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DFS Sofa - 15 year warranty

moneymomma_
Posts: 14 Forumite

Was hoping someone could advise me about my potential rights relating to a sofa that I purchased in 2020, that is still under a 15 year structural warranty.
The last time the couch broke I was sitting and holding my 5 month old baby, when the springs beneath me snapped and I practically fell through the sofa. Latest problem happened 2 days ago, my husband was simply watching tv when the spring snapped. My little boy is now 11 months and the latest snapped spring is sticking out of the couch, very sharp and very accessible to my son. It is now, in my opinion, a health and safety issue.
My Husband and I had a sofa delivered from DFS in September 2020. For the first couple of years sofa was fine - no issues that we had identified. In 2023, springs in the sofa snapped away from the frame and we booked in a repair which we believed would rectify the issue. Since the first break, the issue has persisted and been repaired 3 times and is now booked in for a further repair next week (totalling 4 repairs). Evidently, the repairs are not rectifying the issue as it keeps persisting in multiple destinations on the sofa. The last visit included a full respring.
The last time the couch broke I was sitting and holding my 5 month old baby, when the springs beneath me snapped and I practically fell through the sofa. Latest problem happened 2 days ago, my husband was simply watching tv when the spring snapped. My little boy is now 11 months and the latest snapped spring is sticking out of the couch, very sharp and very accessible to my son. It is now, in my opinion, a health and safety issue.
I contacted DFS who has once again offered to send a repair serviceman out to see if they can fix the problem - I also asked to raise a formal complaint about this.
Today, I have also had a phone call from my local store to outline “their rights”. I have been advised they can see the history and will be sending another colleague out to assess (the same repairman that visited last time) and want to see what he says. After mentioning that I have addressed this as a complaint and that I am unhappy as the repairs are not rectifying the problem, I have also been told that if we do end up having to send the sofa back to the manufacturer, that this would be as a cost to me. I was told this could be up to around £1500 because of how long we have had the sofa (4 years).
There is no mention of a charge in the warranty documentation.
The item is still under the 15 year structural warranty which covers structure and springs.
There is no mention of a charge in the warranty documentation.
The item is still under the 15 year structural warranty which covers structure and springs.
My questions are:
• Do I have any rights to push on the return of the goods? The item is clearly defective and not fit for purpose given the springs give way with no movement and the multiple repairs with no success.
• Do I have any rights to push on the return of the goods? The item is clearly defective and not fit for purpose given the springs give way with no movement and the multiple repairs with no success.
• What would advice be for next steps?
• Shall I proceed with only written communication?
Thank you in advance.
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Comments
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How much did you pay OP?
What does the warranty say about refunds/their actions in the event they can't/don't repair?
Consumer rights are different and if rejecting a deduction for use is permitted, 2 second Google says 7-15 years for a sofa to last, £1500 might be a steep deduction, first offer is likely to be poor so no harm in hagglingIn the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces1 -
A deduction for use is probably reasonable after 4 years or so.
As to whether £1.5k is reasonable will depend on the original cost of the sofa.
If the lifetime of the sofa is 15 years (matching the warranty), then a deduction for a little under a third of the original cost would seem reasonable.1 -
Grumpy_chap said:A deduction for use is probably reasonable after 4 years or so.
As to whether £1.5k is reasonable will depend on the original cost of the sofa.
If the lifetime of the sofa is 15 years (matching the warranty), then a deduction for a little under a third of the original cost would seem reasonable.
Consumer rights are different and if rejecting a deduction for use is permitted, 2 second Google says 7-15 years for a sofa to last, £1500 might be a steep deduction, first offer is likely to be poor so no harm in haggling
We paid just over £3000 for the sofa in 2020.By the presumption the sofa should last 15 years (using the warranty as a guide) - perhaps £3000 / 15 = £200 per year of use is a more realistic reduction.
the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:How much did you pay OP?
What does the warranty say about refunds/their actions in the event they can't/don't repair?
14) Our DFS guaranteeThis clause sets out the guarantee that is provided in relation to upholstered Products, such as Sofas. Please note that our guarantee does not affect your statutory rights. It excludes accidental damage and wear and tear, and it covers domestic use only.
- 15 year structural guarantee. DFS provides you with a 15-year structural guarantee from the date of delivery of your Order. You will need proof of purchase in order to use your DFS guarantee and this is your responsibility as purchaser.
- What our warranty covers. Our 15-year structural guarantee covers your upholstered furniture against manufacturing defects or failures of the frame construction and suspension (springs or webbing).
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moneymomma_ said:
We paid just over £3000 for the sofa in 2020.By the presumption the sofa should last 15 years (using the warranty as a guide) - perhaps £3000 / 15 = £200 per year of use is a more realistic reduction.
Paid £3k in 2020.
5 years now.
Deduction of £1k so refund £2k.1 -
Did you use any credit to pay for the sofa OP?
Perhaps their terms are written with the assumption they can repair any defect so the need to offer something for not being able to wasn’t considered (clearly should have been!)
