Peeling leather on @DFS leather furniture

[Sparky12]

Purchased leather furniture (a chair, sofa and a footstool) from DFS in February 2022, delivered in May 2022.

In June ‘23 we noticed that the leather was peeling on the arms and back of the chair. So we reported it to DFS.

In July ‘23 a Service Manager visited to inspect and repair. She advised it was caused by “male natural oils” and despite applying some liquids was unable to fix it. Then advised she would order 2 new arms and a back. 
We were not happy with this and so advised DFS (that day) that in our view the furniture is not fit for purpose or of satisfactory quality and we were not prepared to have 3 major parts changed as there would be no guarantee that it will not happen again, or that the new parts would match the remaining original parts. We requested a full collection and refund.

Then DFS responded that as the cause (in their view not mine) was natural oils we should have been referred to Guardsman (the extended warranty) and the parts should NOT have been ordered as it is not considered a manufacturing fault. 

So I emailed back

1. The furniture is guaranteed by DFS for 2 years and the Guardsman policy is for 5 years (3 years after the initial 2 year guarantee)

2. The Guardsman policy expressly states peeling or cracking only is covered once the 2 year’s guarantee has expired

3. How can DFS sell leather furniture for use by 50% of the population (males) if this “causes” a sofa to peel after 14 months?

4. I repeated that the goods were not fit for purpose (as a male apparently cannot put arms on the armrest) and are not of satisfactory quality (peeling leather after 14 months). I requested a full refund on these grounds under the terms of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I asked if they did not agree to the refund for a detailed response stating why. I also advised I was willing to use Alternate Dispute Resolution. I gave 14 days for them to give a satisfactory response or it was my intention to issue proceedings in the county court.

I received an acknowledgment and was advised the store would call me - THEY HAVEN’T

Last Friday a member of their Escalation team phoned me to advise that after 30 days from delivery, I could not request a refund and they have the right to repair and that I could not refuse this. Furthermore as it was a gesture of goodwill to replace parts and as they were paying for these parts, they would cancel their order if I did not agree by six o’clock today.

DFS are reluctant to communicate in writing (other than basic acknowledgments), they don’t respond to requests (e.g. details of Alternate Dispute Resolution) and won’t accept the goods are faulty.

Today I googled “DFS” and “peeling leather” and this brought me to your site, where I can see that there have been plenty of other instances in the last few years of DFS leather furniture peeling and being blamed on the consumer.

So we have an ongoing issue because DFS fail to acknowledge their furniture is not compliant with satisfactory quality aspect of the Consumer Rights Act. 
I would be grateful for any assistance in getting this issue resolved 

 

 

 

 

[dx100uk]

they are correct

they have one chance to repair ...outside of 6mts you cant demand a full refund.

warranty plays no part and is useless anyway.

 

dx

 

[Sparky12]

Thanks DX for your reply.

If DFS replace the parts then where do I stand in a few months time when the same thing happens again?
I am very reluctant to accept them replacing these high traffic (their terminology) parts, as I am sure it will reoccur, based on the other stories I have read about peeling leather on DFS furniture on this site and other forums. 
DFS don’t even accept there is a fault. They repeatedly state the offer of parts replacement shouldn’t have been made, but they were willing to proceed as a “goodwill gesture” 

I would be prepared to accept a reduction in refund for the period of time we have used the furniture (less than 10% of its expected lifetime).

DFS can’t even agree how to look after the furniture. Twice since making the complaint we have been advised to wipe with a wet cloth. This is in direct contradiction to the DFS website which states “Don’t use a damp cloth, as this will absorb moisture and cause the leather to crack or peel” We have been using the materials provided by DFS 

 

[dx100uk]

they have one chance to repair. if it happens to the items again. full refund minus commensurate use is your route under consumer rights act/laws i expect

dx

 

[BankFodder]

I see that you have posted for help on another thread – but why don't you update it here so that we can continue giving you advice.

 

[Sparky12]

So an update.

1. DFS continued to advise no manufacturing fault and so they were only ordering replacement parts as a gesture of goodwill

2. The peeling/delamination continues, including parts where no skin contact happens - thus can’t be “human oils” that DFS claim.

3. Paid for an independent upholstery specialist to inspect the furniture and he confirmed it is defective and not fit for purpose.

4. Advised DFS, they now blame poor care & maintenance. They want the full report from the specialist to “forward to the manufacturer and await a response.” However they “would only consider a report by an independent specialist if it was sanctioned by DFS, which in this case it wasn’t”

So what should I do next?

- send them a report, despite they advise they won’t consider it?

- go to court?

 

 

[BankFodder]

Please standby for a reply later on today

[BankFodder]

How much did you pay for the report?
Did they recommend that you get a report initially or did you do this off your own bat?

 

Also, I see that you apparently sent them a letter of claim given them 14 days after which you will go to court. What was the date of that letter?

[Sparky12]

The report cost was £250. Which I did off my own back, because I wanted an independent in-depth examination of the furniture and was confident it would back up my view. It was a risk but I would rather lose £250 than the £3k we paid for the furniture 
If we go to court I would include this in the claim

The letter before court action was dated 19/09/23 and their reply was on 22/09/23 in which they changed blame from “natural oils” to “poor care and maintenance” 

I have spoken to IKANO Bank today to clarify who my consumer rights lie with - as other than deposit paid to DFS the balance is on an interest free agreement with the bank. They say both organisations are jointly liable. I would have thought it would have been one or the other, not both.

IKANO bank have been aware of the dispute for some time and I receive emails from them acknowledging that they are trying to resolve the matter. But today they reconfirmed they had not heard anything from DFS since August when they told IKANO that parts were on order and expected to arrive sometime after mid-October.

One last question, is it worth trying to involve the Furniture Ombudsman to act as Alternative Dispute Resolution? I advised DFS in August that I was prepared to use ADR, but they ignored this too

Thanks in advance.

[BankFodder]

We would not advise you to go to the furniture ombudsman although I did come across somebody recently on Facebook who apparently had a successful result.
It's up to you but it would be time consuming and of course DFS will say that they want eight weeks to give you a final response et cetera blah blah blah and I suppose that the furniture ombudsman could take anything up to 6 months – although I don't have any direct experience.
Also I expect the furniture ombudsman to come up with some kind of compromise settlement where you were awarded some payment which doesn't really reflect your loss of what you are seeking.
I certainly agree with you that any refund would probably be reduced pro rata on the basis of the time that you have used it in in relation to the usual life expectancy of the items.

You say that is difficult to get them to say anything writing. Have they come up with this male oil stuff in writing at all?
We didn't know that you have done this on credit. I think this is the first time you have mentioned it. Was this a loan take out specifically to buy the furniture? Was it hire purchase?

In terms of the money for the report, yes I agree that it should be added to any claim that you put in but the courts view might be that seeking the report was precipitative and I think it would be useful to understand the events leading up to your commissioning of your own report.
How many fob off's did you have from DFS?
Whether in writing?
Did you inform DFS in advance that you are going to get this inspection?
And I understand you haven't let them have sight of the results of the inspection yet – is that correct and if so why not?

Edited September 29, 2023 by BankFodder
Furniture ombudsman

[Sparky12]

The ombudsman would be the Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman not a financial ombudsman.

Bon 22nd July - after the service visit - DFS sent a email which contained the following text …”after speaking to the service manager who completed your recent visit and seeking further advice from the manager and another service manager, it was determined that when the cause of the peeling was identified as natural oils”

They also advised we should use a wet cloth to wipe regularly. Their website at that time advised “Do not use a damp cloth as this will absorb moisture and cause the leather to dry out and possibly crack or peel” I took a screen dump of this advice on their web page on 20th July. I advised them of the contradiction between the advice on the webpage and that of their service manager in an email on 24th July

 

The interest free credit agreement was signed in store to purchase the furniture. It is not Hire Purchase.

To date we have had 5 emails from DFS stating no fault and ordering parts is a gesture of goodwill. They have never responded to my proposals of Alternate Dispute Resolution, so I instigated the inspection by an independent expert. Mainly to get an independent view and report. I didn’t inform DFS in advance. They have a copy of the report. 
 

 

[BankFodder]

Sorry, I'm so used to advising on financial stuff. I will correct it now.

 

And thanks for your explanation.

You could go after the loan company. Presumably it was a consumer credit act agreement in which case you are covered under section 75. However you won't find them very helpful. You will certainly have to begin a legal action either against the finance company or directly against DFS.
On the basis of what you say it certainly doesn't sound as if it is satisfactory quality. Everything you say about male oils sounds absolutely correct.

