help, going crazy with issues with dfs

hi, its another DFS thread,... oh no!

i have had nothing but issues with my settee since the day it was delivered (not put together properly wrong holes and all).
Issue 1, already mentioned was fixed after a call out because my couch collapsed in the middle. the foot had just bent diagonally. when i said fixed i meant "fixed"...
Issue 2, same as issue 1, except i then found out that the couch had never been put together correctly and that he had no idea what the guy was doing when he "fixed" it the first time. this man, our savior fixed! the couch! which brings me on to issue 3...
Issue 3, whilst the repair man no2 fixed our couch i brought to his attention how my couch cushion covers for the seats were literally dividing themselves. He said he had never seen anything like this before and took photos to take back to manufacturer, informing me he'd order new replacement covers. Great!
Issue 4, no covers, i have called and i have called, been passed around, misinformed, told me they were on there way to the shop, was called, saying"they'll be delivered to you Monday", they weren't, so i called again, and was told "next Tuesday" once again nothing. so i called and i called and i called again nothing, they're here, they're on there way, they'll be sent to you in post, they will be sent to us then well fit them for you. Finally after almost two months from my original, "take about a week" wait, i got told, "no they're not here" so me and my partner marched to the store and went looking ourselves, we found our original salesman, explained what was going on, he went and spoke to the same secretary we had kept dealing with, she clearly told him no, so he went and had a look in back for us anyway, and boy was his face puce when he came back with our covers, he disappeared back into the secretary and gave her a talking to from what we saw through the window. he came back looking more normal colored and gave us the covers there and then.
Issue 5, less than two weeks it took for the covers to both show definite signs of falling apart, i did my research, now into consumer rights, I've had the same problem twice twice now, both times been "fixed" so indication are I've done my bit and I've had enough of being messed around with, not sitting on my couch (my only chair in the living room as the matching buffet still not arrived), and all the minutes of phone calls i am totally spent being passed around with people saying stuff but clearly having no idea whats going on. i understand that as i am not even 6 months into ownership of the items, i should be entitled to refund and possibly some compensation for the stresses and costs caused.
Issue 6, contacting the right people. when issue 5 happens my stress levels and the considerable effect it is having on my pre-existing health issues, i called up, and said the problem has happened again, and that i have grown tried of the constant issues and lack of progress with sitting on my paid to be pretty not ugly couch, that i wish to request a refund, mentioning that the couch was not nor never has been once during my ownership, fit for purpose according to the consumer rights act. the lady just kept saying that since it has happened again, it would have to be sent for testing as no-one else has had any problems. i said that's fine, once you have it back you can test it all you want. But of course the answer was still no to refund. not only that, she said they would have to take the covers away for testing, at which i pointed out that this would once again make the couch " not fit for purpose" as sitting on bare sponge is bad enough with just jeans and their thick seams and buttons, but with animals also? fat chance, by doing so, i would have to remove the sponges from the room where my pets sleep to protect it, which meant it would be completely out of action. Against my wishes i agreed to have them come over two days later on the Thursday, she called back the same day to bring it forward a day, and said that the repairman would still call ahead to arrange a time. before ending the call i managed to get the email address, the shop address, and name of manager, but she refused to give detail of head office to me to make a complaint.
Issue 7, guy does not call ahead, just turns up, is rude and when we offer our original covers that were kept after the change he insists extra rudely to my partner who was just trying to be friendly, helpful and save us from not having anything to sit on at all cos of risk to exposed sponge, that he "must see it" which is fine but whats with the attitude? moments after having seen the couch he brushes past my partner out of the house whilst my partner is trying to ask the questions that i would have had but couldn't (i was still ill in bed not expecting him to be here yet since he hadn't called), such as, how long is testing going to take, will we be called once its done etc, but the guy just leaves!
