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Sofaworks false advertising and faulty goods


milyne65
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Hi,

Just to add to the discussion. My wife & I helped my mother claim in 2011 from CSL as "leather" was peeling and frame was bowing, after 12 months and much to-ing and fro-ing they recovered the suite. now in 2015 the leather is peeling worse than ever and not just in the head area, the sofa manual recliner has also ceased to fiunction. We are in the process of going through it all again.

 

This time I contacted the furniture ombudsman who is as much use as a cardboard car jack! CSL now sofaworks are without doubt the worst company ever to deal with, do not take my word for it, in 2014 my wife and i claimed against Harveys for the same issue of leather peeling, we had 4 inspections (3 Harveys sent) and one inspector stated he no longer does any work for sofaworks as he was pressured constantly to reject claims and he has first hand experience of their underhand tricks to avoid at all costs doing any rectifications. The inspector we hired was not cheap, but he committed on the report he was prepared to go to court on oath to back up what he said. Harveys subsequently gave a full credit after 3 years but we will never buy from a large outlet again.

 

The irony is my mother had two beautiful bespoke hand made sofas from a small company in Stockport and just wanted a change as she had had them for over 15 years, they still looked like new and no sagging either. The company in Stockport even came out after 10 years as a castor had fell off and they repaired it for free - now that is customer service. My mother is disabled and does not need this grief, she regrets every single day selling her sofas to buy the rubbish from CSL/Sofaworks.

 

I have had dealings with ombudsmen before who gave dreadful advice in a mortgage complaint many years ago and it is my experience they will consistently favour the supplier in a bid to close things down ASAP. I have only included the ombudsman this time as my parents are fast approaching the "fit for purpose" timeframe and i wanted their input, never mind the repair was in 2012, a year was lost pursuing last claim, the 6 or 7 year window for claims is always from the original purchase date which I find punitive. therefore we are not going to accept a repair this time and are prepared to go to court.

 

My advice to anyone is plan your approach, dated letter/follow up when required/commit to court proceedings/etc... Do NOT become disheartened or give up, this is what they want. Follow all the required procedures otherwise they will be used against you. Itemise every cost, I have successfully billed for time, or used it as a bargaining tool, so when their customer service manager wants to come out for a £50 charge I bill them for £50 for taking time off or travelling or writing letters. I once managed to wipe out a £500 claim from a sports club by sending them identical billing to respond. I am sure it a grey area and i find even if there is no precedent allowing you to charge, most companies do not know either.

 

My wife and I are becoming quite accustomed to standing up for our consumer rights, we have rightly compained when needed and sought recompense when appropriate, having lived overseas for 15 years i can assure everybody we are bottom of the league when it comes to customer service in the UK, we need to do soemthing about it.....rant over!! :mad2:

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Hundred percent, the company play on the fact they have deep pockets and we are customers with hard earned money, we do not count in their business plan.

 

They are a disgrace - do NOT offer customer satisfaction, at all...

 

Ombudsman took weeks to respond and say they cant help us, waste of time, what are they there for, the company obviously....

 

We have a back cushion on our leather suite 40mm higher than the other two, flat foam on leg supports and crinkled leather below two arms.

 

QUOTE sofaworks, we do not class them as a fault and refuse to resolve our problems.

 

Sure I heard there is a TV show in September 2015 about them, I sincerely hope so.

 

They need exposing in the media extremely bad company..!!

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I'm feeling very concerned after reading these posts ,

 

 

yesterday a settee and chair we had ordered from sofaworks arrived,

however the delivery driver informed me there was a problem and showed me a large rip in the base underneath the settee,

he said I could refuse to accept the delivery if I wasn't happy, which I did.

 

 

Unfortunately I didn't photograph the damage, which I'm regretting.

 

 

Today after an hour and half on the phone to four different customer service advisers,

three of whom were very unhelpful and categorically stated iI had no right to cancel the order and have a refund,

 

 

the fourth a more senior technical adviser finally has said we can choose to have our payment refunded

but hasn't sent me the e mail she promised confirming this nor has my husband received a call from the finance department

which she also said would happen.

 

 

We have waited since June for theses goods and feel thoroughly let down by their attitude.

I'm not really sure what our legal rights are

 

 

. Any advice appreciated.

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Keep in touch, our experience no customer satisfaction, perhaps you will be ok with that problem , cut and dried defect imo!!!!

 

You did the right thing returning it, once in your possession it becomes extremely difficult to deal with, they do not care!

 

Do not contact the furniture ombudsman waste of time, think Sofaworks pay to be part of it, useless!

