Hi I have made a claim against DFS for PPI, in the midst of being unwell and major works taking place at my home, I had misplaced the reply until today whilst clearing up from the building works. I realise that I don't have much time to challenge this response as it was sent in May. Is this worth challenging? Thanks! DFS letter.pdf

Hi, I'd like to hear if you have had problems the same as me and if so have you been able to get DFS to do something about them? I bought a 2 & 3 Seater Leather sofas last year and they arrived a few days before xmas 2016. From day one there was a problem with the left hand side of the 3 seater sofa (lack of padding, seat dropping away in the corner and misalignment, where it does not match up to the other side) on the 4th January I emailed telling them of the issues I had with the sofa. They did reply and sent out a Service Manager on the 28th January. He agreed that some repairs needed doing. Thinking about it after his visit, I decided that I did not want a repair, I had paid £2500 and did not expect to have repairs done, I visited the store where I bought it from and they said they would like me to give them a chance to put the issues right. I reluctantly agreed on the understanding that if I wasn't happy with the repairs I wanted a replacement. The repairs were carried out in April of this year but most of the issues were not sorted out. Well long story short, I have sent numerous photos, emails and made phone calls, received a visit from the Store Manager and since registered my complaint with the Furniture Ombudsman and gone through the same rigmarole again only to be told all these months later that DFS still refuse to accept there are problems with the sofa and I now have to pay out for an independent survey, as they need evidence to take it any further. I cannot believe it, if you read the consumer law I've followed all the correct channels but it's got me nowhere. I even contacted the finance company but have heard no more from them. I wish I'd never walked into the store and bought the sofas. where do I go from here without spending out more money ?

help and advice needed about a three piece leather sofa from DFS jan 2014 purchased a three piece sofa from DFS £3500 feb 2014 they were delivered 2 weeks ago called dfs to report leather peeling away on head rest monday last week repair man come out. told he can not repair it and will send report to store tuesday i visit the store. told by salesman they will get it repaired. and told its caused by natural oils in the hair and skin and not their problem but they will repair it as a gesture of good will. also told because we are pensioners and not working. sitting in it all day dont help. told the salesman we dont think the suite has been treated properly and wish it to be taken back as repairing one area is no good because other areas will go. salesman said that there is no way we can return it and all he will do is repair the affected area. tuesday last week. called barclays credit as we bought it on the interest free deal. informed them the suite was unfit for purpose. Barclay informed the will write to DFS to get the to resolved. today manager from another store called to inspect the suite. he says he stands by the report that it is a chemical reaction to oils in people hair and skin. told us we should have bought the after care plan that was offered at time of purchase which would have included a treatment kit that would have stopped it happening. told us we could not return it as it was not a manufacturing issue. he inspect the rest of the suite and he picked up on the other chair that the leather was also starting to peel on that. as a gesture of goodwill he would get the both headrests repaired and a free leather kit and gilders thrown in free because we are pensioners. we told him we just wanted to return the suite because we felt it was not fit for purpose. he said no because under the sale of goods act. there needed to be a manufacturer fault and there was no fault. we rejected his offer and he said there is nothing else we could do because they had fulfilled there obligation. we said we would go through the courts. and he said we wouldn't win because there was not fault in the suite any help or advice on proceeding i have a photo but because i,m new it wont let me post but hopefully it will let me soon also when we told him we were rejecting his offer. he said "i should be charging you for this" called barclays and they said they will but in it a claim handler to sort out. does anyone know what they will do searching on CAG and i cant seem to find many cases going to court. is that because they resolve them http://s15.postimg.org/k0075aa5n/photo.jpg

Hi All. I ordered 2x2 seater sofas around August/September from DFS. I was advised by their sales team to go for the thicker leather as we have 2 dogs, so we did. We bought the insurance as well. We took delivery around October. We noticed a few weeks ago that the Leather has started to peel. On both sofas, in all 4 corners, the paint is peeling. Granted in one corner you can see a few claw marks from the dogs but this goes alot further than that. I informed DFS and they sent someone over that had 30 years experience in Upholstery.He's inspected the sofas and took some photos. A couple of hours later I received a call from the manager of the DFS store and bluntly said that because the damage was caused by the dogs, I will have to claim on the insurance. I've argued the point that we were told to by the thicker leather as it was more resilient to pets. Again he said to claim on the insurance. I mentioned that my Father had been an Upholsterer for 30 years and had a look and he agreed to send another person out. The other guy has just been. He was nice and polite. Again he seemed more interested in the claw marks than anything else even taking more photos of the claw marks than the other side. He didn't evn really look at the other sofa. I explained, again, that we had been prompted to buy the thicker leather as it was more resilient to pets to which he replied' Its not actually thicker leather...its a thicker layer of paint they put on'. Now I wasn't told this when I purchased these sofas. If I had I would probably stuck with the cheaper 'Leather'. I've the guy that I want the seats recovering as the new paint will not stick properly. He left on good terms with me. I've received another call from the manager, guess what, this guy has said its down to pet damage and to claim on the insurance. I've complained to DFS Head Office and am awaiting a reply. We've had sofas from DFS before and never had a problem. Any ideas where to go after this?

