DFS 5 year Leather care insurance

TinTin_57

Hi

Having purchased leather furniture to the tune of some £2130 from DFS at the weekend, (and after some debate beforehand, see my other posts), the salesman offered a 5 year leather care policy for an additional £181. Full terms of the policy, which are quite brief, are shown here http://www.dfsonline.co.uk/leather-care.php

I'm always wary of insurance policies sold by companies such as this and I was wondering if anyone could advise me if paying £181 to insure my purchase for 5 years in this way would be worthwhile or are there other companies that can offer the same sort of policy cheaper? Is the policy even worthwhile?

The terms show that the cleaning company would first send out a cleaning kit to see if that does the trick but DFS threw one of those in anyway for me.

I have a young child so even though we'd do our best to keep him from throwing juice all over it's not always possible. It's a bit of a dilemma really so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
TinTin

janthemum

My advice is avoid at all costs.

My personal experiance; I bought leather sofas 6 years ago) and after year one something was spilt and I remembered the sales man going on for ages how it would be covered if it got biro on it etc and the "experts " would come to the house to remove it and if needs be remove and replace the leather. Sounded good so I signed and it put £5 on my monthly repayments.

When I called they almost seemed to laugh at me and said cover didnt cover any accidental spillage or biro etc etc just the quality of the leather ie in other words they never pay up for anything. I was furious!

I did recieve a certificate!! when I took it out or in curly letters like something you would get for an exam butlooking back now the whole thing I feel is a scam and a p**s take.

I was very angry!!

geri1965_2

If you look at the exclusions under that policy, it's hard to see what it would cover.

- dyes (including indelible ink) - that would be biro marks not covered then!
- paint
- leather which has been ripped or torn
- unidentifiable stains


Waste of money IMO.

TinTin_57

Thanks for these replies. I think really you are confirming what I already suspected. When they know you've not had leather furniture before it's easy for them to rope you in with their pitch.

JennyW_2

Waste of money TinTin. When we bought our first leather suite we had some 5 year cover and I had a biro mark (I think) so thought I would just call them out but it wasn't covered - pants really and not worth the money.

We've just purchased a new suite from LofL and they salesman spent half an hour trying to flog some mechanical insurance for a suite (we bought recliners) and we just said no, no, and no. What part of no didn't he understand

I've managed to get most marks off my sofas and you'll always find help here

TinTin_57

JennyW wrote: »

Waste of money TinTin. When we bought our first leather suite we had some 5 year cover and I had a biro mark (I think) so thought I would just call them out but it wasn't covered - pants really and not worth the money.

We've just purchased a new suite from LofL and they salesman spent half an hour trying to flog some mechanical insurance for a suite (we bought recliners) and we just said no, no, and no. What part of no didn't he understand

I've managed to get most marks off my sofas and you'll always find help here

Thanks, a saving of £181 coming up!!!!!

judyb

You will find these days that many warranties do not cover what you would expect them to. Leather Protection Plans are avaialable through independent companies but may not be any cheaper although they do tend to be more specific.

There are ways you can help to reduce the problems you may have with your leather which will not cost you this sort of money.
If you apply a leather protector (you may have been supplied with one - but some are better than others) then you reduce the risk of dye transfer etc and the leather will be kept in a better condition. Ink will also be easier to remove if you use a good protector.
Always keep your leather clean on a regular basis as it is dirt and abrasion that do the most damage.
The protector will be even more crucial if you have an aniline style leather that would absorb spillages etc. as on this type of leather these stains cannot be 'cleaned' out.

Hope this helps.

TinTin_57

judyb wrote: »

You will find these days that many warranties do not cover what you would expect them to. Leather Protection Plans are avaialable through independent companies but may not be any cheaper although they do tend to be more specific.

There are ways you can help to reduce the problems you may have with your leather which will not cost you this sort of money.
If you apply a leather protector (you may have been supplied with one - but some are better than others) then you reduce the risk of dye transfer etc and the leather will be kept in a better condition. Ink will also be easier to remove if you use a good protector.
Always keep your leather clean on a regular basis as it is dirt and abrasion that do the most damage.
The protector will be even more crucial if you have an aniline style leather that would absorb spillages etc. as on this type of leather these stains cannot be 'cleaned' out.

Hope this helps.

Many thanks. I think like many first time leather buyers I might have been a bit over cautious. I'm e-mailed the store this afternoon to ask them to remove the £181 and confirm by return the new balance payable. Only reason I mailed instead of phoned is that I wanted something back from them that proved they've done what I ask. However, if I haven't heard back by tomorrow I'll phone them before time starts to pass.

TinTin_57

Just to provide an update, I was basically phoned back by the salesman I dealt with at DFS and basically he was trying to put the frighteners on me about what would I do if the leather got stained etc etc. After a full 15 minutes of me saying 'don't want it, don't want it' he reluctantly agreed to cancel it and will be sending me a new amended invoice.

Some of these guys are hard work. I feel better about having done it though.

Cheers
Tintin

judyb

Most of the sales guys earn the bulk of their money through selling add on warranties so will work very hard to try and sell one. They will have no idea what happens if someone claims or exactly what is covered by them. Much better to protect your leather yourself and this way you also know that it has been done.

2kids1wife0cash

Never ever, EVER buy the protection from DFS.

We took out the protection and we were assured that it covered the leather for any tears in the stitching and non deliberate rips in the leather.
I've just tried to phone them and they are now saying, "oh no, we only ever cover spills and stains, we never repair the leather and since it's over 2 years old the we are not liable to repar anything other than spillage"
that's funny when we asked directly would the leather be covered for tears in the leather and stitching.

Well thats £200 I'll never see again and I'll never benefit from and now I've got a sofa with ripping seams and cheap rubbish leather.

On the whole I think I'll go to a proper furniture dealer next time and not DFS ( Do the F****** Sale)
:mad: