DFS SCAMS

wassup

I bought a leather 2 seater and a 3 seater from Edinburgh DFS in last January 'sale'. Didnt have it very long when the padding in the seats went very soft. Called them and to their credit they sent an upholsterer out who agreed there was a problem and offered to take them back and fix the problem. They said they would get new foams ordered up from Italy plus the upholsterer said he would add some additional support to the seats. That all sounded fine so we went along with it. The seats came back duly sorted but after a few weeks they started sagging again. Again they sent out another upholsterer, who again agreed there was a problem and offered a similar take back and repair. Which we did. Guess what, they seats have gone again. This time they sent out the Service manager who also agreed the seats were not right so he went off to make a report. The latest thing is the Store manager wants to come out and see the problem and he is coming out next week.

The frame of the seats and the leather seems fine its just the foam inserts which are letting it down. It's like a design fault.

DFS service is good.

Me and the missus would like our money back and we will go and find another sofa somewhere else.

Are we entitled to our money back ?
What is the manager likely to offer us ?
What should I say to get our money back if he refuses. Should I threaten legal action, or trading standards, or what ?
We are paying it up over 3 years interest free. Can we stop the monthly payments ?

Any advice in advance of his visit would be appreciated.

webmasterpolo

I wouldn't stop the payments as it will be recorded on ur credit file.

I believe the credit company will be jointly liable for the purchase the credit is for though, so if the retailer is not forthcoming you can write to them too.

It is unlikely that at this stage they will give you a full refund. If you are lucky you might get a discount off a replacement.

Certainly sounds like they are not fit for purpose eg sitting on. So they have breached their contract with you so you could take them to the small claims court (if it was less than £5,000). With all the evidence of repeated visits to fix it should be pretty easy to win.

Good luck let us know how you get one.

-Web

hitchins

We purchased a leather three seater and chair from DFS three years ago, after much looking around, we found them to be cheaper than anywhere, my mum and dad were like "Oh my god you can't get one from them, they're crap". Three years on it's brilliant, well apart from damage from a 40kg boxer dog! They were very helpful, because it wasn't ready for when we moved to our new house (and we were sofa-less) they even lent us a replacement! I honestly can't fault them and would definitely use them again. :j

wassup

@ webmasterpolo... thanks for your advice. Is the small claims court up to £5000 now ? I'm in Scotland. It used to be a lot less than that, but I know there was talk about raising the limit.

headcovers

I must admit that this was over five years ago, but I bought a pair of rocker/recliner leather chairs from DFS and they are easily the best piece of furniture that I have ever bought (they are exactly the same as the joey/Chandler chairs on "Friends")

And the service was good too - after I bought the chairs they went down in the sale and because I hadn't taken delivery yet, they agreed to drop the price to the sale price without any quibble.

DFS quality and service must have gone downhill over the past few years, cos everyone seems to hate them nowadays. I must say that the chairs are still going strong and look as good as the day I bought them! :snow_grin

too_many_details

Hi,

i just had a dodgy experience with their payment protection insurance!

Posted to another board, the link is:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=127136

Cheers

Rakesh

Debras_Angel

yes,

I have just realised that they've conned me on one but I caught them out on the other...but NEVER again. :mad:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=127136

:xmassign: Debs

wassup

The Store Manager came out to see us and almost immediately agreed there was something wrong with our suite. He came across as very friendly. He thought we had been very patient thus far in allowing DFS to try fixing the problem but said it was time to do something else.

What he is proposing is for us to go down to his store and select another suite. He reckons he personally can advise us on the suite best suited to what we are looking for.

Our visit to the store is planned for some time next week.

I'm prepared to go along and see what he suggests, however I suspect there will be a good chance I wont want anything in the shop. If thats the case I shall just ask for a refund and see what happens then.

Anyone else been in this situation ?

lemontree

Having worked in a call Centre 4 years ago I have first hand experience of the huge number of complaints regarding the very poor quality of DFS Furniture.
Many people rang the Finance Company theatening not to pay another penny until the new furniture was either replaced or repaired.
The Finance Company could do nothing and several Call Centre Staff left after enduring abuse on a regular basis.

wassup

After a visit to the store to select another suite, decided to ask for a refund and was told that was not a problem. Now waiting on word from finance company regarding refund of payments already made. I cant complain about DFS service.... first class.... shame their products dont match. Now looking for a new suite from somewhere.