DFS delivered the wrong size sofa

Mint_choc_chip

Money_Grabber13579 said:

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! 

There's nothing, we checked the labels but they don't have anything relating to what product it is, just the normal fire safety ones. We did notice their quality control label is blank making me wonder if they even QC'd it! I took pictures of it.

MattMattMattUK

I agree that the difference between the two seater and three seater should be more than 8cm. A couple of things, the difference between the products, the image online for the three seater is a Photoshopped image of the two seater, slightly stretched and with a row of banding inserted. The three seater is 8cm wider both total width and the internal space as others have pointed out. That difference does appear to be within their tolerances, so it seems odd that they differentiate them as different products. 

saajan_12

Mint_choc_chip said:

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. 

Well of course its legal, it would be impractical to guarantee every item is exactly the same size to the mm. So even if not written on the T&Cs or website, there would be a degree of reasonableness. If you complained its defective because its 1mm too short, that would be unreasonable. 

The question is how big should the tolerance be - if the T&Cs say 5cm, then you accepted it could vary by that much either way. Since its 8cm off which is over their stated tolerance (from everything communicated before the sale, not after) and since 8cm is clearly enough to be a different product, I'd say it is over what is reasoanble and they have not provided you with the item you bought. You could refuse for a refund within 30 days or allow them to replace. 

The 14 day cooling off right is different - regardless of defects, you can change your mind but you would be responsible for return costs. 

Also having rights is one thing.. enforcing them is another - eg what if they disagree and you have to go to court.. can you phsyically store the sofa in the meantime, or afford a replacement while waiting for a refund? Not to say you should fight for it if you want to, but worth thinking about if there's another way to get most of what you wanted. Would an 8cm difference really make it unusable for you, or have you changed yoru mind anyway and this is the legal scapegoat?

user1977

I agree if it's beyond even their own stated tolerance levels then they can't argue it's other than "not as described".

Separate argument maybe about whether their tolerance levels are reasonable - 5cm either way seems quite a lot. Think we've had a previous thread discussing this.

M_anonymous

Can you sit 3 people on the sofa? 

Yes?  -  What's the fuss about then?!