We purchased 2 Supreme leather sofas from DFS in November 2016, and within 12 months the painted coating on the leather had removed from several areas at the seams, mostly on the side of the seats which are seldom used or areas that do not come into contact with the person sitting on them. We reported the problem to DFS and they sent out a DFS manager whom cleaned the areas and repainted them with touch up paint. The workmanship was very poor, the colour of the paint was not the same shade and the repair lasted no more than 5 weeks before it had worn off. The problem with the painted coating coming off has progressively got worse and now we have the paint peeling off one of the head rests. As the 2 year guarantee is up this November we contacted DFS again to come and see the problem. To keep this story short DFS has said that the painted coating on the seams is due to abrasion and the leather peeling on the headrest is from oils/grease from the scalp. After several telephone calls, emails and letters requesting a refund (reasoning that leather shouldn’t wear that quickly in these areas and not being fit for purpose if you put your head on the head rest), the current position is that DFS are saying that my rights to a refund or replacement ceased after I had these sofas 30 days, but they would come out and touch-up the paint as a goodwill gesture. We have since gone back to DFS and offered them an opportunity to repair the sofas, but with the following guarantees; The work is carried out by a professional repair person, as the repair carried out previously was unacceptable (different shade, poor, and lasted approximately 5 weeks) The paint/dye is mixed to correctly match the colour/shade of our Sofas. The paint/dye is applied in the required number of coats to the correct thickness. The repair areas are sealed after coating. The repairs are guaranteed for a minimum of 1 year and any other areas of the Sofas that show similar signs of peeling in the next 3 years will also be repaired free of charge to the same standard. Early indications are that they are not going to agree to this and also not give me any guarantees. Since researching leather finishes I have discovered that these sofas are pigmented leather (painted and lacquered) and that oils from the scalp can cause peeling. As putting your head on the headrest is a natural thing to do and as I was never told this when I purchased the sofas, can I request a refund or replacement under them being not fit for purpose? The sofas have been cleaned exactly to DFS’s requirements (dry wipe once a week and a 6 monthly clean with the leather cleaning kit supplied by DFS. If DFS are not going to budge on their goodwill gesture, I would like to take this further and I am prepared to take it through the small claims card, but I am not sure if I have a case. Does anyone have more details on similar cases that have successfully gone through the small claims courts that I could cite in further correspondence to DFS?

The Advertising Standards Agency have today upheld a complaint about DFS regarding their pricing policies. As many people know, DFS seem to have a 12 month 'event' of some sort or other. They even call it a sale sometimes. Once of the relevant pieces of the complaint was. and This goes to show that DFS (IMO) are misleading its customers. The full ruling is here http://tinyurl.com/zjp77al

Hello, I am new to this so I hope I get my post right. We bought two DFS sofas 18 months ago - one large leather 'Oskar' and one smaller fabric 'Shout'. With perfectly normal use, the Oskar sofa has sagged quite significantly in the middle, by about 1.5 to 2 inches. This looks odd and makes the sofa quite uncomfortable as it makes you lean in towards the middle when you sit on it. We were really unhappy about this so I telephoned the DFS store where we purchased it and they agreed to send a Service Manager to come out to inspect the sofa, which he did a few days later. He said that this wasn't a fault but is normal compression or softening of the foam. He stuffed a few sheets of blue foam into the underside of the sofa and told me that he was doing so as a gesture of goodwill as apposed to acknowledgment of a fault in the product. He also told me that we should make sure we sit evenly along the length of the sofa. I disagreed but let him go on his way. I then telephoned DFS Customer Services to express my dissatisfaction and they told me that they would speak to the store manager and get back to me the same day. The next week I heard back from the same store representative that had come to do the makeshift repairs to the sofa and was told again this was not a fault and that this happens with all sofas. I explained that the other DFS sofa we have (the 'Shout' one) hasn't sagged and that I consider this sagging on a sofa that we paid £2,000 for less than 18 months previously was not acceptable. They told me I should take it up with the Ombudsman. I asked them to send me an email confirming that the sag of 1.5 to 2 inches is normal and not a fault. They did send me an email but did not mention the size, even though this was confirmed on the telephone. I hasten to add that I recorded all of these telephone calls. I am at a bit of a loss and feeling really unhappy with the quality of this expensive, saggy sofa and how they have handled this. I would be so grateful for any advise on what to do next. Hope someone can help.

Another DFS unhappy customer ...... ... We are waiting for DFS to repair our Oskar 3seater for the 4th time in 2 yrs 3 months We purchased our "Oskar" sofas from DFS just over 2 years ago, delivered in November 2014 . ...within 1 month of our sofa being used it started clicking on the right side when it was sat on.... .. DFS Repair man came out confirmed it had a problem arranged to get it removed and fixed at their warehouse.. ...Came back days later all was fixed ... About 18+ months later we called DFS again about the centre cushion sagging..... ... Repair man came out and stuffed a blue piece of foam under the centre strap which looked rough but done the job.. ..... A week later when my hubby sat on the right side of the sofa (same side it was repaired! 'the back leg Literally flew off.... Leaving a mark on our solid oak flooring. ...we then noticed the first repair DFS had done "they repaired the first problem (clicking noise) by spraying loads of FEB-FOAM at the inside leg to stop the clicking noise then they screwed a couple of 3inch screws into the plywood corners the leg was connected too.. ...... We were not happy when we saw the first repair and took photos of how poorly it had been fixed/ repaired/ made.. ..after seeing what they had done we were in shock, we contacted DFS again They came and looked and again arranged collection a week or 2 later.. .. We were left for more then a week with our 3 legged unusable Oskar sofa in the middle of our front room waiting for them to come and collect it for the 2nd time.. ..at this point I felt this sofa was jinxed from the first month and just wanted them to take it away and replace it for another one that doesn't have any problems from the start 'But they would only repair it again .... . it was repaired my husband asked to view the repair before they tacked the bottom back up so we could see what they had done to fix the problem " they had replaced the back and the front legs where standard plywood was used and replaced the standard plywood with hard wood.... But they hadn't replaced the other 2 legs on the other good side of the sofa with hardwood they left it as Nader with the original standard plywood corners.. ... My husband said he wasn't happy that the good side wasn't also changed from plywood corners to hardwood. ..and asked to have them replaced also with the hardwood rather then the plywood they are made with.... ...we bought that sofa with the belief it was built on hard strong cherry wood and when we saw the plywood we didn't expect that with a £2300 sofa.. ..they said its ready for delivery again and that all 4 standard built plywood-corners are now replaced with hardwood and they had also re-plumped the centre sofa cushions again this time properly .... ...which was appreciated ....... . Our sofa was delivered back to us for the 3rd time.. ..and this month (april2016) on the same right side arm on our 3seater Chesterfield Oskar sofa has gone.......... I have read on another review on here that ..their sofa arms went and that their upholsterer" advised they are all faulty and the largest sofa should of been built with a foot in the middle as its too long to support itself. This really is past a joke.... We do not want this repaired for the 4th time in just over 2years I feel this s jinxed and us bringing us nothing but arguments in our home... .we want either a replacement or our money back. .... We spent £3500 on matching sofa, chair and pouffe it should not need repairing 4 times in two years surely!... ....please can someone advise us.. Please help me

