Hate my new expensive sofa

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

Not an Aibu I know, but just posting in the hope that someone can offer ideas or advice. Our cheap, comfy fabric corner sofa was getting a bit saggy and smelly, so we decided to splash out on a leather sofa (leather essential due to the new dog, fur, smells etc). I saw a sofa I absolutely fell in love with, but DH had his heart set on a recliner so we ended up compromising on a two seater sofa and reclining armchair. It wasn't a choice I was happy with, just the best compromise we could reach. Our living room is quite narrow and we were limited in terms of what would fit.

We've had them just under a week and I hate them. The recliner has to sit right in the middle of the living room with a wire going to the plug socket, because it needs space to recline. I've always thought recliners were tacky, and having tried it, I still do. It's also already playing up. The sofa is too small and too narrow. It did seem OK in the store, and I thought I could get to like it, but it's just really not comfy and is starting to cause me back pain.

I called the company today and they have just said they have a no returns policy, which is not what their website suggests at all. Am I allowed to name them? Not sure. Anyway, I just feel bloody miserable now. All together the things cost £1800, which is a lot of money for us. Sigh.

Do they have a Twitter page?
I must say their lack of response to you speaks volumes about their lack of customer service and common courtesy!

Upon googling them I just came across this link mentioning the furniture ombudsmen. I've never heard of such a thing!
www.thefurnitureombudsman.org/sofology-limited/

Just thought - we're on a payment plan with them! Does anyone know if we can legally cancel it in these circumstances, or would we be in breach of contract?

Payment plans with most retailers are organised through third party financial suppliers.

So and cancellation would have to be with them.

You borrowed £1800 for a sofa?

It's fairly common to pay that much for new furniture, and what's wrong with payment plans? It makes more sense financially to go with an interest free payment plan than to withdraw savings and lose the interest on that.

Just to reiterate, we both would have preferred to buy second hand. However, we looked for a long time and couldn't find anything that would fit. Our living room is extremely narrow.

I am rather surprised at this faux outrage about the cost of sofas! Sofas are expensive if you buy good quality ones that you want to last.

You shouldn't need to defend yourself for buying new either. Most people want new sofas!

I have 2 Multiyork sofas that have lasted 19 years so far. We had them recovered last year, but I fully expect them to last another 10 years.

If you get your money back, look for a second hand Multiyork small sofa, good for small spaces.

i'd divorce before he puts a recliner in my house

That customer service sounds absolutely woeful
At least you have warned a whole load of people on here about them which is good
Keep at it for the faulty product

The sofa isn’t custom made to specification I assume, so should be ok for the 14 days one (not entirely sure)

Marsha they claim that they 'custom make' every sofa, but in reality it's just a set number of configurations and materials that you grt to choose from. So you couldn't have a sofa as a four seater if the only options are 1, 2 or 3 seater, that kind of thing.

Tiny bit of progress today, but not much. I went to the store and explained, and the guy I spoke to said that the stores are completely cut off from the customer service side of things - he couldn't contact them even if he wanted to Well, maybe, but having been lied to a couple of times already I'm not sure what to believe. At any rate, he sent the online form through again (I sent it on Tuesday, quoting the reference number, and chased it repeatedly but heard nothing). This time we got a reply almost instantly requesting lots more information, which we provided, and asked them to ring us. Then nothing.

They're obviously aware of this thread, but still don't care enough to do anything. Telling, that.

Well Sofology, if you're reading this, your custom service is ridiculous and you'll never have me darkening your door step.

This story would put me off from buying a sofa from sofoligy. I get a new sofa every 5 years or so and this level of customer service would scare me off.

Did you buy them on finance if so you may have recourse through the finance company.

We had a major problems with the leather sofa we brought, the finance company helped us find a resolution we reselected, and are happy now.

Merry I was starting to wonder if it was just me! Aside from being faulty, it doesn't fit at all with the rest of the house. It's a gigantic, padded, malfunctioning cuckoo in the nest.

Thanks loveka, will look into Multiyork. Our position is : if they are willing to take both back, we would be very happy to do an exchange for something different. If they only agree to take back the faulty recliner, we'll take the refund and look elsewhere for a replacement (and steer well clear of Sofology in future, obviously).

Just sent you a PM @JesusInTheCabbageVan

Yoga we paid half up front, and the rest is on a payment plan, so cancelling may be an option. 'my assuming the payments go out around the end/beginning of the month, so we have a bit of a grace period before we look into that option.

Honestly, all I want is to know where we stand. I just want to talk to one of them! I've spent the past five days wondering if we've basically burned £1800 and I'm really tired of it now. This thread is the only thing keeping me sane.

Gareth THANK YOU! Dying to know how you found that info out. Will try that tomorrow and keep you all updated.

Just googled CEO email Sometimes you have to do a bit of digging to check they're up to date (i.e.the name is the current CEO) but the email format usually stays the same per company so you can guess it if they're not publishing it!

I've done it many times with notoriously-bad-customer-service retailers (should've learned my lesson by now ) and always had good results.

I begin with a clear and concise outline of the issue and provide further details/evidence/consumer pressure in my reply.

*best bet is to be assertive but not over-emotional. And polite but persistant

Well, of that checklist, I'm certainly persistent! Jury's still out on the rest though...

I used to be terribly wordy and tie myself in knots writing complaint emails (I'm not always good at asserting myself irl)

I've developed a better style over time

StatisticallyChallenged I’d love to know what the cat resistant fabric is please?

IT'S SORTED!!!

Sent a long but polite email to the CEO inbox this morning, and heard back from Customer Services during the World Cup final. They are going to take some money off, which I'm more than happy with, as it was only the recliner that was actually faulty. I'm now very relieved and celebrating with Thank you everyone for some very helpful tips and advice. I know it's a bit of a first world problem, but it's been a stressful 6 days.

Really pleased it’s sorted out, enjoy yr gin!

Hooray!