Issue 8, Complaint, i called up immediately when i managed to arrive downstairs just after he left to find out what was going on since it felt like a hurricane passed through and everyone's jaws are dropped going "what the hell just happened here?"so i called and requested a call back that day from the manager of the branch i brought it from, just like the DFS website also suggests. I wait 6 hours, and still no call which brought me to just before 5 o'clock. i call again (feels like my millionth call and so far the last i will willingly make) and ask why i haven't been called. she offers to put me on hold and wait, but i say no i would like the call back. not wanting to waste anymore time and minutes.
when he does call back (wooppee for actually getting a call back from DFS ever), i speak with him about the complaint i have already mentioned to thee reception lady much much earlier that day. and that i am wanting to get a refund, he tells me in short that he is not willing to offer me a refund, despite the no end of issues i have had and the fact i once again brought up my consumer rights and that the couch was not fit for purpose ever. and also that i have great concerns that if the same issue has happened twice within weeks of being in use, a ten year warranty on the couch and also, only a 2 year warranty on covers will simply not mean my couch is ever fit for purpose till then and after that for more than 2 weeks. he told me over the phone that whenever a cover is fixed, the 1 year cover will restart from date of repair. yes 1 year, not the 2 i have been quoted on many occasions, including on the day in store that i bought the couch.
I pressed again fro the refund, but he said still that he is unwilling to, due to the abnormal circumstance since the couch was popular and no-one else has complained. At this point he insinuated that the situation is abnormal since i only use the couch in the evenings when i get homes for a few hours a day. this is completely wrong and total nonsense that he should expect a couch to be fine for a long time because people don't use it much, i am sick, i use my couch all day long due to limited mobility and pain, my couch in a few weeks will have had more use than most couch's hes sold in many months, and if a 10 year couch is not meant to be sat on (this is nowhere in my contract) it should never have been sold. He tells me it will take 7-8 days for the test to be completed. i ask him for proof of his claim that the cover for materials will be restarted as no-one has ever provided it and he said he would by email.
Issue 9, seven day pass, no email. this time i send him an email containing everything that has come to pass, plus the where is my information question. i will enclose this later. it takes 3 days before i get a response. the response is well worded and tells me nothing, including that my complaint has been dealt with but they cant tell me anything so i shall have to assume this means nothing unfortunately and mean people are visiting houses unannounced still. he also states in his email response that he said he would give me the info via email after the test was done, this was not the case, but being unwell i left the email unanswered and awaited my test results as in the email he states, "As yet, we have not had the results back from the factory, but there is a diary note to chase this on Monday, as it was also chased yesterday too". ill enclose this email too.He also tells me he is unwilling (once again) to offer me my refund, instead though if the results favor me: "we will deal with everything accordingly once we have the results back from the factory and if need be, we will look to reelecting your order to a different sofa should the results come back that it is substandard fabric."
Issue 10, that email was received on the 23/3/13, material was sent for testing on 12/03/13, so doing the math if the had taken my covers they would have had them with no replacement for 29 days, (my sponge would be in shreds or inconveniencing my bedroom where id store them with me being ill and nowhere to sit in my own home) by his email they'd already had the covers 10 days and as he said they'd follow up again on the monday, i have been waiting a further 15/16 days to hear back from the which as i pointed out earlier has happened only once in my extensive history of dealing with them. And feel now that i have honestly had enough. They clearly have no intentions of dealing with there customers whatever the issue, whatever the rights. Preferring to sweep us under the rug.

