Posted 20 November 2023
Identifying faux leather
Long story but ill keep it short as possible, i recieved a damaged 3+2 seater sofa from dfs almost 2 years ago and managed to get refunded and sofa collected with the help of some members here after dfs were being awkward.
Like an idiot i decided to give them a second chance and ordered a full leather corner sofa instead a month later as i couldn't find anything i liked elsewhere.
Important point here, there were 2 leather choices and i paid the extra £399 to have 100% full leather including on the back and sides, recieved the sofa 4 months later but yet again it was badly damaged on delivery in multiple places, i no longer had my old sofa and agreed to a repair this time.
Home serve attended and deemed it unrepairable, i had to chase dfs for a few weeks but eventually they reorded the sofa again.
5 months later they delivered the 3rd sofa, and it once again had an issue but this time it was just a bent bracket on the recliner so i arranged a repair yet again.
Then a few days later i realised the leather on the back and sides was different from the seats, the home serve engineer visited the same day to inspect bracket and told me it was faux leather.
I called dfs and they sent a manager out to inspect it who told me it is all real leather however they've used two different hides, i was suspicious but its hard to tell although it does feel and look very different he showed me the backing and insisted it was 100% real leather.
Fast forward many months and the rear cushion become wobbly, another repair guy comes out who actually works for dfs and told me its not real leather again, then when i mentioned his manager had been out and inspected it and confirmed it was real leather, he started rubbing it again and said oh yes it is real i was wrong.
I think clearly i was reordered the incorrect leather option and have been fobbed off and robbed out of £399, as its now been over a year due to damaged sofas, repairs and a lying manager, is there anything i can do now ?
Also is there a way to find out 100% if the leather is faux ?
Really sorry for such a long post, im just really stressed and so much has gone on with dfs, should never have reordered with them.
Images below of suspected faux leather, including some scrapes done by last repair job.
Thanks in advance for any help
This last image is the backing which the manager showed me and said proved its real leather, he said faux leather doesn't have backing like that.
Like an idiot i decided to give them a second chance and ordered a full leather corner sofa instead a month later as i couldn't find anything i liked elsewhere.
Important point here, there were 2 leather choices and i paid the extra £399 to have 100% full leather including on the back and sides, recieved the sofa 4 months later but yet again it was badly damaged on delivery in multiple places, i no longer had my old sofa and agreed to a repair this time.
Home serve attended and deemed it unrepairable, i had to chase dfs for a few weeks but eventually they reorded the sofa again.
5 months later they delivered the 3rd sofa, and it once again had an issue but this time it was just a bent bracket on the recliner so i arranged a repair yet again.
Then a few days later i realised the leather on the back and sides was different from the seats, the home serve engineer visited the same day to inspect bracket and told me it was faux leather.
I called dfs and they sent a manager out to inspect it who told me it is all real leather however they've used two different hides, i was suspicious but its hard to tell although it does feel and look very different he showed me the backing and insisted it was 100% real leather.
Fast forward many months and the rear cushion become wobbly, another repair guy comes out who actually works for dfs and told me its not real leather again, then when i mentioned his manager had been out and inspected it and confirmed it was real leather, he started rubbing it again and said oh yes it is real i was wrong.
I think clearly i was reordered the incorrect leather option and have been fobbed off and robbed out of £399, as its now been over a year due to damaged sofas, repairs and a lying manager, is there anything i can do now ?
Also is there a way to find out 100% if the leather is faux ?
Really sorry for such a long post, im just really stressed and so much has gone on with dfs, should never have reordered with them.
Images below of suspected faux leather, including some scrapes done by last repair job.
Thanks in advance for any help
This last image is the backing which the manager showed me and said proved its real leather, he said faux leather doesn't have backing like that.Community Updates
36 Comments
sorted byI would definitely get the finance company involved, and you will need some sort of evidence. The suggestions about an independent report are good, and I would do that if I were you. Try Guardsman or Castelan to see if they will provide a report (you'll have to pay but should ultimately be able to claim this cost back from DFS if things go in your favour down the line).
Im 100% certain after all my extensive research on leather, the back and sides are the inner most part of the leather ( split leather ) with pu faux leather glued on top, this is the reason the backing looks genuine.
Find a sacrificial piece or somewhere round the back, hold a naked flame to the piece for 5~10 seconds, if it's real leather it will smell like burnt hair and may have a little soot. If it's fake it'll smell like burnt plastic!
You can also try the water test, again find a sacrificial piece or somewhere round the back, as water can leave a stain. If it's real leather a single drop of water should be absorbed, if it's fake the water will remain as a droplet and not be absorbed.
lonesome-dragon.com/mic…er/
Although I think you've probably got this rather than a solid piece of leather;
"Bonded leather is called 'leather' because it incorporates scraps of leather remnants, which comprise between 10-20% of its content. The scraps of leather are made into a pulp and stuck to a fibre or paper backer which is then coated with polyurethane and embossed to give it the appearance of genuine leather." (edited)
Im thinking about trying to find a local company to inspect it and write a report if it faux so i can take it further (edited)
I rang dfs customer services last week after finding images of microfiber leather and alcantara look identical to the backing on my rear leather.
Senior manager came out this morning and tried to show me the rear of leather in image 3 of original post, exactly same as the other manager who claimed it was real real leather.
I continued to show him pictures of alcantara and microfiber leather and told him i had another company inspect it ( this was a lie ) and its not real leather and then he suddenly smelt the backing and agreed it was not real leather, then went on to tell me the last manager who lied has already left the company.
Im not very happy but at last its hopefully getting sorted, he asked what i want to do then he mentioned taking the sofa away and said im going to end up with no sofa ( think hes trying to force me to take a discount and keep it )
However i told him i want what ive paid for and will have to contact trading standards.
He left saying he will look into and get back to me, im guessing i can refuse collection until i get a replacement and they cant do much now ? (edited)
The leather used on the back and sides is more than likely a lower quality leather to the leather used on the touch surfaces.
They have likely used the top layer of the hide for the main touch surfaces and split the leather and used the lower layer with a corrected grain for the back and sides.
They should have had sofas in store which, like yours, are 100% leather and the salesman should have 'waterproofed' the sale by showing you that sofa and explaining to you how the leather on the back and sides would look/feel different to the leather on the touch surfaces. For completeness, he then should have documented this on the order paperwork and got you to sign for confirmation.
But turns out the backing on bicast doesn't look anything like real leather either.
But when searching up bicast leather i found another called microfiber leather and i think ive found what my sofa is partially made from, check this out and compare with image 3 on my post, almost certain its the same,looking it up on the internet its best faux leather available
Now waited another 30 hours soo far and no call back, absolutely diabolical company, you'd think they'd call immediately after finding they've scammed and lied to someone 😔
She was supposed to come out with a leather specialist but turned up alone and took photos just of the backing again, had to wait a month for her to come back to me today and say shes showed her superiors and they've said it looks real so they're not taking any action.
Not sure where i go from here, small claims or maybe section75 might be possible through finance company ?
I'm guessing they will say it is bonded leather so DFS will in turn say that means it is leather, whereas you were expecting 'solid' leather.
Found a few small places near by who do recovering of furniture.
The advertising for the sofa specifically states 50% faux leather on lima and 100% real hide leather on peru option which i chose and has a picture of a hide over the option.