Hi I was wondering if someone could help me! I told the sales assistant I needed a corner sofa for a specific area and she directed me to a sofa in store I was also looking for a dining table with chairs so looked around and was not 100% on anything I saw despite her making many attempts to close the deal. I decided to look around before I was 100% on the dining table that I had chosen. The sales assistant said she would place both order of the sofa and dining table for me on hold and I could call and tell her what I had decided the next day. I went home and looked at the sofa again online, saw the dimensions of the left arm facing corner sofa I had picked online advertised as 289cm which would fit in the area like the assistant had said. I called her and said I would go ahead with the sofa but not the dining table. The sofa was custom made and was delivered on Tuesday the 20th of October - it is too large for my living room space! When I saw it in store and saw the measurements online I was confident that the information I was given was accurate and it would fit! scrolling down the dfs website in more detail now I see that the measurements are wrong on the first sofa (the one I had picked left arm facing) and if you look at right arm facing (which is not what I wanted so I did not pay much attention to it then)..there are added measurements! I am annoyed that I was misled by the website and assistant! But I know I should have known better looking at the sofa in store What makes matters worse is the sofa arrived faulty! The delivery man took photos and said that it should be ok after a couple of days (something about the material being compressed during delivery and it should expand back.. which it hasn't) but he would let the store know . I received a phone call saying the manager would come to my house on the 9th of November which is 20 days after the delivery date! I emailed customer services with these details and an attachment of the website dimension details, saying the 9th is far too long to wait for a response and they said the store manager would contact me, I have yet to be contacted. After reading many unhappy customer posts I am very worried that this issue will not be resolved and I will be stuck with a sofa that is far too large for my living room!! Do I have a case and is there anything I can do to resolve this matter quickly? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! zozi

Hi, I am looking for some advice regarding taking to DFS to the small claims court. I will briefly go over my story, so as not to bore you all with the details! Feb 14, Ordered a 'Guild' leather sofa from DFS which was 'supposed' to be pocket sprung, 3 seater and 2 single seaters - 3 months later the lovely sofa arrived (mid May). However, within 3 months we noticed that one of the seats on the 3 seater was 'sunken' - We reported this and an 'engineer' arrived within 2 or 3 weeks. His solution was to add more foam. Sound familiar? it was at this point that we realised it was not pocket sprung either. However, later that day, the seat was worse than ever and you felt like you were rolling into the middle. Reported it to DFS again at which point we had to arrange a visit with the store manager. Eventually he came to inspect the sofa and agreed that it wasn't right and that he would arrange for all new interiors to be replaced at the 'workshop'. Fast forward 2 months or so and the sofa was taken away and returned a week later. Immediately after sitting on it, it had sunk again and I would like to stress at this point my wife is a size 10 and weighs very little! Reported it to DFS again, at which point we had to arrange for another engineer to come and inspect it before they would take any further action....Another few weeks passes and the engineer comes out to confirm that it is faulty. We waited for the 'report' to go to the manager and eventually got offered a replacement sofa, but we would have to pay a 'usage fee' for our old sofa By now, I was somewhat annoyed and refused point blank to pay any usage fee! I just want this suite away and my money back. This was relayed to the area manager who then said that I could choose another sofa without any usage fee. Sorry, but I have had enough of DFS and just want my money back. The 'area manager' now responded by saying I can have my money back, but I would need to pay a usage fee of £300 for the use of the sofa for a year! - Errm, we have had the sofa 8 months, NOT 12 and it has been faulty since 3 months old! Do they have the right to charge a usage fee? Should I go down the small claims route? or should I try and do a chargeback via Barclays as I went with the interest free option? Personally I would like to go via the small claims and claim back loss of earnings and stress that these clowns have caused me! Any suggestions or advice appreciated.