 

We have a back cushion 40mm above the other two, crumpled leather below both arms, flat foam filling on leg supports on recliners.

 

QUOTE by Sofaworks area manager..... we do NOT consider that as faults...Uh, pay us £200 to return it, two days after delivery, disgraceful company.

 

Someone told me there is a tv show about them this month?

 

To date we hit a brick wall with this company, they are well experienced at fobbing customers off......

 

This week I spoke to a solicitor, he told me to check my home insurance which may have legal cover, we are with Rias, a claim form has been submitted, we wait for a reply to see if they will take this up on our behalf, wont hold my breath though.

 

Will post an up date so others can see progress, or not, would not tough this company with a barge pole in the future disgrace!

 

Good luck

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Hi Falgirl,

Sorry to hear of your issues. I think you did the right thing rejecting the delivery.

The trader’s obligations

 

"If the sofa which has been delivered is damaged, of poor quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, you have the right to reject it and claim a refund. However, where a repair is feasible, you must allow the trader the opportunity to do this in the first instance. The trader must cover the costs of the repair (including collection and re-delivery) and must not take too long. If a repair cannot be carried out, or has been poorly carried out, if it has taken an unreasonable length of time, or if you have experienced significant inconvenience, you are then within your rights to request a replacement. If neither a repair or a replacement can be effected, you can then ask for a discount on the purchase price or your money back."

 

the issue is if you take them to court they will argue they offered a repair and you may lose, if you paid by credit card or on finance then I suggest you contact them as the credit card company will fight on your behalf and they will refund you and chase the seller for their money or if on finance the agreement is with them anyway so they would negotiate and in the case of my mother they are far more receptive to your problems.

 

Whatever happens good luck and let us know how you get on!! :???:

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I'm currently waiting for my home insurance legal cover, filled an application waiting for their decision, wont hold my breath though, but if successful we have big guns in our camp :)

 

Anyone having problems with Sofaworks BAD service, look at your Home and Contents Insurance, see if it includes legal cover....Recently spoke to a solicitor, he told me to check it out.

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Regarding my post above, just opened my email to find this copied and pasted :)

 

Re: RIAS Home Family Legal Expenses Legal Expenses Insurance Claim

Consumer Dispute

 

We acknowledge safe receipt of your completed claim form.

 

Please note that the insurers of your Legal Expenses Insurance policy have appointed Arc Legal Assistance Ltd to manage legal expenses insurance claims on their behalf.

 

To enable us to consider this matter further, we kindly ask you provide the following information:

1. A Copy of the Contract/ Invoice

2. Correspondence with your opponent

3. Copy of any expert report obtained

4. Copies of any court papers where proceedings issued

5. A statement/diary of events you have prepared, with dates and events as accurately as possible which has lead you to submitting a claim under your legal expenses policy

6. Any other information relevant to your claim

We look forward to your reply.

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I really wish I'd found this thread, and the others on here, before placing my order this week.

 

 

Unfortunately I looked on TrustPilot, saw they'd got a great score and decided to buy from them.

It was only today when struggling to get through to their customer services line that I found this thread via Google.

 

I actually rang them up to cancel my order today but was told that it was a legally binding contract the second I signed

and so cancelling would incur a 30% charge.

 

 

What's really annoyed me is that the sales girl in the shop specifically used the words 'cooling off period' when referring to the 48 hours after the order.

It turns out that this 48 hour period is for making amendments/alterations to the order, not cancelling,

in which case her referring to it as a cooling off period is totally misleading,

 

 

how can I prove what she did or didn't say?

She also said nothing about a 1.5% charge for paying using a credit card,

 

 

although when I complained about that today they did at least agree to refund that charge.

 

So it would seem that I'm now at their mercy and will have a 5 week wait to see what turns up.

 

 

Judging by the threads on here it sounds like I'm in for a LOT of hassle should any of the following occur:

 

1. They send the wrong sofa

2. The sofa is damaged or defective

3. They can't get any part of it through the door

4. I have any problems with it at all over the next 15 years

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If you have paid with your Credit card, you have far greater protection.

 

Is this a custom made item ?

Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

Uploading documents to CAG ** Instructions **

Looking for a draft letter? Use the CAG Library

Dealing with Customer Service Departments? - read the CAG Guide first

1: Making a PPI claim ? - Q & A's and spreadsheets for single premium policy - HERE

2: Take back control of your finances - Debt Diaries

3: Feel Bullied by Creditors or Debt Collectors? Read Here

4: Staying Calm About Debt  Read Here

5: Forum rules - These have been updated - Please Read

BCOBS

1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

2: Does your Bank play fair - You can force your Bank to play Fair with you

3: Banking Conduct of Business Regulations - The Hidden Rules

4: BCOBS and Unfair Treatment - Common Examples of Banks Behaving Badly

5: Fair Treatment for Credit Card Holders and Borrowers - COBS

Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

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Good. I've only paid the deposit so far but the remaining balance will be paid on that same credit card.

 

No it's not a custom made item. It's just a completely standard corner sofa, exactly the same size, colour, fabric etc as one I saw in their showroom.

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Then you should have some cancellation rights. I will ask someone to confirm for you.

Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

Uploading documents to CAG ** Instructions **

Looking for a draft letter? Use the CAG Library

Dealing with Customer Service Departments? - read the CAG Guide first

1: Making a PPI claim ? - Q & A's and spreadsheets for single premium policy - HERE

2: Take back control of your finances - Debt Diaries

3: Feel Bullied by Creditors or Debt Collectors? Read Here

4: Staying Calm About Debt  Read Here

5: Forum rules - These have been updated - Please Read

BCOBS

1: How can BCOBS protect you from your Banks unfair treatment

2: Does your Bank play fair - You can force your Bank to play Fair with you

3: Banking Conduct of Business Regulations - The Hidden Rules

4: BCOBS and Unfair Treatment - Common Examples of Banks Behaving Badly

5: Fair Treatment for Credit Card Holders and Borrowers - COBS

Advice & opinions given by citizenb are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.

PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME TO GIVE ADVICE BY PM - IF YOU PROVIDE A LINK TO YOUR THREAD THEN I WILL BE HAPPY TO OFFER ADVICE THERE:D

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I really wish I'd found this thread, and the others on here, before placing my order this week. Unfortunately I looked on TrustPilot, saw they'd got a great score and decided to buy from them. It was only today when struggling to get through to their customer services line that I found this thread via Google.

I actually rang them up to cancel my order today but was told that it was a legally binding contract the second I signed and so cancelling would incur a 30% charge. What's really annoyed me is that the sales girl in the shop specifically used the words 'cooling off period' when referring to the 48 hours after the order. It turns out that this 48 hour period is for making amendments/alterations to the order, not cancelling, in which case her referring to it as a cooling off period is totally misleading, but how can I prove what she did or didn't say? She also said nothing about a 1.5% charge for paying using a credit card, although when I complained about that today they did at least agree to refund that charge.

 

So it would seem that I'm now at their mercy and will have a 5 week wait to see what turns up. Judging by the threads on here it sounds like I'm in for a LOT of hassle should any of the following occur:

 

1. They send the wrong sofa

2. The sofa is damaged or defective

3. They can't get any part of it through the door

4. I have any problems with it at all over the next 15 years

 

Yes your best protection, credit card company should help with problems.. sofaworks are useless, will not rectify problems, fob customers off, ours isn't resolved since May 2015, we have a solicitor and seeking an independant furniture report £250 uh.

 

Barclay partner finance may get involved, if needed.

 

Good luck with this rubbish company, ps one of our back cushions is 50mm above the other two, sofaworks said this is not a fault, their furniture technician said the same, unbelievable uh.

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what date did you pay the dep

what date did you cancel

 

 

you have 14 days.

 

 

dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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I paid the deposit on Tuesday night (10th November) and first tried to cancel Thursday during the daytime

but, strangely(!), couldn't get through to their cancellations line even though when I rang the sales line it was answered immediately.

 

I actually got through to the cancellations team yesterday afternoon (13th November) which was when they told me that I couldn't cancel,

quoting their Ts & Cs (on their website but it won't let me post a link here).

 

They didn't even tell me that I *could* cancel if I paid the 30% charge,

simply that I was legally bound to honour the contract that I'd signed.

 

 

I spotted the 30% charge part when I read the Ts & Cs myself.

 

 

I'm holding off on paying the balance of the order until I absolutely have to.

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please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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  • 6 months later...

Update on our terrible experience with sofaworks and note another new trading name softology...

 

12 months on, suite collected by sofaworks last week,

waiting for a credit from Barclay Partner Finance who did interest free credit via sofaworks,

without this we would have well and truly stuffed.

 

Main reason for return, one back cushion 50mm higher than the others, and crumpled leather.

 

Sofaworks are full of bull, used to misleading and walking over customers with complaints.

 

 

Hope everyone viewed them on rip off Britain, showed them for what they are.

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