I was delivered a half leather sofa mistakenly which has been confirmed now by multiple dfs so called engineer employees attending, the sofa also has a faulty bracket that clips the back seat onto the sofa, this has been repaired twice but still broken.
Dfs still refuse to accept its not all real leather and said their engineers dont know what they're talking about.
I went through the furniture ombudsman who are absolutely useless and just side with the shop no matter what evidence you have.
Both of them have ignored the issue with the leather and said due to the faulty bracket i can have a refund minus a £950 usage fee which could increase after assessment of sofa.
Ombudsman closed case and stopped replying saying this is a fair offer by dfs as ive had long use of the sofa and bracket is faulty.
I tried to explain as i have never received the sofai paid for and been trying to give it back since delivery due to leather i shouldn't be charged a usage fee, ive been forced to store the incorrect item.
If i go to small claims court will i be able to claim my court fees back which will be over £500 ?
I now have a report stating it is artificial leather, i have video evidence of their engineer stating its vinyl with a matched pattern.
So stressed by this, its been going on and on for months with the ombudsman not replying then they say they're waiting on dfs, then they kept claiming they couldn't see my evidence even though i could log in and see it on multiple devices, now they closed the case.
I did dome research and found the ombudsman is fundedby the businesses so wont go against them and this is a common occurrence.
Any advice from someone whos used small claims would be appreciated","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/52555883","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"TristanDeCoonha"},"datePublished":"2024-04-10T19:15:32.000Z","text":"Some solicitors offer a free half hour consultation, might be worth it. They might offer you a no win no fee scenario. Bear in mind you have to buy an insurance policy if that is the case"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/52555126","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"adam.mt"},"datePublished":"2024-04-10T17:11:35.000Z","text":"How did you pay? If credit card or finance, then they share joint responsibility.
Why would your court fees be >£500?
(I've not read the other thread, should it be mentioned there)"},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/52555150","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Willy_Wonka"},"datePublished":"2024-04-10T17:15:47.000Z","text":"If you go to court you will be able to claim back all reasonable expenses but the must be reasonable & I believe you must also indicate any expenses you might incur after the filing of your claim.
But you have to win and may be responsible for their costs if you lose depending on what route you want to go down."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/52567894","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"student.223"},"datePublished":"2024-04-12T17:20:03.000Z","text":"I too had an absolutely terrible experience with DFS. 5 years on I am living with their incompetence and disgraceful customer service.
My sister had a dreadful experience with Harveys (pre-covid).
So I do wonder if good customer service is a thing in this sofa industry."},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https://www.hotukdeals.com/comments/permalink/52571170","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"cliosport65"},"datePublished":"2024-04-13T10:29:07.000Z","text":"As a tip I find the only way to get DFS to do anything or listen is to leave them a bad trust pilot review, then everyone seems to get involved
The other thing is they are just ordering these sofas from China as well, not even making them in the UK."}],"commentCount":30,"interactionStatistic":1,"articleSection":"Retailer Offers and Issues"}