Argos- can anybody help?!!

[c.kent]

Hi,

 

Well its now two weeks ago that the Manager telephoned me and arranged to send a replacement suite. Still no date. I have sent a complaint letter to Argos (recorded delivery) stating that I consider that some goodwill gesture or refund should be given for the health problems we have suffered whilst having this suite in our home, the inconvenience caused by having to wait for a replacement and the financial outlay we have had for prescription charges and vets bills.

 

We bought this suite on a Buy Now Pay later option. We have been paying an extortionate 27.9% interest over the last 6 months for a suite we cant even sit on. All I've had from Argos this morning is the next statement put through the letter box.

 

I dont want to have to commence legal proceedings but if I have to wait any longer or receive no recompense from Argos I shall have no choice.

C.Kent

[c.kent]

To update my suite ordeal! The suite was collected on 7th December, and a replacement pia suite delivered. Everything was fine to begin with and then a few days before xmas my husbands respiratory symptoms returned and so did the rash on the backs of my legs!

 

I contacted Argos immediately to come and collect the replacement suite. I was told that this was the first report they had had with problems of the replacement suite???!!! I said I would beg to differ on that remark! The earliest they could collect was two days after xmas. So xmas was spent with the lounge closed off with a houseful of family and friends for xmas and nowhere to sit:-x

 

We received from Argos's insurers a compensation cheque out of the blue in early december for the ill health caused whilst having our original suite. Suffice to say, we will only now be accepting this as an interim payment now we have suffered further ill health, stress and inconvenience with the replacement suite.

 

c.kent

[karhuss]

I also have the rash and so has my dog. Neither of us have ever had skin problems before. the only thing is my sofas are not Pia or Bari but the Quinn range which I bought in December 2006 and had them delivered at the end Of January 2007. My skin problems started 4 weeks later and despite 9 different creams and steroids I am still suffering and taking anti-histamins twice a day to ease the itching. I cant remeb=mber when I last had a good nights sleep. I rang Argos and they state that the QUINN is not on their list and they are replacing the bad sofas with these. Has anybody else had the same problems with the Quinn sofas sold in Argos.

[skittles6969]

Hi All,

Sorry to jump in at such a late stage with this discussion but I've only just found it. I too have suffered with the Argos back burner suites. We bought a Pia early in 2007 but didn't start to use it till the end of July, due to re-decorating. It was stored in the boxes for 5 months while I remodelled the living room. Everything was fine untill I slept on it.(No we weren't arguing, I was working all night and slept on it most of the day). A few days later I got an awfully irritating itch on my back. This progressed until I could bear it no longer and went to the doctors in October. He prescribed some cream but it did not ease the irritation, which by November had turned into a migrating open, weeping sore, covering my upper back and lightly down my sides.

Also in October I recieved THE letter from Argos asking me to check my serial numbers. They didn't match but I phoned them anyway. All they said was there is a problem with the backs of the sofa/chairs. Nothing about skin irritations. There was nothing structurally wrong with mine, in fact we absolutely loved it, so I gave it no more thought.

On January 17th this year I went back to the doctors still in pain and discomfort, and genuinely worried about my health. I work as a mechanic and my skin has always been quick to heal and never been affected by any chemicals I've been in contact with. I saw a different doctor who asked all the usual questions pointing to an allergy, soaps and detergents etc. Then she asked if we had a new suite. I was puzzled but answered yes. She asked where from, and when I said Argos her eyebrows shot up to her hair line! She had heard about the reactions and showed me where to look on the internet. I was gobsmacked. While I had been trying to recover from the ailment, I was sitting on the very thing that had caused it, and was continuing to "burn" me.

I kept well away from the suite for 2 weeks and started to heal immediately.

In the meantime I called Argos who agreed to change the Pia for a Leona suite. It looked the same in the catalogue but when it arrived it was cr*p. Hardly any padding and sooo cheap looking. The Pia looked classy and impressive compared to the Leona. I called Argos the next day, after my wife came home and burst into tears when she saw the Leona suite, and was offered a refund. They took it away after a week. In that week one of the seats on the sofa sank, and all the arms were floppy from day one. When I dissasembled it for collection I had a look and saw a broken piece of wood across the front. I was disgusted with the quality of the wood used to make it. It resembled packing crate wood. The rough stuff that's not good enough for anything else. The camera came out that time. I'm currently in the process of claiming for damages and negligence against Argos. An area on my back has not healed back to normal. The wife says it feels like.... wait for it..... LEATHER!

One thing happened that is playing on my mind, and reading some of the posts, I may be right. While the Pia suite was still in the boxes stored in the living room, April 12th to be exact, one of our cats mysteriously fell ill. We found him on the morning with breathing difficulties, and no movement in his back legs. There was nothing the vets could do, suspecting a blood clot caused by his respiration system failing. We had to have him "put to sleep". I held him as he fell asleep, and once he had gone his lungs emptied. There was loads of fluid collected on his lungs, covering me and the floor. I'd guess at nearly a pint.

Could this be connected to the breathing difficulties experienced by some people? Your thoughts please.

[c.kent]

Hi Skittles

 

Yes, these are all classic symptoms of having the misfortune of purchasing and having in your home the Argos suite. Our dog even came out in a rash. My husband is still have respiratory problems even though our suite was collected last December.

 

There has been much covered in the media over recent weeks about this and the BBC interviewed someone this week who had suffered skin problems after purchasing the suite and has now even got asthma as a result.

 

I would suggest you get in contact with one of the firms of solicitors that are dealing with hundreds of compensation claims. We are using Russell, Jones, Walker who appear to be representing the majority of claimants.

 

Hope this helps

[delilah 9]

You know this whole thing is beginning to worry me senseless. I also now have to use an inhaler (ventolin) prescribed for me last year due to problems with breathing. I never thought it could be possibly be due to the sofas, which have now gone. I have been to see a specialist 6 times this year for skin tests and did react quite badly to 1 of the substances that was applied. I am using a solicitor recommended by argos and still awaiting answers as to what was causing all of this.