Hi there, I do have a few questions about a leather sofa bought from DFS back in September 2014. First of all the sofa is made up of 3 parts (as being a corner one). The back of it should have been non-leather as to what the sales man told before we would have to pay it....although we didn't know that. Anyhoo, we have agreed to have the sofa all leather (including the back of it) and the salesman said that it will cost more. We have agreed to pay for the sofa to be all leather .... The sofa instead of 1000.00 was £1200.00. All happy so far. Now: 1. the 3 parts where they join, are made of cloth and not leather - which I thought it could be ok.... I am talking about the sides where you can not see it..... - Question: Should we ask to have the sofa stitched up leather instead of cloth?? 2. On one side of the sofa - the longer side (2 seats) the sofa started to have a bend (where the "buns" are seating to watch TV) and you can feel as you sit down as well as see it.... - Question: Shouldn't the 2 cushions bounce back after you stand up from it??? Any suggestions are welcome...as I would like to write back to them stating that after less than a year the sofa is DE- shaping so much what would be after 2 years or even 3?? I also thought a sofa will come with more than 1 year guarantee (shape and material).... Do please let me know if I should contact the guys at DFS. Many thanks again, dd

I have read other posts here regarding DFS and we have problems on our DFS sofa and armchair also, they were under 12 months when this was first noted and we reported it to DFS who sent their surveyor around and he told us it needs to go via a insurance claim with the policy we took out with DFS and that we needed to do it ourselves as he could not get involved under the data protection act, he also said the cause should be explained to the insurance company as human bodily fluids. I spoke with a girl in the DFS office who said that the peeling would be dealt with by the insurance company and the sofa repair would be rejected as a defect but not to worry as DFS will address that but in the meantime to add both to the insurance claim, obviously I am not happy with something that is clearly not up to standard, I purchased this model as it was sold as a thicker better quality leather (Supreme model) and was shown the difference on swatches in the store so did not mind paying the extra as my previous sofa lasted 16 years including shipping it to Turkey for our villa and having sweat etc from the heat and not a single problem with peeling or colour fading, so why after several months this is being put down to bodily fluid and not a manufacturing defect is a joke. I have informed the insurance company I am not happy with the claim and they are sending their own assesor to double check. No doubt this will rumble on but interested to hear you are having the same issues and by the looks of photo exact same quality and colour issue! Will update when I know what is going on but will take it to court if need to as these are not cheap sofas and never heard of pigment colouring before nor was it mentioned of course when selling the item, purely about the superiour quality leather!

DFS v me (won). STAND UP TO THEM Hi all, I order a chair from DFS in November 2014 and paid a deposit of £100.00. DFS promise to delivery my chair for the christmas period. They failed to deliver the chair and informed me that the chair will not be ready till around the end of feb. 2015. i made a complaint to the store and they refused my cancellation and my refund of the £100.00 deposit. I wrote a final email/letter to the manager of the store and to the head office and gave them 14days to refund the deposit if not i would sue them in the local court. I also enclose in the email information about Unfair trading practices – buying from a trader and make them aware of this new rules. Today i received email from DFS now agreeing to refund my deposit after reading the new rules for UUnfair trading practices – buying from a trader . I have attached letter from DFS for viewers see and take note. Dear manager Regarding my complaint . Below, i have attached information for your attention. Please read carefully and take note. Unfair trading practices – buying from a trader If a trader misleads you or behaves in an aggressive way you can report them to Trading Standards, who may decide to take action against the trader. From 1 October 2014, you may also be able to unwind (undo) the contract and get some or all of your money back. This page tells you what action you can take when buying from a trader who misleads you or acts aggressively, and how much you may be able to get back What action you can take If you bought something, on or after 1 October 2014, from a trader who acted unfairly when dealing with you, you may be able to: unwind the sale and get a full refund or have a discount, and get compensation for your loss or distress. You may be able to do this where the trader’s practices or behaviour are: misleading or aggressive, and the trader’s actions played a significant part in your decision to buy from them. This applies to most goods and services, including utility contracts, door-to-door sales, holidays and holiday lets. It does not apply to financial services the sale of land or social housing credit, unless it is linked to the purchase of goods and services. When can you unwind the contract? You can unwind, or undo, the contract if: you do so within 90 days, and you have not fully consumed whatever you bought, and you have not already asked for and had a discount. You do not need to show any loss or that the trader acted dishonestly or negligently. How to unwind the contract You must clearly tell the trader that you are rejecting what you have bought by saying or doing something to demonstrate this. For example, write to the trader and say that you want your money back because you were misled into buying the item or because the trader harassed you. What happens when you unwind the contract? When you unwind a contract, the contract will end and you should receive a full refund. This should happen, even when you have used the goods or service for a while. If you have been supplied with any goods, you must make them available for collection by the trader when you unwind the contract. Continuous supply contracts If your contract is for the continuous or regular supply of a product, for example, electricity or broadband services, and you have used it for more than one month, you will have to pay the market price for what has been used. This will be deducted from the refund. However, if the trader’s behaviour is particularly bad and its effect on you severe, you will still be entitled to a full refund. When can you get a discount? You will be able to have a discount instead of unwinding the contract if: the product cannot be rejected, for example, a service contract which has been fully carried out, goods which have been completely consumed or digital content which has been fully downloaded, or the 90 day period has passed, or you do not want to unwind the contract, for example, because you want to keep the goods or carry on with the service contract. You do not need to show any loss or that the trader acted dishonestly or negligently. If you have a discount instead of unwinding the contract, the contract will continue but your discount can apply to what you have already paid and also any future payments. How is the discount calculated? If you paid £5,000 or less If you paid £5,000 or less, the percentage discount depends on: what the trader did to mislead you or behave aggressively, and how badly it affected you, and how long ago it happened. The amount of discount you can claim, depends on how seriously you were misled or harassed by the trader: 25% discount – more than minor. For example, the trader misleads you about the delivery date for a product 50% discount – significant. For example, a business misleads you about the health benefits of a product 75% - serious. For example, a salesman visits your home and greatly exaggerates how effective double glazing would be in reducing your energy bills and refuses to leave until you sign an order form 100% - very serious. For example, a salesman visits your home and bullies you, as a vulnerable consumer, into signing a contract for work you do not want and misrepresents that it was required by local council regulations. If you paid over £5,000 If you paid more than £5,000, the set discounts may not apply. If there is clear evidence that the market price was less than what you paid when you made the contract, then the discount is the difference between the two prices. For example, if you bought a car, which you later found out had been clocked, Glasses’ Guide could be used to check the market price of the car with its true mileage when you bought it. Compensation As well as unwinding the sale or having a discount, you might be able to claim some compensation from the trader too. You will need to show that the trader’s behaviour means you have suffered any of the following: financial loss, which was reasonably foreseeable alarm or distress physical discomfort or inconvenience . If the trader can show that they took all reasonable care to avoid misleading or harassing you, they will not have to pay any compensation. But they will still have to unwind the sale or give you a discount. ANSWER FROM DFS TODAY Dear Mr xxxxxx, I am happy to say that we have managed to cancel your order with Furnico; the manufacturer of the chair you ordered. Therefore we will be able to refund your deposit in full as we will not have to sell the chair from the shop floor. From your reaction I am in no doubt that there has been some confusion about the delivery time of the furniture you ordered and that your understanding of the time scale for delivery was different from what DFS could provide. I am very sorry we could not meet your expectations on this occasion. I do not feel that your sales person ...... has used "misleading information" or "unfair trading practices". I do feel you were of a genuine belief that your chair would arrive just after new year. We do strive to deliver clear and jargon free information to our customers so I will be conducting a review of the message our sales team give when customers buy goods from DFS ...... I tried to call both numbers we have for you but was unable to get through. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me on 01463 701290. Yours sincerely, xxxx General Manager DFS Inverness.

