We expect our sofas to cope with a lot; messy kids, pets, the odd accident, but with the average new suite costing around £2000, it's spillages and stains we worry about the most.
Which is why the people at DFS are quick to offer us protection, which comes in the form of Fabri-Coate; an invisible stain protector which is sprayed onto the sofa before it is delivered to you. Members of the Watchdog team went undercover to see what the salesmen in DFS stores had to say about the treatment:which is provided as part of an optional insurance policy...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'DFS' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
"Nowadays, they do a thing called Fabri-Coate, where if you spill things like red wine, coffee, tea, it stops it going inside the actual fabric, this allows you to wipe it off with a damp cloth."
The insurance policy costs around £150, depending on what kind of suite you buy.The problem is not all the sofas sold by DFS can be treated with fabri coate, but even for those sofas the salesman are offering it as part of the insurance protection.. An ex-DFS saleman told Watchdog:
"I was selling Fabri-Coate to a customer and a colleague came up to me and said actually the sofa you have just sold them doesn't get treated with Fabri-Coate, and he then pointed out that only the ones that are completely fabric got treated and actually the ones that have a mix between fabric and leather, or fabric and fibre, actually didn't have any treatment at all. For the last three or four months, I'd been selling sofas to people and actually didn't know this."
It seems DFS are offering a protective spray for sofas that can't actually be sprayed. We wanted to find out if this was still happening - and if it's more widespread. The first step was to call the DFS sales line to see which sofas in their winter range can NOT be treated with Fabri-coate. We found that three popular DFS sofas - the Rhonda, the Piper and the Cameo -can't be treated with Fabri-Coate.
But inside the store, it was a different story. We paid undercover visits to nine DFS stores to see if they would offer to sell us the Fabri coate protection for furniture that couldn't be treated. Just minutes into the sales pitch for the Cameo sofa, the assistant was spelling out the benefits of Fabri-Coate:
"You can get them sprayed at the factory for you if you want them stain treated. It's a small additional cost...if you go for lighter colours it basically closes the fibres on them so if you ever spill anything on them, you just absorb with a kitchen towel and wipe it away so it shouldn't stain."
The team also headed to a different store, asking a different assistant about a different sofa - this time, the Rhonda, which is also unsuitable for spraying with Fabri-Coate. This salesman said:
"Nowadays they do a thing called Fabri-Coate. its sprayed, the actual material so anything poured onto it, it doesn't soak inside, it just falls off on top. So you get a damp cloth and just dab it off... Red wine, hot tea, they're the most difficult stains that we do. The other ones are a lot easier to get out, like water, Ribena, Coke, they're a lot easier to wipe off."
Right, that's twice they've tried to mis-sell the protection. Will it happen again, in a third store? This time we enquired about the Piper sofa, only to be told:
"With the fabric choice that you have, is that when they make it, you can have it treated against spills and stains so if you're worried about spilling things on it, you know you can have it treated and once they've treated it, you get anything on it, you just take a damp flannel to it and it will come off."
When we asked specifically:
"Can we have this one treated?"
The salesman said:
"Yeah, of course you can. All the fabric ones we do, you can have treated."
In the end, we didn't buy any furniture, but in six of the nine stores we visited the sales staff recommended Fabri-Coate protection for sofas that couldn't be sprayed. We showed the footage to Mark Weston, a commercial lawyer, to get his opinion on the sales practice:
"What they are led to believe, they are buying they are not actually buying. I think in the buyer's mind, if you hear that it could be covered by Fabri-Coate, you're probably thinking. 'great'. Watchdog has clearly shown that the sofas we were looking at can't be treated with Fabri-Coate. I think it is misleading."
So why are the sales staff pushing Fabri-coate, even when it's inappropriate? Well, you can't buy the product on its own... it comes only as part of DFS's insurance policy, and it turns out getting customers to buy Fabri-coate is a great way of selling their insurance. When shopping for the Rhonda sofa, our team was told by the salesman:
"What they do is, not only do they treat it, they give you a five year guarantee alongside it".
It was a similar story when we enquired about the Cameo:
"If for any reason it does stain for something that you spill, we'll send someone out who will get rid of that stain, repair or replace any parts that we need for you".
Selling the insurance might make money for DFS, but customers need to study the small print closely. Exclusions from the terms and conditions of the 5-year anti-stain cover insurance policy include: General everyday soiling resulting from normal use, unidentifiable stains and stains not attended to promptly... not reported at the earliest possible convenience. This is what commercial lawyer Mark Weston had to say about it:
"No one explains to the customer that it doesn't cover you for normal wear and tear, it doesn't cover you for spills you cant identify... you have to report it immediately... very limited circumstances, so it's not very well explained at all and I think its misleading."
So, not only are you paying for a product you might not get. You're actually buying an insurance policy that covers you for less than you might think.
DFS Response:
DFS have denied misleading their customers.
They say they offer two policies - one with Fabri-Coate, the other without. They both cost the same and they give the same level of cover, providing specialist stain removal, reupholstery, or even replacement, if needed.