Unfortunately this has gone on for a while and you had it for more than a year. Is their offer of new parts still standing? And will that address the issue? I know that you don't have confidence but the delays might mean that a court would think that that was a satisfactory attempt to remedy the situation.
If that didn't work then you certainly wouldn't lose any rights and you could then go for them and of course we would help you.

If you did sue then you could think about naming them both as co-defendants. Certainly once you issued the claim papers I can imagine that it would be sorted out pretty quickly and you could hang out for a complete refund less some token reduction for the use you have had it.

If this interests you then probably the thing to do is to send a letter of claim. Post a draft here we will have a look. The letter of claim were given 14 days – however this is not a bluff. If you give them 14 days then on day 15 you must click of the claim otherwise you will lose all credibility.

All the comments I made above in respect of the ombudsman are still valid even though I refer to the financial ombudsman instead of the financial ombudsman.

[Sparky12]

Thanks again for your advice.

The original faults would be corrected by the fitting of the parts ordered in July (but not yet arrived/fitted), but the delamination of the seat area has occurred since and so no parts coming. This is a fault which proves natural oils cannot be the cause - no skin-to-leather contact on the seat.
Plus the independent expert advises the issue is evident in the sofa and he expects that will also peel. 
Could accepting the repair be deemed as accepting DFS’s view that there is no manufacturing fault? They continue to spout that the replacement of these 3 parts is a gesture of goodwill. 

 

[BankFodder]

I don't see there is any prejudice to you in accepting the repair and to put it beyond doubt, you could tell them in writing that you are reserving your position and that they should not consider that your acceptance of any repair is an acceptance that they have no liability in the matter.
Explain to them that you are simply trying to cooperate with them to give them their best chance but that if the problem isn't solved then you will resort to legal action against them and the finance company.
I would copy the finance company into this.

I think that if it went to court, I think that a judge would wonder why you hadn't accepted an opportunity to remedy the situation given that you have had the sofa for over a year.

If you do decide to go down this route then as part of your acceptance of the replacement parts – subject to the condition that I have outlined above, you should also point out that you have incurred the cost of the independent report at £250. That you felt obliged to go this route after they had prevaricated when you initially brought the problem to their attention and that you will be looking to them for reimbursement of this sum in any event.

You can tell them also that in terms of the gesture of goodwill, you are accepting their attempt to repair as a matter of their duty and not goodwill.

Tell them if they change their position as a result of what you have said then you will put the matter before a judge and that you will disclose this correspondence at trial.
Make it clear that they need to make a decision quickly because it has been going on for too long, that they have cause too many problems and you are not prepared to wait any more.

Assuming that they do go ahead and supply the replacement parts, then I suggest that you proceed immediately to begin a claim for the £250. We will help you.

I don't see why you should be out of pocket on this at all.

And then if the problem re-occurs later on, we will help you bring a claim for that as well. By that time it will be clear to any court that you have been extremely reasonable and cooperative and this will add a lot of weight to your case.



 

[Sparky12]

So here’s an update.

DFS Service Centre phoned us whilst we were away last week to say parts have arrived and to book appointment for Service Manager to replace. Then on Friday the Store rang to say manufacturer had read our report, investigated and had made an offer. The offer is to replace the leather. I asked if that was all the furniture (i.e. not just the chair) and going back to the carcass. They replied it was. I asked if I could have a copy of the manufacturer’s response (in same way as I provided my report). They said they would refer that to their Escalation Dept. as it was them that we’re dealing with it.  Obviously that may come today, but wondering how best to respond.

To me it seems that the manufacturer wouldn’t offer to effectively rebuild the furniture if it wasn’t faulty. We don’t want a rebuild, 

as ever grateful for any advice.
 

[BankFodder]

I think your position is that you have to accept the offer. You should do it in writing and tell them that there is still the outstanding issue of the £250 for the report which was commissioned only because they prevaricated. That you supply the report to them and it is clear that having read the report they have now decided to address the defects.
Tell them that you are happy to give their attempted solution a chance as a matter of goodwill to them and in order to help them mitigate their losses but you expect them to deal with your £250 for the report.

Have you incurred any other costs? Time off work? Any ancillary expenses?

[Sparky12]

Thanks.
Not really incurred any expenses, as I am not working currently.