In May 2009 me, my wife and newly diagnosed autistic son moved to our new house in East Anglia. My wife decided it was a new start and we should by everything new. We had always had leather suites before and although not expensive we were always very happy with the way they cleaned up so we decided we would get a good leather suite. We shopped around for a few weeks and decided to go with the Emperor suite from DFS 1x manual recliner 3 seat sofa 1x electric armchair recliner and 1x pouffe plus a couple of coffee tables it all came to £4050.00 in the sale so we knew we had a good quality leather suite but the colour we see my wife wasn’t keen on so the salesman showed us a swab of leather colours to choose from we choose a dark tan colour. The only downside seemed we had to wait 3 months for delivery, but we managed with the garden furniture. Our furniture arrived in about 11 weeks the men came in and put it all together I thought it was a bit lighter than I had expected but it looked great and was very comfortable. As soon as my wife came in she said it’s the wrong colour its to light, but we discussed it and I didn’t want another 3 months on a garden chair and it really did look nice so we decided to keep it. What we did notice after a while the gaps in the sofa didn’t match up, it came as 2 seats and they hook the end on well the end one had a quite a bigger gap so I called them and they promptly sent a an engineer out he pushed and tugged it and assured me it would come together with use as I worked away at the time it wasn’t used that much. Eventually after a while I changed jobs and was now at home more. The gap wasn’t getting any better so I got on to them again and they promptly sent out an engineer who took of the end bit tightened a few screws and put it back together it still had the gap once again he said it would work in with use. It never did and still hasn’t. After a few years my wife one day phoned me at work and said the leather is peeling I was away for a month and said I would look when I got home thinking it was just the leather cracking a bit. When I got home I couldn’t believe it was starting to peel like a skin and not the cushions that you actually sit on but the back and the arm we were going on holiday the next day so when we got back I got on the phone to them again and explained what had happened and they said they would send someone out the next day I thought I had best give the furniture a wipe over so I used the new set of cloths we had purchased from them but to be honest they were not much good so I used some Astonish leather cream that we had always used before on our suites and gave it the once over with that I used to do this about twice a year it came up lovely apart from the peeling. As usual they promptly sent out and engineer. As he walked through the door he see the dog locked in the conservatory and before he had even seen the suite he said it was the dog that caused it. Apart from the fact that the dog never was allowed on the furniture it would have to be super dog as the peeling was on the back arm of the sofa his whole manner told me he was not going to take any responsibility for it he felt it and growled you’ve put something on it what have you put on it so I showed him the leather cream and straight away without even looking at it he said that’s what’s caused it by this time I was fed up with his whole attitude and said ill phone the store which I did and the manager said he would speak to him and come out personally. Here are the photos I sent to them. As you can see these are not minor problems. When the manager turned up a week later as arranged he looked at the sofa and said he agreed with his engineer he offered to have the arm repaired and also said we could have new arms put on but we would have to pay for it I said we had only just finished paying for the suite and he should take responsibility for the rubbish he had sold us he then said there was a test he could do that would turn the leather white if it had been cleaned with the wrong cleaner I said that’s what we want because I knew we had not and we were not responsible for the condition I also said I was going to go to the ombudsman if nothing was done he just smiled and said they would come down on his side anyway, I felt as if I was being bullied by these people. The next day I phoned trading standards and they said I need to go through the furniture ombudsman and gave me their details. I contacted the ombudsman by email and was asked to email them the photos which I did. After a few days I was sent an email stating they had spoken the company DFS and was in agreement with them I could not believe it they had not even sent anyone to see it. They said that because my wife had said the leather care wipes were not used regally which is nonsense because I used to do it when I came home that that was the reason but said if I paid £50 they would send an independent inspector down so I paid the £50 . Then one Sunday morning we got a call from the inspector saying would it be convenient to come around today because he was very busy owing to the fact there was only four of them in the country so we agreed a time. AS he came in he said that he was an expert and what he said would stand up in court. He also explained he would not discuss his findings with us that we would get a report in 10 days. He also told us before he started his TESTS how good DFS was and that he had recommended them to his niece we knew then this was not going our way it seemed every way we turned we were hitting a brick wall. Then came his TESTS which were just ridiculous he pulled a tissue from his briefcase licked it rubbed it on a part of the sofa that was not peeling and showed it to us as much to say nothings come of he then pulled a roll of low adhesive tape from his case and stuck it on a piece of the sofa that was not peeling and showed us none had come off. He asked us what we had cleaned it with and we showed him the box of wipes and a bottle of Astonish leather cream. He then asked did we lay on the sofa I said we did and he mentioned that the arms were only meant to rest your arm on not your head. He said the gaps were ok because it came as 2 parts I said it did not look like that in the show room to which he did not reply. We could not believe what was happening we knew this was not going our way but just had to wait for his report. I have highlighted the issues in the attached DFS report. Our response 1. We never once complained about the colour to DFS as we had waited 3 months for the suite and was not prepared to wait another 3 months. 2. They did not feel like leather because they were not leather it is a plastic coating (polyurethane) to be precise. This was never mentioned when we bought it and has never been mentioned again either by DFS, the Ombudsman or the inspector we only found out after doing some research. If we had wanted a plastic finished suite we could have bought one at the fraction of the cost so it is my opinion that we were miss sold the furniture in the first place. Yes we used a leather cream that was not from DFS Astonish leather cleaner and restorer have since researched this and have been told that this would not cause our suite to peel. Astonish Leather Upholstery Restorer 250ml This leather cleaner from astonish has a unique formulation which gives superb results. It thoroughly cleans and restores it natural look by replacing nutrients and feeding the leather making it supple avoiding cracks and drying out. It has many uses such as cleaning, polishing protecting and restoring. Use on such items as leather sofas, handbags and briefcases. And this is not a wax Now my reaction to the ombudsman so called independent decision. Based on the consultant’s report. 1. It does looked distressed as do me and my wife after what DFS and the ombudsman have done to us working in coalition and leading people to believe your independent, and it does look as though it had heavy use. Please define heavy use What you need to remember is at the time I was working away most of the time my wife works in Canary Wharf and leaves at 5.45 am and returns at about 8.30pm my son more or less lived in his bedroom. And yes I did lay on the sofa as do people in the DFS ads on T.V. As for the pouffe looking as though it had little use he is correct it does not but then when we bought the suite we was not told this suite will last more than a few years if you don’t use it much. 2. The suite was bought in 2008 but the first complaint was not received in 2011 it was received in 2008 they came out twice to fix the gaps in the sofa and just kept promising it will eventually come together well we have had it long enough for all the colour to peel off but obviously not long enough for the gaps to close up. This was 2008. 3. I have already explained why we did not complain about the colour but the consultant seems to have a lot to say about it he trying to make it look that all we do is complain but then he would because although it’s us that had to pay him he obviously works for either DFS or the ombudsman. 4. He then says it is likely on the balance of probabilities that the peeling was caused by acids in our sweat or hair products or abrasion or even leather cream please tell me what is this suite for it can’t be lay on it can’t be used on a regular basis you must not sweat near it the arms it appears shouldn’t have a head put on them or arms and elbows. He also states that I at first said I did not use the arm as a head rest but then said I did a complete pack of lies I never denied laying on the sofa because when purchased I was not told not to lay on it as they do in the adds. 5. The recliner mechanisms it was never the twin recliners it was only one side and apparently we should spray it with ED40 graphite grease well I am afraid I don’t have any of this and I haven’t read anywhere in the care leaflet about ED40 graphite grease. 6. The gaps between the sofas he does not think is excessive well I do I can get my hand down them both but it looks like we will have to disagree on that to. Finally and more worrying is this report went before a board that agreed that furniture should not be laid on sweated on or used on a regular basis

