Sofology- Reject consumers right

Popalina22

We received a sofa and two recliners chairs on 11th October 204 When delivery the men left we tested out the furniture and we were very unhappy with it*

1, Furniture arrived with wrinkled loose fabric, which will get worse overtime. 
Sofology reply to our complaint - Wrinkles will come if we “Plump and Clump” I had no idea what they were talking about as the cushions etc are fixed.

2, Back support is out of line and pushes the back out making it very uncomfortable. It was not like this in the showroom. 

Sofology reply was- It will flatten out. That’s no use to us now as it’s not like the one we ordered in the showroom

3, Seat is too high. We specifically looked round the showroom to choose one where I could place my feet on the floor when seated ( I need this as I’m post knee replacement ) My legs are dangling which is very uncomfortable and will cause pain to my knee. 
Sofology reply - Seat will flatten. Again not like the one in the showroom where I could place my feet on the floor.  

4, MOST IMPORTANTLY - When sitting on the seat with the recliner in a semi reclined position, after adjusting myself on the seat, the whole chair tipped forward. Really frightened me as I thought I was going to fall.  Certainly a health and safety issue. 

Sofology reply- All recliners do this and I should have known this. 

We are in our mid seventies and at no time were we ever told this could happen. Had they told us this We would NOT have purchased it. Other recliners that I have sat in since do not tip forward 

We contacted Sofology and said we want to reject this and have a refund as it’s not fit for purpose and is a health and safety risk to us. 
Sofology have said they can’t help with a resolution until a technician visits on 21st October 2024 We have agreed to be available for the technician visit but we still want to reject this sub standard furniture. 

In the meantime we have nothing to sit on other Garden Furniture.

Can anyone help with some advice? 

PHK

This sounds simply like brand new furniture versus furniture that has had use (obviously the store sofa is well used )

I think they are right about the recliner. You sit on them.and then recline. If its manual recliners then they should be fully back. 

I think you'll need to wait for the inspection or have your own done. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Popalina22 said:

We received a sofa and two recliners chairs on 11th October 204 When delivery the men left we tested out the furniture and we were very unhappy with it*

1, Furniture arrived with wrinkled loose fabric, which will get worse overtime. 
Sofology reply to our complaint - Wrinkles will come if we “Plump and Clump” I had no idea what they were talking about as the cushions etc are fixed.

2, Back support is out of line and pushes the back out making it very uncomfortable. It was not like this in the showroom. 

Sofology reply was- It will flatten out. That’s no use to us now as it’s not like the one we ordered in the showroom

3, Seat is too high. We specifically looked round the showroom to choose one where I could place my feet on the floor when seated ( I need this as I’m post knee replacement ) My legs are dangling which is very uncomfortable and will cause pain to my knee. 
Sofology reply - Seat will flatten. Again not like the one in the showroom where I could place my feet on the floor.  

4, MOST IMPORTANTLY - When sitting on the seat with the recliner in a semi reclined position, after adjusting myself on the seat, the whole chair tipped forward. Really frightened me as I thought I was going to fall.  Certainly a health and safety issue. 

Sofology reply- All recliners do this and I should have known this. 

We are in our mid seventies and at no time were we ever told this could happen. Had they told us this We would NOT have purchased it. Other recliners that I have sat in since do not tip forward 

We contacted Sofology and said we want to reject this and have a refund as it’s not fit for purpose and is a health and safety risk to us. 
Sofology have said they can’t help with a resolution until a technician visits on 21st October 2024 We have agreed to be available for the technician visit but we still want to reject this sub standard furniture. 

In the meantime we have nothing to sit on other Garden Furniture.

Can anyone help with some advice? 

You ordered in store, so a change-of-mind return sounds like it's not possible, unless their terms allow it?

The thrust of your argument needs to be that the item delivered varies unreasonably from the sample in the showroom.  You do need to make some allowances, because a showroom sofa may have had hundreds of people sit on it and so it will probably look and feel slightly different to a brand new sofa that is yet to have been worn in.

For (3), did you make it clear you needed a sofa with a certain height for your medical condition?

(4) seems perfectly reasonable.  When a footrest is extended, if you then transfer the centre of gravity to it it will tip the sofa, the same as when a child climbs on the back of a sofa.

I'd wait a week until the technician has visited.  It's possible there's a technical fault and if so, that might explain (4).  If not, then you're going to have to try and construct an argument that the sofa in the showroom isn't representative of the real product.  Perhaps a visit to the showroom with a tape measure is called for, as a starting point.  And take some photos of the showroom sofa.

How did you pay?  By credit card or finance?  That gives you another route to try if the retailer won't accept a rejection, but even then, the card or finance company won't simply refund on your say-so.  They'll expect some sort of reasonable evidence that the sofa is faulty or not as 'described' by the showroom example.

sheramber

Showroom furniture has been sat on multiple  times so will be ‘broken in’. 

Did you ask about the recliner working half way? It would not be routine for a sales assistant to warn you about not doing that unless you asked them. 

Are there any operating instructions supplied with the  recliner?

Can you not use a footstool to support your  legs?

Alderbank

I agree that I would not try to pursue a claim to reject on the grounds that the purchase is not fit for purpose or is a health & safety risk.
Sofology will almost certainly refute that by providing lots of evidence that the furniture complies with standards such as EN 1130-1,2:1996 and EN 13759:2012 which specify test methods for the determination of the durability of hand and power operated reclining mechanisms for adult seating, and you will have an expensive and uphill task to challenge those.

I would stick to claiming that the furniture does not conform to pattern, that is, it is not the same as the sample you were shown in the shop. That is simpler and will be much easier to demonstrate and harder to dispute.

As @PHK says, see what the inspection says. Make sure the inspector understands your concerns.