EXCLUSIVE LEATHER SOFAS LIMITED - winding up order

[BidfordConsumer]

I put a deposit down on a sofa from Yes Sofa Specialists Droitwich in January 2011 before I saw the comments on this Forum. If I'd seen the comments I probably wouldn't have gone to this store.

 

I used a credit card to pay so I contacted my credit card company and got their advice. They told me to pay the balance when due and I would be covered by insurance in the event anything went wrong.

 

I was phoned by Yes Sofa at exactly the time they said they would. I told them I was wary of paying them due to these adverse comments. Naturally they were not very happy about this and I got into something of an arguement with the back office staff in Birmingham.

 

I decided to pay up the balance any way after the credit card advice & knowing I was insured. The sofas turned up yesterday and are exactly what i ordered and so far the quaility looks perfect.

 

I don't know if Yes Sofa & ELS are related. The sales guys were confused whether Yes Sofa was a Limited Co or a Sole trader which worried me a bit.

 

But for me I got a great couple of sofas at a great price - so things worked out ok for me.

[watchinginvestigation2011]

Well at least they got ONE good rep xx

 

Lost count of how many bad reviews come accross.

[wotnosofa]

I put a deposit down on a sofa from Yes Sofa Specialists Droitwich in January 2011 before I saw the comments on this Forum. If I'd seen the comments I probably wouldn't have gone to this store.

 

I used a credit card to pay so I contacted my credit card company and got their advice. They told me to pay the balance when due and I would be covered by insurance in the event anything went wrong.

 

I was phoned by Yes Sofa at exactly the time they said they would. I told them I was wary of paying them due to these adverse comments. Naturally they were not very happy about this and I got into something of an arguement with the back office staff in Birmingham.

 

I decided to pay up the balance any way after the credit card advice & knowing I was insured. The sofas turned up yesterday and are exactly what i ordered and so far the quaility looks perfect.

 

I don't know if Yes Sofa & ELS are related. The sales guys were confused whether Yes Sofa was a Limited Co or a Sole trader which worried me a bit.

 

But for me I got a great couple of sofas at a great price - so things worked out ok for me.

 

People, before you buy from these crooks, read other posts on this site very carefully. They are renowned for posting to this forum posing as disgruntled employees and satisfied customers. The post above may be honest, but to be honest it is unlikely.

[wotnosofa]

From A&J

We have also had problems with Yes sofa specialists,our goods are now into our 18th week of waiting after having had 4 delivery dates.

Latest excuse was the Libian crisis is affecting deliveries?????

The link to their website Quotes "English made furniture" so where does it come from????

 

Others here have received sofas from this company. Frankly if I had one I would burn it or hand it over to trading standards. If the sofas are indicative of the way they run their business I doubt that they are even fireproof.

[BromsgroveBeno]

Yes Sofa Specialists - Droitwich

 

Yesterday, 01/06/11 I viewed a corner unit at 'Yes Sofa Specialists' in Droitwich and I paid a fairly hefty deposit by debit card to 'Oliver' the chap you identified in your thread as the store's main representative/ company chairman.

 

I can only say as I find and have to say that he was extremely polite & helpful. There was NO pressure to purchase from any of the store's staff (at least three on duty at the time).

 

I explained the situation to Oliver who made me what appeared to be a very good deal and as I was unable to be 100% sure of my purchase at the time (I was not positive the unit would fit the room) he suggested I leave the deposit and the order could begin it's process as he VERY CLEARLY stipulated that there was now a waiting period of 15 weeks (sometimes a little sooner but he would rather give me the more realistic timescale).

 

Having returned home I realised that sadly the unit would not fit and then began looking for a replacement.

 

Then to my HORROR I found this thread on the website and was extremely apprehensive about returning to the store and getting my deposit back. Even though Oliver had signed the bottom of the invoice it clearly said 'DEPOSITS NONE REFUNDABLE' (and as a serving police officer I was fully aware of my statutory rights; often this phrase is not worth the paper it is written on) I was fully prepared for some drawn out battle to get my deposit back.

 

On returning to the store today I was met by a member of staff who again was very polite. I explained the situation and he then examined my paperwork... You can imagine the anxiety as I awaited the response...