Hello I purchased a sofa from DFS in June 2014 via 4 yrs credit, received delivery in July. A leg has broken, the wood around the leg screw has obviously smashed, and two of the arm rests have also sunk, obviously the wood under the arm rest broke. A upholsterer manager is coming to look at it on Tuesday. I do not wish for the sofa to be repaired, as its obviously of poor quality and not fit for purpose, and will inevitably require numerous future repairs.I would like to reject the sofa under the terms of the Sale of Goods Act and get a refund. It is not fit for purpose, unsatisfactory quality and is unsafe (i hurt my neck when the sofa leg collapsed). Am I eligible to reject, considering i have had the sofa over three months? Please advise me:) Many Thanks

Can anyone give me some advice. My mother who is 83 and suffers from dementia bought a sofa and chair costing two thousand pounds. She has paid for it in full using her debit card. The sofa and chair are too big for her flat and she will be physically unable to lift herself up when sitting in it. I have asked dfs to cancel the order but they say my mother has signed an legally binding agreement. Is there anything I can do

Hello - I recently bought a sofa for 800 pounds at the DFS store. I feel I have been taken for a ride by DFS and would appreciate any guidance. Long story short, the sofa that was delivered or the one that I paid for was NOT the same size at the one that we tried in the store. When we tried the sofa, three adults were able to sit in. We tried that with my wife, my daughter and myself sitting on it. There was still some spare space due to the child sitting on it. However the one that eventually arrived was much smaller. I raised this with the store manager who pointed out that my sales contract showed a "small size". However, I went to the same corner of the store where the sofa that we tried was placed, and it had a similar size sofa now as the one that we tried i.e. the larger sized sofa (not the small that was sold to us). I am VERY certain that DFS had placed the larger size sofa in the same corner of the store that we tried and this was not marked correctly. I would have been happy to pay more for a larger size sofa. The store manager has blatantly refused to validate the size of the sofa that we sat on. In my two visits, I met two different sets sales staff who know exactly the location of the sofa that I sat on. I am sure there are some cameras or pictures of the specific sofa that will confirm the size that we were made to believe we purchased, based on the SPECIFIC location where this piece was placed in the store. The store manager says that all complaints made to DFS will go to him in any case. The sales person that we worked with called us earlier this week but did not call back. Thanks for any guidance.

