Problem with DFS sofa - advice on how to deal with them

[AnnaRose76]

Hi, we bought a DFS leather sofa just over a year ago. It was a supposed high grade leather and cost almost £2k so not cheap. I’ve had a leather sofa from there before and lasted 10 + years so didn’t hesitate or worry. I loved the sofa when it arrived but after 6 months I was horrified to see small parts of Leather peeling off, it’s like the surface of the Leather has rubbed off!!

I rang and emailed and eventually a man from the local store came out. He implied I must have used something chemical to clean it which I hadn’t. But he did repair it by painting/spraying over the patches and it looked as good as new... until the past few months the exact same thing has happened! It now looks horrendous and like an old tatty sofa. The leather is peeling off in tiny patches on all the seating areas, almost looks like someone has applied tippex over it as lots of small white spots. If it is real leather should it wear like that?

I’m so annoyed as we saved for a long time to replace our sofa and I thought I had found the perfect pals grey/silver colour I wanted for my room. I won’t ever be able to afford a new sofa for at least 10 more years, please tell me I’m not stuck with this awful looking shabby one now.

I’d love some advice as to if I have any hope of getting sofa replaced or money back? I don’t want another repair as I can see the same thing will happen and I want this resolved before the 2 year warranty is up! Any similar experiences or advice?

That’s awful. I was thinking of buying from them, not so sure now!

Sounds like it could be bonded leather - thin thickness of leather glued onto some other kind of fabric underneath, to save money, so you only see the top leather surface but it doesn’t wear as well? Or whatever they finished it with wasn’t done properly.
I’d be wanting my money eh back or a replacement too. Check the citizens advice website and see if any guidance there. Hoods should be fit for the purpose they are intended for. A couch should last longer than one year without flaking!

My friend followed the complaints procedure with DFS and they were useless. She took it to the furniture ombudsman and won.

Persevere

I would say that is not fit for purpose under the Sale of Goods act. A sofa should be usable for some years, and remain in good condition, given its function and cost. I can’t see how they can argue otherwise. Of course their claim you have used a chemical is the only way they see of getting out of fulfilling their obligations. But they have no proof you did that. As you had a leather sofa for some years and similar didn’t happen, this demonstrates you know how to properly care for them.

I would go for a replacement and not accept a repair. If they get shitty threaten to get onto Paul Lewis on Twitter, and ask his advice. I think he’d love this. My guess is this is fairly likely to concentrate their minds. Cheaper for them to replace your sofa than lose loads of sales.

Thanks so much for these replies. I’ve never had an issue like this and don’t know anyone else who has so just felt bit lost as to what to do next. I will definitely take on board this advice. Will look into the furniture ombudsman and threatening Paul Lewis on Twitter. I’m not even on twitter but will see if I can join up. I’m just so annoyed as was a big purchase and I spent a lot of time choosing and scared I’ll be left looking and thus eyesore for the next 10 years.

Who’s Paul Lewis? Is he a relative of Martin Lewis? Genuine question.

@AnnaRose76 I’d be fuming too. You need to keep complaining.

Be wary of the Furniture Ombudsman. Essentially, it's run by FIRA which is the trade association for furniture companies. Radio 4 revealed that it hardly ever finds in favour of the consumer. Jimdandy - your friend was lucky or they brought the case before DFS joined FIRA about a year ago! Yes, furniture bodies like FIRA and the National Bed Federation regularly bribe or threaten non-members until they join up. As said, DFS is now a member of FIRA so probably explains why the Furniture Ombudsman found against you.

You need to start by following the right complaints procedure for DFS. They need the opportunity to put it right first. Have you been back to them to say the problem is back again?

Try Harvey Ellis on 013022720920. He's the Production Manager at DFS; very knowledgeable; been doing the job for about 20 years. If he asks, tell him he was suggested by someone you met from the testing industry (but you don't recall his name exactly) who said he was very fair minded.

Thanks so much everyone. I have been contacting DFS to tell them about issue being worse than ever and even emailed the CEO but they’ve ignored them. I feel so frustrated and stressed by it all. My home is important to me and every time I see the sofa I feel depressed I’ll be stuck with it for years.

FlamelngSofa thank you so much for that. Be great to chat with someone who knows what I’m dealing with. Would you have an email for him by any chance? I get very anxious and end up stuttering on the phone ( know this is so silly) and would rather deal by email if possible. Thanks so much everyone.