 

'No problem sir' 'I'll will deal with it right away. Within five minutes of entering the store I was in receipt of a full refund and was being offered further assistance. Indeed they were so pleasant I looked at further sofas and was even offered 'If you are stuck for something to use at the moment, we can lend you a sofa until yours is delivered, free of charge' !!!!

 

I most certainly do not work for this company and as indicated I am in fact a serving police officer. Due to the excellent service I have received to date my intention is to purchase a sofa from this company and hope that this level of service continues.

 

As I have said I can only say as I find and at this point in time I have had an EXTREMELY pleasant and useful experience with all of the staff here.

 

My experience so far is that the company sells furniture at very competitive prices, there was never any pressure to buy, they even offered (free of charge) to lend me a sofa in the meantime; and I received a refund with absolutely no hassle or problems!

 

I will keep you updated.

[wotnosofa]

It never ceases to amaze me just how many people sign up to this website with the sole intention of defending this company. Frankly this company must be the very definition of Jekyl & Hyde. Anyone reading these threads who is about to do business with these people I would suggest that you take great care. It would appear that you will either get exemplary top notch service that even the Savoy would be proud of or you will get robbed.

 

As a former "customer" (although I feel more like a victim) of this companies officers I would advise avoiding any contact with them.

 

And if by any chance the previous post is not genuine and indeed is submitted by the company itself, every time you post one of those, I will post one of these. Please do keep posting though, the more you post the more relevant these pages become for search engines to attach these posts with your business and it's practices. Already your name on Google is synonymous with consumer forums, bad service and consumer dissatisfaction.

 

If it is genuine I would play the lottery if I were you for you truly are one of the most fortunate people certainly to grace this particular forum.

[BromsgroveBeno]

Dear 'wotnosofa'

 

As posted in my thread I am a genuine customer of this company and can only' Speak As I Find'. I am more than happy for you to contact me personally through this site if you wish to carify this?

 

As such for your future reference I refuse to get into any ridiculous and juvenile sort of discussion as to whether I am who I say I am...

 

Therefore I also feel I must question the reason for this site and indeed your submissions?

 

Is it to give genuine people an opportunity to give examples of their experience (be it good or bad) or is it solely for disgruntled customers (and with that I understand that, with my limited knowledge of the law, I am here to assist anyone who is having difficulty should I be able and I absolutely will!) such as yourself to use as a simple 'sounding board' where you can bore the more intelligent of us by repeatedly 'Cutting and pasting' a frankly unhelpful reply?

 

I can guess your type of response but will say in the interests of decency I did state quite clearly 'I SPEAK AS I FIND' and 'WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED'.

 

In which case I do hope you are not some sorry little man who only ever has cause to complain and may even offer us some anecdotal evidence of your later experience in how you got a satisfactory resolution or went on to purchase an acceptable product from elsewhere?

 

Kind regards,

 

PS. I suspect the reason some people (who incidentally sign up to this website) defend ANY company or experience they have is due to their interpretation of 'FAIR' & common decency.

 

Please instruct me if I am mistaken and this is not how these things work, unless of course you suggest we all work on blind faith and the purely negative contributions?

[Surfer01]

Yes Sofa Specialists - Droitwich

 

Yesterday, 01/06/11 I viewed a corner unit at 'Yes Sofa Specialists' in Droitwich and I paid a fairly hefty deposit by debit card to 'Oliver' the chap you identified in your thread as the store's main representative/ company chairman.

 

I can only say as I find and have to say that he was extremely polite & helpful. There was NO pressure to purchase from any of the store's staff (at least three on duty at the time).

 

I explained the situation to Oliver who made me what appeared to be a very good deal and as I was unable to be 100% sure of my purchase at the time (I was not positive the unit would fit the room) he suggested I leave the deposit and the order could begin it's process as he VERY CLEARLY stipulated that there was now a waiting period of 15 weeks (sometimes a little sooner but he would rather give me the more realistic timescale).

 

Having returned home I realised that sadly the unit would not fit and then began looking for a replacement.

