DFS delivered the wrong size sofa

Mint_choc_chip

I'm in England and bought a 3-seater DFS sofa online 2 months ago as it was not in store for us to see in person and it was delivered tuesday 18th December (less than 1 week ago). It measures much smaller than what it says online which says 204cm wide but we measured it at 196cm, which is what the 2-seater version measures. After chasing them everyday for 4 days because I believe they sent us the wrong size, they finally sent someone out from our local store yesterday who measured it and found it to be 197cm and he even commented that it was indeed smaller. That was after he spent 5 minutes faffing round with the cushions and plumping them up with great effort! Today he says that we got the right one, that they delivered a 3-seater! But it must surely be the 2-seater! Even the inside measurement matches that of the smaller one which is 129cm instead of 137cm.

On the website it says they have a "tolerance" of 5cm but today this guy is saying they have a tolerance of 8cm which I argued but he says if they make another one it will be the same size. How is this "tolerance" nonsense even legal? (I bet they never measure 5cm more than whats quoted online!)

So I say to them I want to return it and now they want to charge us 20% fee! I told him it was bought online and its less than 14 days so we have a right to return it for a full refund but he's arguing it.

Now I'm worried that they're going to charge us to return it or we're going to be left with something that is not what we bought. 

Can they charge us for returning the item? I asked them while they're rectifying the situation if i can use it because I'm physically disabled and I use a sofa to properly care for my various chronic illnesses, they said yes and that it won't affect the sofa due to their 15 year guarantee. 

Also, I paid in full online with my credit card when I bought it, so could I do a chargeback via my credit card and get a full refund that way if they insist on charging us to return it?

I am deeply regretting this purchase, I'm finding this extremely stressful which is impacting my physical health now and I'm feeling very unwell. I wish I just hadn't bothered trying to get a new sofa, especially before Christmas. 

eskbanker

Mint_choc_chip said:

It measures much smaller than what it says online which says 204cm wide but we measured it at 196cm, which is what the 2-seater version measures.

Surely the difference between two- and three-seater versions of the same sofa must differ by more than 8cm (about three inches in old money!)?

teaselMay

I'm not sure I'd notice an 8cm discrepancy in sofa length, unless it was 8cm too long and so didn't fit in the space.

One option would be to keep it and, if they acknowledge that they've sent the wrong one, ask for a refund of the difference in price. That would solve the problem, leave you with a sofa, leave them without needing to collect, and remove your stress about it.

Mint_choc_chip

eskbanker said:

Mint_choc_chip said:

It measures much smaller than what it says online which says 204cm wide but we measured it at 196cm, which is what the 2-seater version measures.

Surely the difference between two- and three-seater versions of the same sofa must differ by more than 8cm (about three inches in old money!)?

Its their CLAUDE sofa. The difference between their 2 and 3 seater is 8 cm and the price difference is £10! Makes me wonder how many 3 seaters they've sold and made a 2 seater and fobbed them off with this "tolerance" nonsense. I just don't understand why do that though. The difference between their 3 and 4 seater is 30cm! 

Mint_choc_chip

teaselMay said:

I'm not sure I'd notice an 8cm discrepancy in sofa length, unless it was 8cm too long and so didn't fit in the space.

One option would be to keep it and, if they acknowledge that they've sent the wrong one, ask for a refund of the difference in price. That would solve the problem, leave you with a sofa, leave them without needing to collect, and remove your stress about it.

The space we measured it to fit in is 205cm exactly and this new one should be slightly bigger than our old one which is 17 years old. It does make the difference when you live in tiny 1 bed house like ours. The price difference is only £10 between the 2 and 3 seater. Despite measuring it themselves they're adamant its the 3. Like I said to my husband, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck....

swingaloo

Which part of the sofa are you measuring? What is the measurement taken from the outer point of each of the front legs? 

kinger101

If you look on their website, they offer a 2 and 3 seater version.  What's odd, other than the 3 seater only being 8 cm wider than the 2 seater, is that the width of the seating area is identical on both  59 cm. Though the 3 seater does look wider on the image.

They say all measurements are approximate, which gives them some wiggle room (more than three large bums squeezed into said space).  But I am deeply skeptical that these are not both the same sofa.

Other than the additional £10, I'm struggling to see why a slightly narrower 1.96 actual versus 2.04 approximate would be a problem in terms of fitting I to a room.

But if I was inclined to take this further, I'd ask them to confirm in writing that they do offer separate 2 and 3 seater versions, and if so, what the real difference in size is.  I would put it to them they're trying to sell the same item as both a 2 and 3 seater with a £10 difference in price by purposely creating a size difference which does not exist. 

Grumpy_chap

kinger101 said:

If you look on their website, they offer a 2 and 3 seater version.  What's odd, other than the 3 seater only being 8 cm wider than the 2 seater, is that the width of the seating area is identical on both  59 cm. Though the 3 seater does look wider on the image.

You may be reading the dimensions on the website incorrectly.
I read the 59 cm (which is the same for 2 and 3 seater options) as the seat size front to back, which you would expect to remain constant.

I read the 3 seat has overall length (width) 204 cm with internal seat width 137 cm.
The 2 seat has overall length (width) 196 cm with internal seat width 129 cm.
It seems absurd to have two sizes so close, but maybe it is a generous and spacious 2-seater or a compact and cosy 3-seater?

The OP may be better to measure the internal seat width as that appears to be more defined than the overall external width.

kinger101

Grumpy_chap said:

kinger101 said:

If you look on their website, they offer a 2 and 3 seater version.  What's odd, other than the 3 seater only being 8 cm wider than the 2 seater, is that the width of the seating area is identical on both  59 cm. Though the 3 seater does look wider on the image.

You may be reading the dimensions on the website incorrectly.
I read the 59 cm (which is the same for 2 and 3 seater options) as the seat size front to back, which you would expect to remain constant.

I read the 3 seat has overall length (width) 204 cm with internal seat width 137 cm.
The 2 seat has overall length (width) 196 cm with internal seat width 129 cm.
It seems absurd to have two sizes so close, but maybe it is a generous and spacious 2-seater or a compact and cosy 3-seater?

The OP may be better to measure the internal seat width as that appears to be more defined than the overall external width.

Hmm, I have reading glasses.  Maybe I should wear them.

Money_Grabber13579

Are there any labels on the sofa which might have identifying indicators on them, or model number etc? Although I’m sure DFS would have checked that and I guess there is no guarantee that the wrong label wasn’t put on the wrong sofa.

It doesn’t make much sense though to have two different model sizes, if the level of tolerance (which 8cm difference probably is within) means that the smaller size could be the larger size and vice versa. Otherwise there would be nothing to stop them only producing 1 model but selling 2 sizes of everything! 

Silver_Shark

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is a consumer protection law that gives you the right to claim money back from your credit provider if you have a problem with a purchase made using a credit card.

OP i had the same problems trying to reason with DFS when they delivered a damaged sofa to me. They tried to charge me to return the sofa, in the end they collected it and I was refunded the full amount.