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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To cancel my DFS sofa insurance?

27 replies

Menora · 26/08/2020 09:16

Just got a new sofa from DFS. It’s a dark material and so far it’s pretty easy to wipe with a damp cloth and doesn’t leave marks. I don’t have small DC anymore so the trashed 15 year old sofa has gone to sofa heaven...

But I felt obliged into the £300 insurance as to me this was such a big purchase. I have 1 dog and 1 cat. The dog is not destructive at all, has never ripped anything. He’s lazy and sleeps on the sofa on top of a blanket. With the regards to the cat, she has a tendency to scratch so at night I cover it in throws.

I understand I can’t wash the covers in the machine which is why I got the insurance but they didn’t even send me the cleaning kit and looking through the T&C, they don’t clean the sofa either?

I’m tempted to cancel but knowing my luck then something would happen to it!

YANBU - cancel
YABU - be mad to cancel it

OP posts:
FallonsTeaRoom · 26/08/2020 09:20

In your situation I would cancel. You already take care to stop the cat clawing by covering it up at night so (if you can) I would cancel.

Fightthebear · 26/08/2020 09:24

Ime insurers can usually find a way not to pay. £300 is a huge amount for sofa insurance unless it’s made of gold.

You need to weigh up the risk of needing to rely on insurance vs the odds of them paying out. Personally I’d save the £300 towards a new sofa when your new one needs replacing in 10 years time.

cariadlet · 26/08/2020 09:24

I've never bought insurance from a retailer. £300 sounds a huge amount. Surely normal house insurance would cover any major disasters anyway.

DPotter · 26/08/2020 09:26

These sorts of insurances are always a rip off. Remember being offered an insurance when we bought a microwave. It basically only covered if the glass turntable plate broke. The insurance was £25 (this must be nearly 30 yrs ago) The cost of a new glass turntable plate - yep you'v guessed it - £25.

The sofa insurance may not even cover damage made by cats and dogs. If the damage is significant your house insurance will cover it

zingally · 26/08/2020 09:27

I've never had sofa insurance, and have always stood firm when it's rammed down my throat!

Last time they ended up giving it to me for free! I was bemused.

karala · 26/08/2020 09:32

I pay less than £300 for contents insurance for all my possessions and if something catastrophic happened to my sofa then I'd claim on contents. I can't believe the price of this insurance

hedgehogger1 · 26/08/2020 09:44

How much is it to add a high value item for accidental damage to your contents insurance. I'm guessing less than £300!

Cocomarine · 26/08/2020 09:47

I’d cancel and use the £300 on assertiveness training!

user1471447863 · 26/08/2020 10:12

You were unreasonable to but the insurance in the first place. These things along with extended warranties are near enough pure profit for the retailer.

Sparklesocks · 26/08/2020 10:14

I’d cancel. It also might be worth checking to see if your contents insurance would cover it anyway.

RedRiverShore · 26/08/2020 10:20

Cancel the insurance, if you want the cleaning kit they are generally on eBay

Odoreida · 26/08/2020 10:23

cancel it immediately

Ilikewinter · 26/08/2020 10:25

Yes cancel it. Didnt even realise sofa insurance was a thing! , if it was completely ruined wouldnt your home insurance cover it?

Parkandride · 26/08/2020 10:28

You could get it professionally cleaned many times for £300! Or many many many times doing it yourself with those machines you hire. Keep an eye on the pets and check your home insurance and save that money!

RedCatBlueCat · 26/08/2020 10:30

Cancel, and buy contents insurance with accidental damage.
How much were the sofas?

Frazzled2207 · 26/08/2020 10:31

£300 is outrageous. I pay a similar amount to insurance my house.
Please cancel.
I bet it wouldn’t cover most pet damage anyway. If something really bad happens like a fire then it should be covered by contents insurance. I usually pay an extra £50 or so to cover accidental damage eg red wine spill.

AnteaterTonic · 26/08/2020 10:32

Shock my house insurance is £300!

Cancel the cheeeeeqqquuueeee!!!

Deux · 26/08/2020 10:33

Crikey you an get an indestructible Ektorp sofa with washable covers from Ikea for a little more than that.

It’s madness so yes cancel it. These insurances are always a complete rip off.

MrsR87 · 26/08/2020 10:35

I’m usually very against these types of insurance and extended warranties etc. But I must admit we do have the sofa insurance. I would never pay full price for it but we got them down to £100 which is about 2/3% of the value of the sofa . We have already used it too as the cat fell whilst jumping and scratched it (it’s leather). I googled the company that did it and it would have cost £120 and of course we are free to call them out as often as we like for the next few years. Without pets, I wouldn’t bother and I wouldn’t pay £300 for it on a £1000 sofa for example as it doesn’t seem worth it to me. To me these things totally depend on how much the purchase was in the first place, how your circumstances affect the likelihood of it being damaged and if you are willing to live with it I’d it is damaged/stained and you can’t get rid of it.

1990shopefulftm · 26/08/2020 10:38

get it cancelled, getting a sofa cleaned could be quite a bit less than that depending on the damage.

Annabanana1234 · 26/08/2020 10:38

Does it have a zipper on the cushion pads? Reason I ask is we had the insurance (2 small destroyers in the house) but when it expired we noticed the sofa had a wee bit of a funny smell. The instructions on the covers was do not wash but I chucked them on a delicate and they’re like new

Angelina82 · 26/08/2020 10:41

Most insurance schemes are a big fat con and you got conned big time. £300?!!! Shock

Regularsizedrudy · 26/08/2020 10:45

I think insurance on a sofa is utterly insane

lidoshuffle · 26/08/2020 10:49

£300 is four times the cost of my all home and content insurance on a three bedroom house!!

Retailers make quite a bit on 'upselling' these policies, there's been quite a bit in the press that they are generally a rip off.

I'd cancel OP.

LonelyFromCorona · 26/08/2020 10:54

Only insurance you should get are the ones that are legally required e.g. car insurance and buildings insurance (required by mortgage lender).

Outside of that, more generally insure things that are low likelihood but high cost and where the cost of insurance is low vs the value of the item. Contents insurance being added to buildings insurance makes sense, doesn't usually cost that much extra (low cost) but covers a huge cost from the relatively low risk of theft, fire, flood etc. Pet insurance similarly, if the premium price is reasonable and you are the type to want to spend thousands to keep pet alive for longer rather than put them down.

Things like insurance for sofas, appliances etc are expensive vs the relative cost if something happens (£300 for 5 years I assume, so £60 a year to cover a few hundred quid cost for professional cleaning, or to repair a rip etc). In these cases, better off not spending and setting aside the money towards future replacement.

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