 

Then to my HORROR I found this thread on the website and was extremely apprehensive about returning to the store and getting my deposit back. Even though Oliver had signed the bottom of the invoice it clearly said 'DEPOSITS NONE REFUNDABLE' (and as a serving police officer I was fully aware of my statutory rights; often this phrase is not worth the paper it is written on) I was fully prepared for some drawn out battle to get my deposit back.

 

On returning to the store today I was met by a member of staff who again was very polite. I explained the situation and he then examined my paperwork... You can imagine the anxiety as I awaited the response...

 

'No problem sir' 'I'll will deal with it right away. Within five minutes of entering the store I was in receipt of a full refund and was being offered further assistance. Indeed they were so pleasant I looked at further sofas and was even offered 'If you are stuck for something to use at the moment, we can lend you a sofa until yours is delivered, free of charge' !!!!

 

I most certainly do not work for this company and as indicated I am in fact a serving police officer. Due to the excellent service I have received to date my intention is to purchase a sofa from this company and hope that this level of service continues.

 

As I have said I can only say as I find and at this point in time I have had an EXTREMELY pleasant and useful experience with all of the staff here.

 

My experience so far is that the company sells furniture at very competitive prices, there was never any pressure to buy, they even offered (free of charge) to lend me a sofa in the meantime; and I received a refund with absolutely no hassle or problems!

 

I will keep you updated.

You state that you are a serving police officer probably with West mercia police force, but as an ex-serving police offcier at no time did we receive any training on consumer law. Is this something new that police offciers are now taught? I was always under the impression that consumer law was dealt with by Trading Standards and that a police office only attended in the event that there was a possibility of trouble.

[BromsgroveBeno]

'Surfer01

I am indeed a currently serving police officer and you are quite correct as a matter of course police officers are not trained in consumer law. However due to past experience and through necessity I have a limited (as stated) knowledge of this law.

 

Again as stated I believe this site is to allow members to offer assistance by way of giving examples of personal experience and/ or practical application of any (however limited) knowledge of relevant laws.

 

I would quite happily repeat the relevant caution for you should you require 'Surfer01' (whether the 'now' caution or 'when questioned') however as you can imagine I am quite busy signing up Crime reports & 392's...

 

(Apologies to 'Non police officers' as this is lame attempt at an 'In house' joke?)

 

Kind regards

[Surfer01]

No problem people are very wary when a first post defends an errant company.

[wotnosofa]

Hi Bromsgrove,

 

Apologies for my guarded and somewhat abrasive responses. My reasons for posting to this site are that I "ordered" a sofa from people potentially involved with this company some time ago, never received it and the company subsequently went into liquidation. Some tracing has led me to the possibility that certain people involved with this company may have done this many times for really quite a substantial sum of money.

 

Throughout discussions on this board various "characters" have materialised to defend these companies or in some cases employees of these companies. In contrast to these glowing tributes a simple trawl of the message boards and indeed the wider internet will show you an army of "customers" that have lost considerable amounts of money (myself included) and are understandably upset and anxious.

 

I personally only wish to make people aware of my experiences and of the experiences of others so that they may make an informed choice as to whether or not to do business and that should they start to run into similar problems Google will direct them with good speed to this site so that they may know their rights and the responsibilities of the company involved to minimise the harm done.

 

I have my reasons for wishing to remain anonymous that hopefully, a trusted public servant and someone apparently spending a considerable amount of time dealing with the victims of domestic abuse would understand.

 

However, as a satisfied customer of Yes the Sofa Specialists and an independent and serving police officer, there is a simple way for you to prove to me that you are who you say you are and so vindicate your claims of outstanding service from this company such that would reassure future customers.

 

If you could simply forward me your service ID number and division I will happily find a phone number for your division, ring and speak to you in person, in doing so revealing both your identity to me and mine to you. You can either forward me the number via PM or post it here for all to see.

 

Thanks for your time, I look forward to your response

 

Wotnosofa

[Sofa not so good]

I can confirm that these individuals are the one and the same as those at ELS. I have recently been to both branches and amazingly the same Salesmen work there.

I bought a Sofa from them in Nov 2009, it finally turned up in May 2010, it wasn't what we ordered and was damaged too. After a number of complaints the Sofa was collected in July 2010 and replaced with a 'Loan Sofa' that was the last I saw of my Sofa for which I paid cash.