I bought a DFS sofa when I moved into my new rental property 2 years ago. It was ex display. The cushions on the sofa and chair have gone completely flat, the chair has only been used around 30 times in the last 2 years as I live alone. I have turned all the cushions once a week as directed but still it is now a nightmare to sit on. I have been in touch with DFS who have told me they will sell me new inners for my seat cushions but nothing can be done about my back ones. They actually said I would be paying around £500 for 3 inners. I only paid £900 for the sofa chair and accent chair, and I am still paying this off. Is there anything else I can do, or will I be sitting on a sofa that gives me no support and neck problems for the next god knows how long? Thanks

New to this forum but interested for any advice as to how we can return a sofa to DFS for full refund due to the colour of the plain velvet 4 seater sofa being navy when it is supposed to be black. We purchased a 4 seater (black), 2 * 3 seaters (black, grey & white combination pattern) and a footstool (black) in the concerto range having viewed them on the website (where black was black and not navy). We ordered in-store but failed to look at the swatch which was more navy than black. On delivery, the footstool and the 4 seater were clearly more navy than black, accentuated by the solid black silk scatter cushions which come with it. The sofa was delivered on 20th May and the faulty footstool re-delivered on 30th May. we raised the issue with the colour in store on 16th June. DFS sent technicians out on 20th with the swatch basically to say that the sofa has been delivered in the correct fabric (as per the swatch) albeit navy. We went back in store on 20th June to speak to store manager who basically said that they had delivered what we had ordered. The website says 'colours may vary' and therefore despite the picture clearly being black, they are covered in delivering a navy sofa. If we want to return the lot, they will charge us 20% fee i.e. £645. They have offered to reorder the 4 seater in pattern and recover the footstool in silk but want a further £100 off us to do this. This is after paying over £3,500 for the total package in the first place. It doesn't sit well that a) they can actually sell a combination sofa, they describe as black, when it's navy and b) they want to charge us more money to rectify the problem. In addition, they are actually selling the set for £213 cheaper than when we ordered it and won't price match because we didn't notify them of this before we accepted delivery. Where do we stand legally and is it really worth the hassle of taking DFS to small claims court to get a full refund or should we stomach the extra £100 and simply post on social media that black is not black when it comes to buying off DFS! Many thanks in advance for any comments or advice

Hi - perhaps someone could chime in on our complaint with Furniture Village, and advise what we should do next. They have been a nightmare to deal with so far. I'll try to keep this brief. Lured in by the New Year's TV ads & promotions, we bought a "Rossetti" leather suite from Furniture Village (FV) on 3/01/2010. It was delivered some 10 to 12 weeks later in April 2010. It cost just over £2600.00 My husband is employed full time, and I retired in August 2011. There are only two of us in the house. I sit in another room of the house during most of the day, so the suite only sees use in the evenings (3 to 5 hours max. use per night on most weekday nights). Over this short amount of time, the suite has severely degraded. In 3 and 1/2 years (we first made a formal complaint to FV about the products in September 2013), the stuffing material seats and lower-back area has completely flattened. It has gone from a plump, fully stuffed suite to deflated looking one. It is now possible to "pinch" the stuffing, at the affected area, between two fingers with ease - and the two layers of leather cover make contact with each other. The stuffing has either migrated (we have tried and tried to -"fluff up" the material to no avail) or has simply degraded. The appearance has become disappointing, but worse, it is so now uncomfortable my husband and I can only use it for 15 to 30 minutes at a time. We understand "comfort" is subjective, but is it normal to feel your body-weight being supported by a horizontal piece of wood, protruding right into your lower back? It's agony. You can't relax on it. Unsupportive and painful. So, our complaint was heard by FV and they sent an "independent furniture technician" to our house to inspect our furniture. The inspection consisted of him rolling the sofa/chairs over onto their front & checking the reference numbers printed on a label on the underside. He also brought a PDA/smartphone and took a few snaps of the saggy & deflated affected seat/back areas, which he highlighted with a paper arrow. As he carried this out, my son and I were chatting to him - and describing the problems in detail. He sat down and immediately confirmed our complaints, acknowledging the immediate discomfort & going to on say this was clearly a "design fault". He really liked the sound of his own voice, declaring he would "NEVER buy a sofa from one of these retailers" and only buys handmade furniture. He said we would be essentially seeking a "gesture of goodwill" from FV, and "thank God you didn't buy from DFS - because they're the worst!". He noted all of the findings on his little electronic PDA/smart-phone gizmo (which I didn't get to see) and, at the end, asked me to "Sign this to say I've been here" - which I did. Fast forward to today. I've exchanged several letters with FV, asking for a full or part refund, plus collection of the suite at their cost. They say: 1) The inspector found "no faults" with the suite, only "natural settlement over time" which is fair wear and tear. 2) Their 5 year guarantee does NOT cover stuffing problems with their furniture. 3) If we did take this to a small claims court (we said we would, in our last letter) - we would basically be wasting our time as the Sales of Goods Act 1979 is "not in keeping" with our request. 4) We asked if the "independent technician" was from, or his company was backed by, FIRA. They said no - the company he works for is called "Furniture Care Network", and was not affiliated with FIRA. His company, according to their website, is contracted by FV to repair, clean, etc. problem furniture. It doesn't appear the company is in the business of Alternative Dispute Resolution services. I seriously question the impartiality of all of this. 5) FV kindly "offer" to commission another "independent technician" to visit us. They say we can choose from one of two companies - "Homeserve" or "Ecomaster". These companies are all the same, i.e not affiliated with FIRA, contracted by Furniture Village, specialize in repairs/cleaning, etc. We need your advice on this! We're sure that a £2600.00 leather suite should last longer than 3 1/2 years, with very light domestic use by 2 people (we're not obese or anything, either!) in the evenings. It is not fit for the intended purpose. I would say such a suite should "last" 8-10 years, minimum. The thing is, we're not sure how to proceed. In our last letter, we clearly stated we are prepared to take this to the small claims court if they denied our request for a refund. Their last letter offered to send out yet another dodgy "technician" to basically collude with them, so we wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Do we reply to this last letter? Should we employ FIRA technicians to carry out an inspection - or could this go against us? I have read some very suspicious things regarding the impartiality of FIRA/Furniture Ombudsman ADR services. For example, in 2012 their ADR service decided in favour of the customer in just 53% of cases. Shockingly low for such a service. Also, an article in the Guardian rings true with many customer reviews of the FIRA services (can't post the link - search for "Complaint about your new furniture? Expect a bed of nails" on Google) Or, should I just ignore their last letter, stick to my guns and proceed with a small claims court case as I originally stated to FV. I have never used the small claims court, so this is all new to me. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

