Hi, In August 2005 I ordered two sofas from Land of Leather, they arrived in November 2005 and on delivery the feet were faulty. I contacted the store and and guy came out to change the faulty feet. I also commented that the cushions sank and was told to "Fluff them" this is difficult since the cushions are attached. In May 2006 I moved house and the sofas were in storage for six months. Since then the cushions have got worse and worse and the leather has creased and the sofas look really old. My old suite was 15 years old and was in better condition when I gave it to charity.

I contacted LOL and was told that I should have taken out insurance and I had to pay for any repairs. I contacted trading standards
and was told that under the sale of goods act I don't need insurance. The manager from the Leeds store eventually contacted me and said that if I wanted someone to look at my sofas I had to pay £240. I contacted trading standards again and they said that they should look at the furniture without charge and I should write to the Head Office. I asked the manager at Leeds for the address and was told to look at my invoice, there was no head office address on it. Eventually I rang a different store and got the phone number. I was told by a receptionist to email the area manager which I did. I had to re-send the email a week later as no reply. Last week I had a call stating that someone would call on Friday, the guy arrived at 9am on Thursday. He said he was an upholsterer for LOL and said that all the fillings usually only last 3 months. He said that mine wasn't that bad and he had seen a lot worse. I am still waiting for a response to the visit. I contacted the furniture ombudsman on the advice of trading standards and was informed that LOL are not part of the ombudsman service so they can not help. I can get an independent report done for a charge of £290 which will stand up in court.

Over the last year I have had a skin problem on my feet which is not responding to treatment given by my GP, we have also had the gas checked for carbon monoxide as we always feel really tired when in the room with the furniture. I have just been reading about the problems with skin because of the fungicide which is put inside the sofas. I am intending to contact the lawyers dealing with this problem.

My advice to anyone is keep away from Land of Leather.

there is no way lol would charge a customer for any call out.The ombudsman service is nothing to do with LOL and is not optional.lol would send an independent technician out in the first instance to report on the sofa.This is at land of leathers cost and if found to be customer damage then obviously any further remedial work is chargeable.As for the 'skin problem' you would need to contact the lol helpline for advice on this.

Reputable furniture retailers join the furniture ombudsman scheme but LOL does not want to be a part of the scheme. Trading Standards advise consumers to go to the Ombudsman in order for disputes to be looked at independantly. If the retailer is not a member the ombudsman cannot act as an intermediary. The ombudsman has a website with all the information available.

I cannot comment on the progress of my case as it is being dealt with by solicitors

If trading standards felt you had a case then they would act as intermediary and would contact lol in the first instance.I assume they have not done this?

Also i would like to know who charges £290 for an independent report as any qualified upholsterer worth his salt would do this for a nominal call out fee