Hi Sharon,

I wondered if you could help me I too have an Ontario sofa from the range which is split and peeling. I have sent a letter stating sale of goods act but they are saying it is wear and tear and are basically fobbing me off. I wondered if you minded me quoting your case as the range are stating that mine is an isolated incident and they have not had any other complaints. Any details you could give me would be very helpful for example : how old was your sofa when you got offered a replacement, who was your letter received from and which store did you get a replacement from?

Thanks very much

Lesley.

Hi Lesley

I notice Shaz2009 had a friend who purchased an Ontario 3+2 Leather from The Range she was told wear and tear, then she quoted Sale of Goods Act and within three days she was asked to visit store for a replacement.

When the court hearing took place The Range said I was an isolated case for the Chicago suite, I do not think so , as everyone seems to be an isolated case, but still our sofas should have a reasonable amount of usage thankfully Shaz2009 friend had the same make as yours, so it could be an idea to contact Shaz2009 and find the friends name , then I would send a recorded letter to The Range quoting The sale of Goods act and mention the other persons info as you can then say you are not an isolated case as she got hers sorted in September 2009.

Again do call consumer rights(trading Standards) , they were great , they told me how to word my letters , I even had a call from them asking how everything is going on (Mary Baker).

As for Fira I made a complaint about the way their upholster treated me and made up rubbish about me washing sofas with wet wipes , to date I have still not had any replies, I lost my £99 I paid them as I could not submit in court case, as it was not in my favour, so I would not bother with them, or if you do, do not mention wet wipes, but then they would say it has happened because it is too dry, look on your care instructions and that is what you treated it with, mine was a mild detergent, I even looked up chemicals in a mild detergent and Huggies pure baby wipes and there was more chemicals in the mild detergent than the wipes,I only used the wipes twice on top back and arms, no where near the cracks around the seats and I told all the upholsters this, I never lied, I just knew my three seater was faulty as not doing on two seater.

One upholster told me to have Vinyl around seat cushions is not good , as Vinyl is man made and cannot streatch and the leather can , so to have these as a mix and match on a highly trafficed area would deffinatly cause the Vinyl to crack eventually.

They even tried to say three seater like this because it is used more than the two seater, what planet are they on , I have four children plus two adults that makes six so do three of us sit on floor, oh it makes me made, why can they not accept it is poor quality and The sale of goods act says a product should have a reasonable amount of usage , Under five years as far as I am concerned is not good.

As I said it took me a long time and I WON you can cut alot of the pain, time and hassle by being on the ball, consumer rights, recorded letter and fingers crossed.

I do wish you all the best and I will be watching this space.

If anything I can do just reply.

See ya Netty

Hi Netty,

Just as you predicted The Range have just been fobbing me off. I am going to contact trading standards and ask for their advice but anything you can let me know will be a great help. They are claiming they have not had any previous complaints and that this is an isolated incident. I have just sent them a reply stating that I know about your case but I get the feeling that I am just wasting my time!!

Cheers,

Lesley.

Hi there Lesley,

I can now say after battling this out with The Range since Jan 09 , a year and 8 months, I took them to court , the court hearing was at my address, The Range sent a top finance man to represent them, over one hour ten minutes later The Judge had decided .

The Range man could not even tell The Judge what was Leather and what was not and guess what

I WON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So do not give up hope I have recently walked around my town and also in The Range with a T- shirt advertising that I had WON so everyone would know and have also just written to my local paper, telling anyone if you do not get any where within three months dealing with these issues yourself then go to the small claims court.

The Judge said under the Sale of goods act 1979 goods should be as described , of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose, The Judge also put a recommendation in to The Range as to they need to look at their adverts(posters) as the wording is not clear at all.

If you want to say to The Range you know about my case , I am happy with that, but if they can thay will fob you off just like all the others, Shaz2009 also bought an Ontario she quoted The sale of goods act and was invited into the store to choose a replacement.

I just wished that RachaelC80 did not give up.

I looked after my sofas and it could of gone either way Win or Loose, thankfully I WON, but I wished I had not been so polite and gone to court earlier.

Please do not give up , keep a record of everything you have and that you send and recieve and I wish you all the luck possible.

If you need anything do not hesitate to contact me I wish you all the luck and await your progress.

GOOD LUCK NETTY

Hi Netty,

I too have the same problem with my Ontario 3 seater sofa splitting and peeling. I have complained to the Range and have been told that they cannot do anything due to it being wear and tear.

I was wondering how you had got on with your claim?

Bye for now

Lesley.

hi rachael,

Thank you very much in replying to my message, I am now into 18 months of my battle and have still not given up,you said back in Nov 09 that your sofa was two and a half years old, it is still not too late, my sofa was bought in April 07 so it is now over 3 years old and court procedings have started, i paid a £60 fee online to take the Range through the small claims court, the court asked if I would consider using a court mediator, i did not think it would work, but if it saves going to court, then all the better.

No the Range would only offer me a goodwill gesture voucher, I said if it was under half I had asked for then no was my reply and they said No, so it is now going to court, just had a letter asking if the hearing could be at my home address, excellent I have agreed and on the 15th Sep the Judge and The Range are coming to my house, this way the Judge can see the quality of the two seater, you would think they were bought years apart.

