Posted 4th Aug 2023
Bit of an odd post but I bought this sofa in May 2021 from John Lewis - I'd been saving for a while so this was a special purchase. It doesn't have removable cushions, it is one of those foam sofas where the filling is within the fabric of the sofa so I can't take it off to plump it up or anything. I thought it seemed a good idea to get a foam sofa as the store said it is very low maintenance and can last for years.
Within the first 6 months, the foam just seemed to be permanently dented whenever I, or anyone else, sat in it. No matter how much I tried to smooth the fabric and foam, it wouldn't go back into position. I was embarrassed so I didn't contact John Lewis. It is now so bad that it has dipped about 5-6 inches so I finally contacted John Lewis this week and they said it is past the soft furnishings guarantee period (which is 1 year) so they won't do anything. I explained it happened within the first year and they asked for proof which I don't have as I didn't think to take photos. Their advice was to sit in different areas on the sofa instead but I think it will then just dip there too and I'm still left with a sofa which just isn't usable as it has dipped so much and is so uncomfortable. I really thought John Lewis would be better at speaking with customers but they just didn't care and said they can't do anything. Do I have any rights? It feels unfair as the dipping happened so quickly and the sofa clearly isn't a good quality if it has permanently dipped so much so quickly so I didn't know if that breaches the 'satisfactory quality' and unusable element of the Consumer Rights Act? I mentioned the Consumer Rights Act to them but they said it wouldn't apply.
Please, no horrid comments about there being a bottom shaped dip in the sofa! I'm embarrassed enough as it is. I just really need some advice as it cost me a lot of money and it just hasn't lived up to what I thought would be a good quality John Lewis product.
Within the first 6 months, the foam just seemed to be permanently dented whenever I, or anyone else, sat in it. No matter how much I tried to smooth the fabric and foam, it wouldn't go back into position. I was embarrassed so I didn't contact John Lewis. It is now so bad that it has dipped about 5-6 inches so I finally contacted John Lewis this week and they said it is past the soft furnishings guarantee period (which is 1 year) so they won't do anything. I explained it happened within the first year and they asked for proof which I don't have as I didn't think to take photos. Their advice was to sit in different areas on the sofa instead but I think it will then just dip there too and I'm still left with a sofa which just isn't usable as it has dipped so much and is so uncomfortable. I really thought John Lewis would be better at speaking with customers but they just didn't care and said they can't do anything. Do I have any rights? It feels unfair as the dipping happened so quickly and the sofa clearly isn't a good quality if it has permanently dipped so much so quickly so I didn't know if that breaches the 'satisfactory quality' and unusable element of the Consumer Rights Act? I mentioned the Consumer Rights Act to them but they said it wouldn't apply.
Please, no horrid comments about there being a bottom shaped dip in the sofa! I'm embarrassed enough as it is. I just really need some advice as it cost me a lot of money and it just hasn't lived up to what I thought would be a good quality John Lewis product.
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sorted byIf you paid on a credit card you may be able to make a claim for a refund.
If you cannot do that you may have to go to the small claims court. If you have the legal insurance add on with your home insurance then use that to get advice and maybe onward assistance.
More info and links about your statutory rights can be found at the citizens advice bureau or which.co.uk/con…OoH (edited)
• Customer believes product has incommensurate quality / inadequate durability.
• Merchant spouts some seemingly plausible but typicallyhilarious statement and accepts zero liability.
• Customer invites merchant / credit provider to rectify orcustomer shall commission expert opinion report to confirm product is rubbishand the cost of the report will be added to CRA claim.
• Merchant shrugs shoulders and continues to sell more
rubbishquality products to morevictimscustomers.• Report confirms customer's opinion and when presented tomerchant:
merchant acknowledges report and offers derisory low compensation
or
merchant shrugs shoulders and continues to sell more
rubbishquality products to morevictimscustomers,leaving
victimcustomer contemplating reasonablystraightforward MCOL against merchant / CP, or not.The variation in OP situation:
OP has made the merchant aware that the issue was present "within the first 6 months" but OP chose to ignore it for a further 18+ months during which time the issue deteriorated to intolerable,
where an unsympathetic (aka: aggressive) merchant may suggest that OP has knowingly escalated the issue from minor to major and so the merchant absolves themselves of all liability.
If a merchant choose to (attempt to) play that card,
is that response likely to be acceptable to a potential future customer of the merchant?
Vote with feet to all but a reasonable outcome, whatever "reasonable" may be in OP circumstance.
I got mine from M&S
I just sit in the same spot though.
I've not bothered contacting them as I thought that it was just the nature of how it' made?