John Lewis Charlotte Sofa - poor quality and no win situation to rectify

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

PHK said:

The point I think people are missing is that it's the specification the OP is unhappy with.  There is nothing to repair and a replacement would be the same.

Fibre or feather filled sofas are soft and designed for you to sink into.  Like cushions or pillows they need plumping up. These seem to be quite popular nowadays. 

In the circumstances a repair or replacement would not help the OP, so the only option is a refund that they can use towards a different sofa. 

There is also the question of how it was sold but by putting the OP back in the position before the purchase then I think John Lewis are probably doing enough.

Grumpy_chap said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Providing a refund doesn't fulfil consumer rights.

OP you have the right to a replacement or repair, if they refuse (for whatever reason) you then have the choice between a refund or a price reduction.

Isn't the issue here that the OP has purchased a sofa and the design of the sofa is a "sink into it" soft cushion that will require regular plumping to maintain shape?

If that is so, there is nothing to repair as such.  Replacement would only mean another sofa of "sink into it" design that will not satisfy the OP's desire.

Changing to a firmer filling would seem to be changing the specification of the sofa away from the "sink into it" design to something else.  

In this circumstance, a refund seems appropriate.
Jumping straight to LBA and small claims might well fail if JL can proffer the defence of having offered a full refund.

I was looking at the OP mentioning it doesn't match the images and the fact JL are offering a refund.

OP is outside of the 14 day cooling off period and outside their 35 day own policy return period. 

Perhaps they are just being nice about accepting back a £3000 sofa with nothing wrong with it but that seems unlikely to me  

sheramber

John Lewis say they will repair or replace a faulty product. They have offered to repair.  But the Op is not happy with either solution. He does like the product which meets the manufacturers specification so neither a repair or  replacement with the same sofa is going to satisfactory to the OP. 

John Lewis would seem to be going above what they are required to by giving a refund on return of the sofa. 

screech_78

There’s definitely more to this as there’s no way JL would offer a full refund on a sofa instead of a repair. A repair is always the preferred option. 

It sounds to me as though the technician has concluded there is no fault but there may be an option to change the fillings for a different composition that the supplier can do but isn’t standard. If that’s the case, it would be for the customer to pay. 

It also reads that JL are trying to appease you by offering a full refund if you remain unhappy. It doesn’t sound like a terrible solution to me. An inconvenience to be without sofas but I’m not sure what you expect them to do. A standard repair won’t be available if it’s not faulty, a replacement would be the same so that only leaves a refund and they don’t even have to do that if no fault has been confirmed. 
 

Ksw3

Are you offered a choice of filling with JL?

We were offered fibre or foam at DFS and they said on at least 5 occasions and on delivery that we would need to plump daily if we chose fibre. 

If you're not does it say what kind of filling it should have and was that what you got?

Spanishfilmbuff

We have just complained about this sofa, the seat of which has become really squashy when it plainly said it is meant to firm. Was given instructions to plump it up quite often which of course I do, but after you sit on it a few times it collapses again.  J Lewis have said we have to pay the manufacturer for new seats, but the filling is not and has never been fit for purpose, so where do we go from here? We had no choice of  filling! No one told us initially that we had to plump daily!

Aylesbury_Duck

Spanishfilmbuff said:

We have just complained about this sofa, the seat of which has become really squashy when it plainly said it is meant to firm. Was given instructions to plump it up quite often which of course I do, but after you sit on it a few times it collapses again.  J Lewis have said we have to pay the manufacturer for new seats, but the filling is not and has never been fit for purpose, so where do we go from here? We had no choice of  filling! No one told us initially that we had to plump daily!

How long have you had it?

misimp

We fell in love with a Tetrad Eastwood. Magnificent piece of furniture but the very heavy cushions required constant plumping both for looks  and comfort
We eventually paid a trusted local upholsterer to replace the filling with a good quality (and expensive) dense foam

It now requires no maintenance and looks better...but it is now a totally different animal ( in that you now no longer have the initial 'sink in' experience) but we have a different and longer lasting comfort

I OP likes the sofa it may be worth going for the discount offer and spending a couple of hundred for a long term solution

Spanishfilmbuff

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Spanishfilmbuff said:

We have just complained about this sofa, the seat of which has become really squashy when it plainly said it is meant to firm. Was given instructions to plump it up quite often which of course I do, but after you sit on it a few times it collapses again.  J Lewis have said we have to pay the manufacturer for new seats, but the filling is not and has never been fit for purpose, so where do we go from here? We had no choice of  filling! No one told us initially that we had to plump daily!

How long have you had it?

We have had it 3 years. I forgot to add that the material is now all creased and the cushions slope downwards.

Spanishfilmbuff

We have had it 3 years, and now the material is all creased and the cushions slope downwards.

Aylesbury_Duck

Spanishfilmbuff said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Spanishfilmbuff said:

We have just complained about this sofa, the seat of which has become really squashy when it plainly said it is meant to firm. Was given instructions to plump it up quite often which of course I do, but after you sit on it a few times it collapses again.  J Lewis have said we have to pay the manufacturer for new seats, but the filling is not and has never been fit for purpose, so where do we go from here? We had no choice of  filling! No one told us initially that we had to plump daily!

How long have you had it?

We have had it 3 years. I forgot to add that the material is now all creased and the cushions slope downwards.

JL are entitled to ask you to have it independently inspected, at your cost, to see if it's faulty.  If it is, you present that report and ask JL to repair, replace or partially refund the purchase price, plus the cost of the inspection.