 

I am building up a 'porfolio' of Gary Lord and would welcome any information anyone has about him and his business practices. I can confirm that he lives in a substatial property in Stratford Upon Avon not far from his Father who has a much larger establishent. These have been paod for by US!!!!!

 

I feel that it is about time that these individuals were bought to task about their dubious business practices.

 

When this portfolio of Gary Lord is complete, it will be handed to the local media for them to review and other media outlets which I am in contact with.

 

Its about time these people were made to feel a bit of media heat.

 

I have let this lie until now because i knew that they would rise again under some other guise and attempt to do the same thing. Criminals always return to the seen of their crime.

 

I look forward to viewing any posts providing information about this individual, undoubtedly there will be postings form them as I am sure they don't have the intelligence to recognise that the momentum is growing.

 

Sofa not so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Johno100]

I can confirm that these individuals are the one and the same as those at ELS. I have recently been to both branches and amazingly the same Salesmen work there.

 

LOL Well that is conclusive evidence.

 

I bought a Sofa from them in Nov 2009, it finally turned up in May 2010, it wasn't what we ordered and was damaged too. After a number of complaints the Sofa was collected in July 2010 and replaced with a 'Loan Sofa' that was the last I saw of my Sofa for which I paid cash.

 

I am building up a 'porfolio' of Gary Lord and would welcome any information anyone has about him and his business practices. I can confirm that he lives in a substatial property in Stratford Upon Avon not far from his Father who has a much larger establishent. These have been paod for by US!!!!!

 

I feel that it is about time that these individuals were bought to task about their dubious business practices.

 

When this portfolio of Gary Lord is complete, it will be handed to the local media for them to review and other media outlets which I am in contact with.

 

Its about time these people were made to feel a bit of media heat.

 

I have let this lie until now because i knew that they would rise again under some other guise and attempt to do the same thing. Criminals always return to the seen of their crime.

 

I look forward to viewing any posts providing information about this individual, undoubtedly there will be postings form them as I am sure they don't have the intelligence to recognise that the momentum is growing.

 

Sofa not so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

If you actually have any EVIDENCE then you would do better sending it to The Insolvency Service who can actually do something with it.

 

For Companies who are the subject of insolvency proceedings:-

 

The Insolvency Service

Investigations and Enforcement Services

3rd Floor, Cannon House

18 Priory Queensway

Birmingham

B4 6BX

 

Or for a Company or business that is still trading:-

 

The Insolvency Service

Companies Investigation Branch

Ground Floor

21 Bloomsbury Street

London

WC1B 3QW

[perplexity]

Then to my HORROR I found this thread on the website and was extremely apprehensive about returning to the store and getting my deposit back. Even though Oliver had signed the bottom of the invoice it clearly said 'DEPOSITS NONE REFUNDABLE' (and as a serving police officer I was fully aware of my statutory rights; often this phrase is not worth the paper it is written on) I was fully prepared for some drawn out battle to get my deposit back.

 

The shame would be that a serving officer is not prepared to arrest the offence.

 

A misleading term (in so far as it "causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise, taking account of its factual context and of all its features and circumstances.") is not only invalid; the action could be prosecuted as a strict liability criminal offence, since The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

 

In so far as a deposit is a part payment for goods or services, it is of course refundable, to the extent that the payment is, by law.

[Quietly contemplating]

I can confirm that Yes Sofa Specialist have NOTHING to do with Exclusive Leather Sofa's. They are a totally independent company which like other busineses they probably have their share of complaints from their customers.

I can confirm that Mike Lord has opened up a retail outlet in Stratford upon Avon, where they are selling all the stock which Mike Lord bought from ELS when they went into administration. They are located in Farm Avenue about half way down on the right hand side, Farm Avenue can be found on the left hand side as you pass the Retail shopping area on your right as you leave the Town Centre where Tesco's is located. There is no name above the retail unit but I am sure that if you care to go in you will find Mike Lord happy to serve you, if your lucky you may even be able to buy your own suite for the second time.

Please contact the Liqidator (Andrew Appleyard) (0121 616 6790) to inform him if you see your suite in there. Don't bother with Strat ford's trading Standards because they will refer you to the Liquidator.