They say their policies and exclusions are clear and that any suggestion that their customers are being missold to are false. .
Think insurance, think DFS?
Which is why the people at DFS are quick to offer us protection, which comes in the form of Fabri-Coate; an invisible stain protector which is sprayed onto the sofa before it is delivered to you. Members of the Watchdog team went undercover to see what the salesmen in DFS stores had to say about the treatment:which is provided as part of an optional insurance policy...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'DFS' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
"Nowadays, they do a thing called Fabri-Coate, where if you spill things like red wine, coffee, tea, it stops it going inside the actual fabric, this allows you to wipe it off with a damp cloth."
The insurance policy costs around £150, depending on what kind of suite you buy.The problem is not all the sofas sold by DFS can be treated with fabri coate, but even for those sofas the salesman are offering it as part of the insurance protection.. An ex-DFS saleman told Watchdog:
"I was selling Fabri-Coate to a customer and a colleague came up to me and said actually the sofa you have just sold them doesn't get treated with Fabri-Coate, and he then pointed out that only the ones that are completely fabric got treated and actually the ones that have a mix between fabric and leather, or fabric and fibre, actually didn't have any treatment at all. For the last three or four months, I'd been selling sofas to people and actually didn't know this."
It seems DFS are offering a protective spray for sofas that can't actually be sprayed. We wanted to find out if this was still happening - and if it's more widespread. The first step was to call the DFS sales line to see which sofas in their winter range can NOT be treated with Fabri-coate. We found that three popular DFS sofas - the Rhonda, the Piper and the Cameo -can't be treated with Fabri-Coate.
But inside the store, it was a different story. We paid undercover visits to nine DFS stores to see if they would offer to sell us the Fabri coate protection for furniture that couldn't be treated. Just minutes into the sales pitch for the Cameo sofa, the assistant was spelling out the benefits of Fabri-Coate:
"You can get them sprayed at the factory for you if you want them stain treated. It's a small additional cost...if you go for lighter colours it basically closes the fibres on them so if you ever spill anything on them, you just absorb with a kitchen towel and wipe it away so it shouldn't stain."
The team also headed to a different store, asking a different assistant about a different sofa - this time, the Rhonda, which is also unsuitable for spraying with Fabri-Coate. This salesman said:
"Nowadays they do a thing called Fabri-Coate. its sprayed, the actual material so anything poured onto it, it doesn't soak inside, it just falls off on top. So you get a damp cloth and just dab it off... Red wine, hot tea, they're the most difficult stains that we do. The other ones are a lot easier to get out, like water, Ribena, Coke, they're a lot easier to wipe off."
Right, that's twice they've tried to mis-sell the protection. Will it happen again, in a third store? This time we enquired about the Piper sofa, only to be told:
"With the fabric choice that you have, is that when they make it, you can have it treated against spills and stains so if you're worried about spilling things on it, you know you can have it treated and once they've treated it, you get anything on it, you just take a damp flannel to it and it will come off."
When we asked specifically:
"Can we have this one treated?"
The salesman said:
"Yeah, of course you can. All the fabric ones we do, you can have treated."
In the end, we didn't buy any furniture, but in six of the nine stores we visited the sales staff recommended Fabri-Coate protection for sofas that couldn't be sprayed. We showed the footage to Mark Weston, a commercial lawyer, to get his opinion on the sales practice:
"What they are led to believe, they are buying they are not actually buying. I think in the buyer's mind, if you hear that it could be covered by Fabri-Coate, you're probably thinking. 'great'. Watchdog has clearly shown that the sofas we were looking at can't be treated with Fabri-Coate. I think it is misleading."
So why are the sales staff pushing Fabri-coate, even when it's inappropriate? Well, you can't buy the product on its own... it comes only as part of DFS's insurance policy, and it turns out getting customers to buy Fabri-coate is a great way of selling their insurance. When shopping for the Rhonda sofa, our team was told by the salesman:
"What they do is, not only do they treat it, they give you a five year guarantee alongside it".
It was a similar story when we enquired about the Cameo:
"If for any reason it does stain for something that you spill, we'll send someone out who will get rid of that stain, repair or replace any parts that we need for you".
Selling the insurance might make money for DFS, but customers need to study the small print closely. Exclusions from the terms and conditions of the 5-year anti-stain cover insurance policy include: General everyday soiling resulting from normal use, unidentifiable stains and stains not attended to promptly... not reported at the earliest possible convenience. This is what commercial lawyer Mark Weston had to say about it:
"No one explains to the customer that it doesn't cover you for normal wear and tear, it doesn't cover you for spills you cant identify... you have to report it immediately... very limited circumstances, so it's not very well explained at all and I think its misleading."
So, not only are you paying for a product you might not get. You're actually buying an insurance policy that covers you for less than you might think.
DFS Response:
DFS have denied misleading their customers.
They say they offer two policies - one with Fabri-Coate, the other without. They both cost the same and they give the same level of cover, providing specialist stain removal, reupholstery, or even replacement, if needed.
They say their policies and exclusions are clear and that any suggestion that their customers are being missold to are false. .
Think insurance, think DFS?