  they have all said it has been rejected under section 75 rules as not faulty. We have stated numerous times we are NOT claiming under section 75 but are using our right to reject under section 14 of the consumer act. DFS have never denied that we only bought the sofas as they were the only ones in the shop that fit my needs, or that we weren't told they would need bedding in for at least 6 months. Clearly had we been told this at the point of sale we would not have purchased them. They seem to be actively misunderstanding what we are saying. They demanded an inspection even though we agreed the sofas were not faulty. They are just not the ones we purchased from them due to my disability. We are hitting our heads against a brick wall and have even sent a letter before court action to them, but only received an email with sketchy information about the case. We cannot understand why they won't just refund the sofas. They are brand new and unused and we think we are clearly within our rights. Softness is comparable when its the same people, comparing the same set of sofas.  Just because one is new it doesn't mean it should be completely different. We were under the impression that it would be the same as the one we tried on display,  only newer. We don't see the point on trying out lots of sofas in the showroom, if the one we get is completely different. The one we tried was extremely soft and comfortable. The one delivered is a lot harder and I am unable to even sit on it. DFS even suggested inviting all our friends and neighbours around regularly to break it in. This was completely unacceptable in my opinion.  Thank you for you advice everyone.

tightauldgit

I think this might be a tricky one as 'soft' is a completely subjective term but it would seem like the route to push at would be that you tried a sofa in a shop which met your needs, and then the one they provided to you is different. That does assume that the one you received actually is different and it's not just a perception thing. 

If it really is an issue of bedding them in and you're otherwise happy with the sofas I wonder if you might propose swapping your one with the display model which is pre-bedded-in? Might be a compromise for everyone? 

Redfairy

We have videos of the one in the shop and the one at home. One can easily be pressed down with 2 fingers, the other doesn't move even when sat on. 

eskbanker

Redfairy said:

We are hitting our heads against a brick wall and have even sent a letter before court action to them, but only received an email with sketchy information about the case.

The whole point of an LBA is that it's meant to represent final notification about what you'll do if the other party fails to resolve the dispute, so if you've sent one and the response has been unsatisfactory, then the next step is to raise the court claim that you said you would, as anything else will be perceived as lack of confidence in your case.

Redfairy

eskbanker said:

Redfairy said:

We are hitting our heads against a brick wall and have even sent a letter before court action to them, but only received an email with sketchy information about the case.

The whole point of an LBA is that it's meant to represent final notification about what you'll do if the other party fails to resolve the dispute, so if you've sent one and the response has been unsatisfactory, then the next step is to raise the court claim that you said you would, as anything else will be perceived as lack of confidence in your case.

We are currently doing this but giving them a month to fully reply but it looks like this won't happen. We are trying to settle this without going to court as its extremely stressful and my mental health is suffering.

Redfairy

tightauldgit said:

I think this might be a tricky one as 'soft' is a completely subjective term but it would seem like the route to push at would be that you tried a sofa in a shop which met your needs, and then the one they provided to you is different. That does assume that the one you received actually is different and it's not just a perception thing. 

If it really is an issue of bedding them in and you're otherwise happy with the sofas I wonder if you might propose swapping your one with the display model which is pre-bedded-in? Might be a compromise for everyone? 

We have also considered this but unfortunately the shop model was very stained and a different colour . 

Redfairy

comeandgo said:

I don’t think there has been any mis selling.  Soft is not a measurable commodity so what you regard as soft someone else may not.  You may be better trying to swap your sofa for another on say Facebook?  As least with a second hand sofa you will know exactly what you are getting.

It is measurable when its assessed by the same person on supposedly the same type of sofa surely. If its not , then why sit on the showroom models to choose one in the first place??