If you don't believe me go and have a look for yourselves.

Once again Yes Sofa Specialists have nothing to do with this bunch of crooks and I would argue with anyone who says they have.

I hope some of the people on here will take the time to visit this retail outlet and post their experience on here.

 

The Lords also owned a Commercial unit in Watery Lane, Small Heath that has now been repossed. They must have another place to store stock, I suspect somewhere near Stratford.

 

Regards,

Quietly contemplating.

[Chellestar]

If yes sofa have nothing to do with els, then why did my credit card receipt have els on it? The same applies to people who purchased from the b-ham branch they have another alias on their credit card receipts - if you look through the history of this thread I believe its on there

[perplexity]

You may care to note section 6(4)(b) and 6(4)© of The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations because of which it is a strict liability criminal offence for a trader with something for sale to fail to identify "any other trader on whose behalf the trader is acting".

 

It is also an offence to create the impression "that the trader is not acting for purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession, or falsely representing oneself as a consumer" if, for example, the trader were to post to an online forum without identifying himself as such.

[Quietly contemplating]

I can't explain that, it is some thing that you would have to discuss with Yes Sofa Specialists. If you are as annoyed as I am that the Lord clan have started up again, get yourself over to Stratford and have a word with the man himself. Report what you see to the Liquidator. I would strongly defend that Yes Sofa Specialists have nothing to do with these crooks. The more people get over to Stratford Upon Avon and challenge Mike Lord, particularly on a Saturday when the shop is busy, the more heat they are going to feel. Inform the local press of what sort of business is operating on their doorstep.

[jipcus]

Just to confirm as a previous member of staff from ELS/Leather Lords who worked there through the liquidation process.

 

Yes sofa is nothing to do with either of those brands.

[Quietly contemplating]

OK the Name of their new Company is 'The New Sofa Workshop'. The address is:

The New Sofa Workshop

 

Call The New Sofa Workshop on: 0178-920-9900

 

Unit 13/Avenue Fields Industrial Estate Avenue Farm

Stratford-upon-Avon

Warwickshire

CV37 0HT

 

I think that we need to set up a new Forum to warn unsuspecting victims of their Business practices!!!

[Jack80]

Hi,

 

My receipt also says ELS I would also like to confirm how terrible this company is there customer service is nil and I would recommend anyone who are thinking about getting a sofa from these people to go else where.

[Tony16]

Totally brassed off now with this company, my sofa is now nearly 3 months overdue and i am sick of hearing all the excuses as to why i haven't received it. Avoid at all cost!!!

[Tony16]

Does anybody have a contact email address for this company?

As i can't get them to provide one over the phone.

[Tony16]

OK an update for you all on my sofa - Finally received it all be it nearly 3 months late.

Must say very impressed with the sofa and the quality of the leather used and the workmanship is fantastic. Even the rear of the sofa, which you don't see has a high standard of workmanship and is as good as the front of the sofa. I had full electrics on it and they work a treat, very smooth reclining action. Must admit, its far better than i thought it would be. My parents recently spent 3k on a sofa from Cousins and even they said the sofa is far better made than theirs and the quality of the leather is also much higher.

Yes it was 3 months overdue, but was worth the wait in the end.

So for the rest of you that have had problems, don't give up hope. (Or am i one of the lucky ones?)

[ACStiles]

Hello all. I would just like to voice my experience with, Yes Sofa Specialists of Droitwich. After agreeing a price with them on a very comfy sofa, I to my horror found this website and it's warnings. I paid with my credit card and decided to take the "risk" and I am so pleased I did! They promised 7 days delivery as it was in stock. It was delivered as promised, 7 days later in immaculate condition. They were pleasant to deal with, they called me with updates and the quality of the sofa is outstanding.

 

I personally think the bad rep they have is undeserved. No company in the country can claim to have 100% consumer satisfaction, things will go wrong. When it does go wrong we complain and when things go right we just carry on with life. With the good experience I've had with them I decided to break the norm and put a good review on here. If every customer gives their review of them rather than just the unfortunate ones surely we can build a better picture of these companies? I hope everyone on here gets their issues resolved.