Or is John Lewis

[hawai40]

Having a sense of humour failure here. We bought two expensive (for us !) chairs from John Lewis last year. They are different but part of the same range. The leg/dowl unexpectedly broke on one about 6 weeks ago. Contacted John Lewis who accepted the case and put me in touch with their inspectors/ repairers. I've spent 6 weeks trying to contact them but to no avail and they are now apparently entirely closed.

The chair is heavy and I have three small children, we are constantly moving it to prevent them scratched by it or hurt if it falls over.

I have suggested:

We repair it temporarily ourselves and take a video and they can asses it via that and repair in full when possible.

We put the chair in our garden out of the way of children and they asses it when they can (not ideal as it will be ruined and they will have to replace).

They get their repair company do come, asses and take away for repair. We can leave the chair outside at an agreed time so no infringement or social distancing.

Apparently none of those options are acceptable. They have now agreed to take away the chair and issue a refund but for only one chair. I love the chairs and want to keep them if repaired, but I have no desire to be stuck with one chair which I can't find a replacement for when we need two chairs.

What next ! I am so fed up of moving the chair, but we just don't have anywhere to put it and we are in the house all of the time now.

@Giganticshark

I don’t understand why you can’t just grit your teeth and wait until things are up and running so John Lewis can repair it for you? Why does it need to go in the garden?

Why not take the refund, buy a chair you like and then ask JL to pay to have the other chair re-upholstered in a (mis)matching fabric, and provide the paint to re-decorate the room so that it (mis) matches the new chairs. Or just fix the bloody chair.

Your family sound incredibly clumsy - did one of them break the chair in the first place?

How would the chair be able to fall over unless it's a 3 legged stool? I'm confused.

Im not sure why everyone is getting so snarky to be honest.

Probably because all the reasonable suggestions are being discounted because its clear you feel only your options are the right options.

Heres 1 final option. Take the refund and post a picture of the chair on here. I'm sure helpful mumsnetters might be able to track you down a replacement.

The chair is heavy and I have three small children, we are constantly moving it to prevent them scratched by it or hurt if it falls over
This is hyperbolic nonsense. How could they get scratched by a chair?
Equally, how could the bloody thing fall over?
It's hard to see how John Lewis could possibly take you seriously, tbh.

Will JL repair the chair when the repair place re-opens? If they will, then you have the option of waiting for this or having the chair collected and a refund.

Expecting speedy repair of a chair during a pandemic is ridiculous.

Why don’t you take the refund, sell the other chair and buy two new ones, then buy home context to insurance that covers replacing a matching set?

Why don’t you take the refund, sell the other chair

tamsintamsout Quite reasonably, they want the chair back with a refund.

I think the "other chair" is the second, non damaged chair in the pair that isn't a pair.

Some people want the moon on a stick.

Why don’t you take the refund, sell the other chair and buy two new ones

Myself and others suggested this a few pages ago apparently this is also an unacceptable solution.

This was the OPs rather odd response

I can't sell the other chair it cost a lot of money and there's no way I would get anything near that second hand.

I’d be really annoyed at that, especially if the purpose of the chairs is to have them matching. however, Itdoesn’t surprise me. I ordered a sofa from John Lewis at the end of September, it finally arrived in March (8 weeks late) but was broken on arrival and it took them till mid may to pick it up.

especially if the purpose of the chairs is to have them matching

But they don't match?

Ok, sorry not matching but part of the same range and therefore potentially difficult and time consuming to find another chair that will look right.

OP you keep saying you need two chairs. Nothing about this scenario prevents you from having two chairs, except your need to have them match.

I would take a little glance at, say, the news, and get a grip.

I just find this place unbelievable at times.

So, no-one would be unhappy if they did their livingroom maybe with a navy sofa and two patterned armchairs, maybe one with a higher headrest that the other but from the same range in the exact same fabric. Within a year of having them, the leg on one breaks, you can't get a matching replacement in either style as the fabric is out of use. And you wouldn't be hacked off that they are suggesting that they take the chair back and refund? leaving you to do what? have a completely random item for the other chair? That's really not an acceptable solution is it?

Surely it's far more sensible to work out some way to get the chair repaired either by the OP and them reimbursing or arranging their own repair. I mean, what are JL going to do with the broken chair? sling it in their skip probably, what a waste.

I absolutely appreciate that we are not in normal times at the moment but I can't believe that you would all happily take the money and replace with a random chair, i'm not buying that at all.

Oh and clearly some people think that you are not able to think about anything other than covid or do anything other than stuff related to covid.

We all read the news, I can't believe that most people aren't appalled and sad about the loss of life, but we are also allowed to deal with our own stuff as well - even if someone else views it as trivia. We don't have to sit in a dark room crying until it's all over.

All op has to do is wait until it can be repaired 🤷🏻‍♀️
She doesn't want to do this because the chair is scratching her children and they're in danger of being crushed beneath it should it fall on them.
All fairly reasonable, really...

@ WaxOnFeckOff

The OP hasn’t been particularly reasonable, wanting to toss the chair outside and have it collected whenever.

The repair place is closed which is understandable given the situation we are living in. If JL will be able to have the chair repaired when the repair place opens, that’s one option. There is also the option of a full refund and for the chair to be taken away.

She also has the option of getting the chair repaired herself and covering the cosy herself.

I’m sure the chair can be propped up with with a few sturdy books in the interim.

To be honest, my finances don't operate in the upper echelons of furniture but do meet at the John Lewis level and every sofa or chair i've ever owned has had screw in legs (even if they have been delivered with legs already on). meaning that my own personal solution would be to unscrew all the legs and set it on the floor whilst I ordered in a spare cheap set to tide me over til it was repaired, or just leave it on the floor until it could be repaired,

OPs furniture might be better quality than that - though to be fair I've never managed to get a broken leg on even my cheapest stuff. I've just replaced the cheapo MFI ones that were about 15 years old and cost me about £150 each and even then, i've just moved them into the family room and put a blanket on the seats :)

Dilly the putting it outside comment I was taking as frustration. I've been there myself tbh.

I wouldn't prop with books if it was going to be used but just to keep it upright that might be an option depending on the damage and the structure.

A photo might help.

Why don’t you sell the one that’s not broken and then buy 2 new chairs?

@heartsonacake I said sell the other chair - the one that doesn’t match. Buy two new ones that do. Then get an insurance policy that includes replacing matching sets.

I don’t think YABU! You bought them as a set and they’re not offering any solutions that don’t involve you forking out hundreds more for the look you want or settling for a very mismatched suite.

If you spend a lot on the chairs, I understand your frustration (though can’t relate from my cheapo IKEA armchair!).

Personally I’d get it repaired by a local craftsman and just move on with my life.

Alternatively could you google the fabric name and see if other suppliers have bought from the same manufacturer? You may find another of the same fabric.