I also used ‘Resolver’ to see if they might respond through that. Has anyone experience of this Service or is it just a waste of time?

The address I have is: [email protected]. He knows everything about what goes into a DFS sofa, including the various treatments. Probably best initially to say nothing much more than someone recommended him. If he doesn't respond, or doesn't respond positively you might try emailing to say you are seriously thinking of going to Trading Standards and the Office for Product Safety and Standards (so you show you know what you're talking about!).

Thank you so much FlamelngSofa. Will report back in next few weeks if any developments

Did you purchase the sofa on finance OP? If so contact the finance company and they should help bring about a resolution. That’s what happened to us when we had a lot of problems with a sofa we purchased from Furniture Village.

You may be interested to learn that in 2014 the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Furniture Industry Group - Stephen McPartland MP - threatened Jo Swinson the then Business Department Minister that he would bring a judicial review if she tried to go ahead with safety changes to the Furniture Flammability Regulations (which would have made a big dent in industry profits but made the Regulations safe for consumers). A few weeks later he was rewarded with a place on the board of Furniture Village along with about £40K a year for a couple of hours nominal "work" per month. Nice work if you can get it!

And if you want to check out a consumer guide to buying furniture that tells the truth, try: www.toxicsofa.com/consumer-guide-to-buying-furniture.html

Unfortunately I did not Roselily36 but I now wish I had. As I said I saved long and hard for this sofa which is why I’m so annoyed about it all, it was a lot of money for us. I also paid by debit card which I will never do again, I’ll use my credit card the next time for any big purchase.

FlamelngSofa that is so shocking, hard to believe that sort of thing goes on. I’m learning a lot from this problem.

We had something similar with a leather sofa from DFS. Ours lasted longer, as the peeling didn't start until 2-3 years in, and I put up with it for a couple of extra years, but bought a new one recently (Boxing Day sales).

I have avoided leather this time (and DFS) and hope it will last a lot longer.

If you can afford it, you're better off paying more for a well-made sofa. I've been to the DFS factory and seen what's inside their sofas! You may be surprised - under that smooth exterior is a whole mess of MDF, plastic, cardboard, etc. The only tools they need are a staple gun and glue. The other big names are the same. They make sofas now with the knowledge that generally people want them cheap and will replace them in 5-8 years.

AnnaRose76. The issue of UK furniture is possibly the greatest ever scandal in product history! George Monbiot in the Guardian a couple of weeks ago did a pretty good summary but believe me, it only scrapes the surface! www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/26/toxic-sofa-eu-red-tape-flame-retardants

My parents had the same issue. They eventually got theirs recovered. It has now started doing the same a year later. They are rubbish.

I’m even more worried now. I really thought they’d have to replace since it’s within the 2 year warranty. It honestly looks so bad.
I had thought DFS were of decent quality. I’ve another smaller older leather sofa from there which is ok but maybe I was lucky in the past.

The turnover rate of furniture has definitely increased over the past 10 years or so. It doesn't help with the National Bed Federation blaring out everywhere that you must change your mattress every 8 years. Which is ridiculous - you can't generalise. A couple of years ago I paid for a high-quality mattress that should last at least 20 years; much cheaper ones may not last more than a couple of years. The truth is that the NBF (part of what's known as the "Skipton Mafia" in trade circles!) is simply maximising profits for its members. One problem with faster turnover is that it means the UK is having to dispose of ever more toxic flame retardants at end-life of furniture products. This is currently around 93kgs of chemicals, much of them now banned; and most of it is being disposed of illicitly with government collusion.

Sorry that should read 93 million kgs per year.

You'd be entitled to ask for a refund as the sofa is clearly not of satsfactory quality - keep hold of your paper/email trail and bear in mind you can always threaten them with the Small Claims Court. It doesn't cost that much to bring a case and it generally concentrates their minds.

Just wanted to say thanks again for all the advice. I’ve learned so much!! Really regret buying with DFS now but still hoping they will have to replace or refund and I’m prepared to take this as far as I have to as sofa is so bad.

Would anyone recommend using social media or have any experience of getting results this way. A lot of friends and family have advised I do this. I can see that their Facebook page is full of complaints but hard to tell if their complaints get resolved. Is there any way to link this thread to them? Would anyone be able to do that for me or give me very simple instructions how to do it!