Hi, I'm new here just joined tonight... I have a manager coming up tomm from DFS Our suite wil be a year old next month. But since last year they have replaced the 4 seat cushions u sit on Put foam in the bottom part of the suite on both 2 seaters where cushions would go They also came back and put more foam in the back of both 2 seaters They then had 2 replace 2 of the seat cushions cause the smell on them was really bad They they came back and put foam in the back cushions on both 2 seaters They sent a guy out last week as the cushions u sit on wont stay on settees now every time u get up u have to lift the back cushion up and push ur cushion that u sit on back onto settee. This time i didnt let them repair it I handed a letter over for manager saying i am rejecting the suite as u have repaired it 5 times up to now..... Now the manager of the shop is coming tomm ... Any one any tips for me please before he arrives Thank you Pep

Hi everyone this is my first post on here I purchased the daze sofa from DFS and within a week I was on the phone to them after material start to become loose and baggy and bumps along front edge. I emailed them pics and I'd not get a response so I called them They sent upholster out who said we needed to start sitting more evenly on it and to leave till after Xmas to get worse an they will restuffed it. I told upholster not happy £2 k I want a perfect sofa hat I don't have to get omeo e out o in first week. Not happy with this I called DFS again and told them still unhappy they said they would send service engineer, I have had to take 2 days off for them to come and see my new sofa not happy!!! I then called trading standards who sidi cn write and reject the sofa asking for replacement or refund, I sent a letter recorded delivery stating I reject and have not taken accptance due to quality under SOGA 1979. The service manager came out yesterday and confirmed there was something wrong with the foam and ordered some more. I told him I have not taken accptance and want them to take it back and he said I can't hive to lt them fix it. I have opened a dispute with the finance company and informed them not happy with quality of of and they are contacting DFS. When we purchased sofa we were told its one of the best including the foam!! right less than a week old my mum came round and thought I had purchased a clearance/ used one. I have lost faith in DFS nd would rather hey tke bak the sofa Asti is not of a good quality at all. Wht can I do? Am I being unreasonable? I m now being old cant reject as we signed or it?!! Surely this cannot be right. Help please

I purchased a 2 and 3 seater couch from DFS around 21 months ago. Over the past 12 months the cushions have sagged so much that you feel you are sitting on the frame, despite following instructions to plump the cushions daily. I live on my own with no children so the couch has never really been fully used. When i first rang 12 months ago they advised to "plump the cushions properly" i had to bounce these off the floor and plump them vigorously in order for them to keep there shape. This was never explained when i purchased the couch and is not possible for me to do this due to disability. I have rang again today to complain, which they have advised they would get someone to call back. ( i am still awaiting this call back) I just wanted to know if anybody can give some advise, or has had a similar problem and knows what rights i have?? I am also still paying the couch back on finance incase that effects anything.

Just wondering if anybody has had any luck with DFS? My story with DFS Me and My husband bought our first ever sofa from them in 1996 as we were new to all this interest free credit stuff we was taken in by the sales person to cut a long story short he filled in the form ticked the PPI box and when we asked what the extra charge was for he told us it was like a admin charge basically because the company gave you 4 years interest free and us being stupid and young and never had bought anything on credit before we believed him it wasnt until 6 years later when we went back to DFS for our second sofa that the sales person explained what PPI was and gave us a choice to which we said no , we was a little mad that we had been ripped off but was only a couple of hundred so let it go until I put claims in with others who added PPI without my say so, First they said I didnt have PPI (even after sending the invoice) then they didnt log my complaint then took 2 months or more to say no so I asked for it to be reviewed by Andrew then got the same no letter so phoned them up and it had not even been passed to Andrew. Then got a no letter so passed to FOS and waiting to hear from them.

Hi, I recently sent a SAR to DFS but they have rejected my request as they state they are unable to locate any information from the details I have provided. Does anyone know if I have any other options please? Thanks JJ