[continued...]

So i come to today, asking for guidance via the forum. based on my experiences so far and my desperate wish to have a working couch that i bought with no future of almost guaranteed problems or simply no couch! Not
"re-electing" to a different couch to the item i purchased! i bought something, not something else, so i do NOT want something else under any circumstances, unless it is available as an alternative option other than the offered refund, and is of significantly satisfactory quality and to my taste.

My current aim is, refund and returns for both my couch and buffet which so far has sustained no damaged because we do not use it because it is the emergency guest seat when the pets are not perching on it, had we actually sat on it more often than the 6 times it has been sat on (we counted) we could be sure it will go the same way as the couch.
So a refund for both items, and to be compensated for all the time effort and money wasted in phone calls and having a product that could not be used as it spent much of its early life collapsed.

thank you for your time,

Kerrie

ill put emails in a separate post

My email dated 20/03/13:

Hello Mr Griffin,

I am writing this email, as I am still awaiting the email you told me (during our phone call 12/03/13) you would send me with regards to replacement cover warranties being restarted for another year each time the cover is repaired.

This is with regards to our meadow p/back chs end code 04005759212 and our flourish storage pouffe plain code FRS3STFRI, both in teal. Ordered on 07/12/12 confirmed delivery date 05/02/13.
The chs end couch has as you know been repaired several time in the few months we've had it, support legs were not properly fitted, as it turned out, were screwed into the wrong places entirely, which meant it was faulty on delivery and collapsed in the middle dropping user onto the floor within a week or so. This issue was repaired by your man Wayne I think. The repair lasted another very short period of time before collapsing again In the middle which was luckily repaired by a different person this time on 8/1/13 after our initial call on 2/1/13. He informed us that the sofa had been put together incorrectly and had no idea what the previous guy was trying to do as he should have known better and rebuilt the sofa like he then had to rather than doing whatever he did the first call out which he said he couldn't be sure what he was trying to achieve.
During the same call out, we showed the new repairman the deterioration that had start to occur on both seats. He said that he had no idea why this was happening, that they would get the covers replaced and took photos to take back to the office. Said it would take about a few days to week to get the covers made and sent out.
Having waited the week patiently, we started calling in to find out what was happening with the covers and also our pouffe which had yet to be delivered. we were repeatedly being told that it would be coming next week, monday, tuesday, also that it would be delivered to us and fitted, then we had calls saying that it would be monday, when never heard back by monday i called again and got told that they had no idea why anyone had called me. I was then told Tuesday, they'd have the covers then and send them out. Tuesday rolled around, still no cover or calls, i called, and was told they don't have them they're in the warehouse, not with us. no-one had a clue what they were talking about as they clearly did not practice communication with each other as i found out when I went to the shop.
I went thinking, that as they just told me again they don't have them, they wont but just in case, particularly as the sponge was now being bared to be damage from the use of clothing on the couch such as denim, it was worth the ask to protect the couch I spent a lot of money purchasing brand new when I could have settled for second hand.
So, on the 16/02/13 in the shop me and my partner spot our salesman and ask him for help. After explaining our predicament, he is immediately apologetic, saying it should not be happening. He then goes and speaks with the receptionist, who I am sure has told him what he didnt want to hear, from the look on his face and the fact that when he came out, he said im just going to have a look a moment, be right back. When he did return, his face was a storm as he returned with our couch cover replacements.