Other option is see if someone else can do a better repair and seek the cost from DFS but I personally would reject and pester head office for a 2 grand refund based on the frame being expected to last 15 years and you’ve only had 5 years (you can work the figure out to the exact months depending upon when purchased in 2020).In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces1 -
There's some confusion here. The structure guarantee and your consumer rights are separate things.
The guarantee can have any reasonable terms and it could very well be that you are only entitled to a repair or some other discretionary gesture. It's also worth pointing out that the structure seems to be guaranteed for 15 years but not the rest of the sofa. So under the guarantee they could argue that eg. The upholstery would need maintenance or repair at some point as justification for their cash offer.
Your consumer rights on the other hand would require you to show that the sofa is inherently faulty. The slight complication here is that a contrarian could argue that after the first repair the problem was the standard of repairs not an inherent fault with the sofa. So my advice would be to obtain an independent report. If that says the sofa is inherently faulty (in this case it must be the design) then approach DFS saying you are rejecting the sofa as faulty under the Consumer Rights Act.1 -
PHK said:There's some confusion here. The structure guarantee and your consumer rights are separate things.
The guarantee can have any reasonable terms and it could very well be that you are only entitled to a repair or some other discretionary gesture. It's also worth pointing out that the structure seems to be guaranteed for 15 years but not the rest of the sofa. So under the guarantee they could argue that eg. The upholstery would need maintenance or repair at some point as justification for their cash offer.
Your consumer rights on the other hand would require you to show that the sofa is inherently faulty. The slight complication here is that a contrarian could argue that after the first repair the problem was the standard of repairs not an inherent fault with the sofa. So my advice would be to obtain an independent report. If that says the sofa is inherently faulty (in this case it must be the design) then approach DFS saying you are rejecting the sofa as faulty under the Consumer Rights Act.0 -
PHK said:There's some confusion here.
The 15 year guarantee excludes accidental damage and wear and tear and covers .... manufacturing defects or failuresPHK said:
Your consumer rights on the other hand would require you to show that the sofa is inherently faulty. The slight complication here is that a contrarian could argue that after the first repair the problem was the standard of repairs not an inherent fault with the sofa. So my advice would be to obtain an independent report. If that says the sofa is inherently faulty (in this case it must be the design) then approach DFS saying you are rejecting the sofa as faulty under the Consumer Rights Act.
A poster only really needs an inspection when 1) the retailer says "sure we'll help but first please show the goods do not conform" 2) The retailer wants nothing to do with it and the customer is looking at small claims.
When you have two parties in positive dialogue, with an acceptance of rejection from the retailer and a small sticking point of the value of the deduction for use I can't see any benefit in going to the time, trouble and expense of have an inspection at this stage.
Indeed DFS could refuse to pay for it saying it was unnecessary given they'd accepted (or said they would accept) the rejection.
Lastly an inspection is not always needed, the goods not conforming may be apparent from simply looking at them, or in this case the history, sure OP could be doing star jumps on their sofa all day long but, given the company have accepted the situation 3 times as not being damage/wear/tear, a court may conclude on the balance of probability that the sofa doesn't conform.
In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces1 -
When you have two parties in positive dialogue, with an acceptance of rejection from the retailer and a small sticking point of the value of the deduction for use I can't see any benefit in going to the time, trouble and expense of have an inspection at this stage.
If I have understood correctly, DFS are proposing a deduction of £1,500 and the OP is accepting that the deduction may be around £1,000.
The discussion, therefore is around the £500 gap between the two deductions.
DFS might simply roll over and agree as a "goodwill gesture".
A split the difference outcome might arise. Maybe the OP should go in at £800 and that leaves the OP some negotiating space.
Good luck to the OP in reaching a speedy close out.1 -
PHK said:There's some confusion here.
The 15 year guarantee excludes accidental damage and wear and tear and covers .... manufacturing defects or failures
If DFS have made a repair under this guarantee they've already acknowledged the goods do not conform to the contract and if after multiple repairs they still do not conform the consumer may reject.Grumpy_chap said:
If I have understood correctly, DFS are proposing a deduction of £1,500 and the OP is accepting that the deduction may be around £1,000.Hi everyone, thanks for your feedback in all of this.To clarify some points…
On the several occasions that the sofa has broken, it has been in all different spots. Sometimes in the same place, this time in a new place entirely. I feel this strengthens my argument that the product is not fit for purpose under the 15 year warranty but id be interested on any other takes on this.
DFS have not yet formally offered a refund or partial refund, they told me via telephone that if I want to pursue returning the sofa that this would be at a cost to me. Approx £1500 to return the sofa back to the manufacturer. I need to seek further clarity on this from them and get in writing what this may mean.Their solution at present is to send another serviceman (the same serviceman that visited last time) to assess the issue and to go from there… presumably to decide whether there is a case for a refund or repair. As it currently stands, I would rather pursue a refund than them have the sofa repaired YET again. Would I be within my rights to allow the assessment to take place and but request that no repairs take place until after I have had a further discussion with management/complaints about what my options are? My concern is, if I let them repair for the 4th time that they’ll argue the problem is rectified.0
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