Hi all,

I have a contents policy with MoreThen insurance.

I recently purchased a new 2+3 seater recliner sofa's costing £1500 + delivery. These were delivered towards the end of March 2010.

In late April 2010 my partner did not close the front room door so the latch caught, but did lock the handle (privacy style handle/door lock. Usa style) and went out. The dog pushed the door open and for what ever reason has clawed the seat of one of the two seater sofas.... caught the back panel and the arm panel.

The seat panel has fade lines in the dye and has broken the surface of the leather (the skin).

The sofa's I bought are all leather with no leather match on them also.

After morethan sending out their "assessor" to take photos and messing me around for two days, he finally comes and takes photos and says "ok I will send these on to the mgt company".

Around two weeks later I get a call from the mgt company saying "we are just calling to check you have been contacted by the restorers to arrange an appointment"

To which I replied, no I have not and do not feel it can be restored to pre-damage condition. How do you restore leather that has the skin removed, which is now effectively swede ?

I spoke to a manager with whom I agreed that the restorers where to contact me by phone and explain how they were going to magically repair my sofa back to a natural finish.

Anyway, this went on and on and on with morethan saying they are entitled to repair before replace.

Now to my concerns, As above I do not feel that the "restorer" will actually repair the damage but HIDE it. Which in my opinion is not a repair, and not what I pay for.

How can they replace the skin of the leather panel by restoring it, this is a natural product... which I assume they will use some form of synthetic agent on it to hide the scratches.

Where do I stand on this ?

This last phone call happened 12 days ago, and today I get a call saying "our restorer says they can repair your sofa"

Thats funny, they have not even looked at it !

Best advice is to go with the flow. Let the Insurers have the sofa inspected with a view to restoration. They have specialist companies that deal with this everyday, so if they cannot put back into the original condition, they will advise the Insurers. Then replacement will be the option.

If you kick up a fuss at this stage, it could just delay matters.

There are independent companies that will provide you with an other opinion, if you find it necessary at any stage. This will be at your cost.

My feeling on this is that they will repair the sofa's to their original condition and not need to replace.

Best advice is to go with the flow. Let the Insurers have the sofa inspected with a view to restoration. They have specialist companies that deal with this everyday, so if they cannot put back into the original condition, they will advise the Insurers. Then replacement will be the option.

 

If you kick up a fuss at this stage, it could just delay matters.

 

There are independent companies that will provide you with an other opinion, if you find it necessary at any stage. This will be at your cost.

 

My feeling on this is that they will repair the sofa's to their original condition and not need to replace.

Thanks for the reply.

My concern is that the insurers will advise the restorer to repair to save costs...

The problem being, its a near brand new sofa.... and the only way to repair completely is to replace the panels... which I have been told they wouldnt do in any case, they would replace the whole sofa.

The fact remains of my concern, that once the skin on leather is breached you have swede ! no amount of restoration is going to replace that skin, with skin ? is it ? Never seen "real" leather skin in a bottle before

lol

Would have thought that they would take the sofa away to their workshop and repair it to the same condition as it was when new. Then return to your address for inspection to make sure you are happy.

If you are not happy, you can reject by making a complaint to the claims department. If the sofa is not in a 'as new' condition, the Insurers would have to restore it properly or pay to replace.

When you take apart a sofa, they are generally pretty basically constructed and parts can be replaced. The repair company will have a vast range of replacement leather material in most colours. If the panels have been damaged they will replace the wood and filling as necessary.

Would have thought that they would take the sofa away to their workshop and repair it to the same condition as it was when new. Then return to your address for inspection to make sure you are happy.

 

If you are not happy, you can reject by making a complaint to the claims department. If the sofa is not in a 'as new' condition, the Insurers would have to restore it properly or pay to replace.

 

When you take apart a sofa, they are generally pretty basically constructed and parts can be replaced. The repair company will have a vast range of replacement leather material in most colours. If the panels have been damaged they will replace the wood and filling as necessary.

No mate, they specifically said a "in home repair"