Sadly this is not the end of our stresses, once again the couch became 'Not fit for purpose' despite the fact that all the previous issues had been attempted to be resolved at least once already. The new covers once fitted a few days later, did not last a week before one of them showed signs of deterioration, the next started a few days later.
I am a very sick person, it took me a couple days before I could bare to bring myself to deal with the stress once again of dealing with the process of finding out what happens next. When I did (11/03/13), I told the lady I am tired of not being able to use the couch like it should be, of being careful of how i set myself down so the damage doesnt get worse, and the unbelievable amount of effort we went to to make sure these replacement covers did not get damaged in the first place. So I told her I am considering asking for a refund, which you personally will know from our phone call the next day.
I reluctantly agreed to have a man look at the covers and possibly take them away for testing, having stressed that I do not want a couch that is not fit for purpose after having the issue repaired already, and also that by taking the covers away they would indeed be making the couch not fit for purpose as it would leave the sponge unprotected, which as i do have pets who may at times sneak up onto the couch, their paws would have the potential to cause damage, much like a persons hands, feet and clothes would to an unprotected sponge. To stop this from happening I am sure we would have had to removed the sponge from the couch to a safe place until the covers are replaced/ returned, therefore making it 'not fit for purpose' on many accounts. This was to happen on 13/02/13, a later call back brought the date forward to 12/03/13, we were assured the driver would call to arrange a time.
Luckily for us, considering our reluctance, the repairman (our original wayne who did not call beforehand to arrange a time, just turning up annanounced as I told the receptionist in a call the same day but forgotten to mention to you), took our original couch covers for testing, meaning we could still at least use the couch allbeit very carefully. This man as you were informed was very rude, pushy, and fast, and had absolutely zero factor in customer service that day. which caused me to phone call the office and explain my concerns, I asked for email, address, and person to complain to, also requesting a call back from you that day. As I had waited 6 hours for that phone call before calling again to find out what was going on and re-requesting the call back i was feeling more so ill and neglected to mention the point that Wayne had not called before turning up although it should have been in the receptionists notes at least. So I'm informing you now.

In our phonecall you'll remeber that you told me that if work is done to the materials, the warranty is reset and you get another year from the date the work is done which should make me feel better about my worries for my consumer rights (consumer rights act 1979) My concerns were and still are, that the couch was not made to a satisfactory quality when delivered and was not fit for purpose, and therefore fixed twice for the same reason. then that the materials it is made of were also not fit for purpose as they have also broke, been fixed and then broken again almost immediately. Now I did pick this couch because I wanted it and also that I thought it would be beneficial to my health having the ability to stretch my muscles out on it without disrupting others especially when i'm feeling faint, but I have spent more time worrying about it, dealing with far too many people to answer simple tasks, and being unable to use it than anyone would care to deal with. even now I am still awaiting the email with the information you have promised to forward me for 7 days. which considering the Martindale testing should be done within 7-8 days is another example of the consistent waiting and stress I have had to deal with since getting involved with DFS.

Please would someone get back to me without me having to do anything further, the Martindale results will be with you within two days, and a phone call takes ten minutes if that long to keep a customer updated.

Sincerely

Miss K Wale

P.s I am enclosing pictures of my replacement covers as they are today, they have greatly deteriorated in the 7 days since the original covers were taken for testing despite our continuous attempts to gently handle the couch far more than should be necessary.

His reply 3 days later:

Dear Miss Wale,

Thank you for your email dated 20/3/2013.

I apologize for any confusion with regards to me emailing you with your guarantee restarting on your fabric each time we have to repair it. This is indeed the case as I stated on the phone, however I did also state that I would wait for the results to come back from the factory with regards to what is happening to this fabric, as I have had no other issues with it at all from any of the customers we have sold this suite to. (And there are many). For it to happen once is unfortunate, for it to happen twice in such a short period of time is unusual and definitely not the norm.

The last thing we would ever want to do is cause you any stress and taking delivery of a new sofa and then relaxing on it should be a pleasurable experience and certainly not a stressful one.

Please allow me to apologize for the poor communication you have encountered from the store and also the way you have been treated by the service manager on the day he called out to you. Whereas I cannot go into exact detail of what has happened please let me assure you this has matter been taken in hand.

Thank you for enclosing the pictures on your email, I have forwarded these onto the factory supervisor for him to see and add to the existing cover they are testing for you. As yet, we have not had the results back from the factory, but there is a diary note to chase this on Monday, as it was also chased yesterday too.

Your journey thus far has certainly not been a smooth one with us and I am very sorry that is the case, we will deal with everything accordingly once we have the results back from the factory and if need be, we will look to reelecting your order to a different sofa should the results come back that it is substandard fabric.

If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact me, I am in the store everyday next week except Tuesday

kind regards

Paul Griffin

If anyone can tell me my next step (i have a few ideas already), I would really appreciate it,

thanks again,

kerrie