The Range have said at point of sale I was told the sofas were leather/leather match and on all point of sale, what point of sale, they say it is on my receipt Leath, but rest of wording does not fit, So it aint on my receipt ,not on hand written receipt not on poster , until a couple of weeks age, they miraculusly( can't spell) produce a poster that did not exist.

So they are realy getting on my T**s , I am now going all the way , my chair is faulty but they blame the wipes that wern't even used and are lying about telling me my sofa is leather/leather match and now they have forged a poster.

Please whilst you still have your sofa, do please try to write/email customerservice@therange.co.uk attention

Emma Quaintance and say you have been speaking to Mrs Black from Andover advising her , that her response with yours is an isolated incident is now officially incorrect as I and maybe lots of others could be having the same problem, it looks like our sofas are about the same age, if this was wear and tear and we knew we would only get a few years out of it, we both would not of purchased them and why not both sofas, both treated the same.

trading standards said goods should be fit for their purpose and have a reasonable amount of usage , well under 5 years these chairs are not.

We should not be having to replace them so quickly, I bought leather so it would last .

What I have done is copied your messages and Sharons as The Range said in an email to me on the 4th Feb 09 they had not recieved any previous reports of this nature at around the same time yours would of been cracking/peeling but it was not reported by you at that time, but now it has, so when they told you you was an isolated case this was wrong because they know of me, they now cannot say that they have not received any previous reports of this nature.

My husband ages ago said just bin it and get a new one, but it is the principle, go on do email Emma and state all this , you aint got nothing too loose.

Thanks again for your reply and yes I will let you know my outcome fingers crossed it's good news

Bye for now

Netty

Hi Netty

I'm really sorry but I haven't got any e mails any more - I sent them from work and they get automatically deleted after 3 months.

My sofa is now worse than ever but I got nowhere pursuing it through the Range so I have given up and bought a new sofa with a guarantee of 10 years. It's delivered in 10 weeks and I can't wait to get rid of the piece of junk that I bought from the Range!

Good luck with your ongoing battle, I would be interested to hear how you get on, please feel free to get in touch via the website if you need a statement or anything from me if you think it will help your case, I'm happy to provide photos etc of my sofa if you need them as supporting evidence.

Thanks

Rachael

Hi ya again Rachael

Sorry like Sharon I have asked for her email showing that the Range say wear and tear, to see if they are all the same any chance of you doing a copy of yours if you still have.

Cheers Netty

Hi there Sharon

It's been along time and would love to know how you got on with your Ontario.

I am now going to court, what alot of hassle, they could of paid my £599 nearly 17 months ago, I started writing on the 10th January 2009, I have paid out for two upholsters, court fees and more court fees due,of which I know if I win i will get it back and lose well i do not want that but at least I can say I have tried.

Do you have your email from The Range saying Wear and tear if so could you copy and post here, so I can compair mine, yours and Rachaels, as I think it is standard to say this first to everyone , but it would be interseting to see and could I use your messages in court to show I am not the only one.

Please let us know on all of this.

Thank you and speak soon

Netty

Hi Rachael

It's been a long time and no I have still not had my issue sorted, The Range keep saying my cracks are wear and tear and as for not being told my sofas were Leather/leather match they said I was told NO and it is on all point of sale, so I ask what Point of sale, they send me a computer print out of their stock enquiry form, no good to me I never looked at no computer when I bought, they say on my receipt, NO it say's Leath, they then say full wording did not fit RUBBISH now after a year they produce a poster, which I know did not advertise materials used, None of The Range adverts show this instead it says in the same place Whilst stocks last, so they have now after over a year produced this.

Sick up to my eyeballs, so gone through the courts, used the mediation service, The Range offered me a jesture of good will voucher, No thanks, so again not resolved so going to court is my last action, awaiting now for next instructions.

I hope you do not mind if I can use your emails to show I am not the only one and also I would love to know how you got on with your Ohio suite.

Thank you Netty

sami butt:i want to see a nice leather sofa i don't how to do it can u tell us

Are you asking, where can I buy a nice leather sofa?

If so, my advice is to buy from a shop known for quality and which is likely to be trading for many years into the future if you had a problem. My personal preference is John Lewis, due to the quality of their after sales service.

If you buy furniture from shops that offer very low prices, this tends to indicate that the quality will also be very low.

In my opinion, buying furniture online is not an option, unless you have been to the companies showroom to check on the quality, as well as the size to make sure it fits into your house in the required position.

Huckster

Hi Ya

Yes you need to do a recorded letter to The Range and keep all emails etc.

Unfortunatly I paid by debit card, my bank was very helpfull but could not deal with.

Today called another furniture upholster, they coming next week,also told today that I would be better to complain as top not being told that all the areas cracked on my leather are Vinyl. As I did not know this at point of sale I may have a case in the small claims court but I need prove that the Vinyl cracking is not missuse, fingers crossed.

I ask what make as mine is the Chicago other lady was Detroit and youirs Ohio all american names, the maker on mine is PCL.

Wondered if all the same company,also feel free to say to the Range you are not an isolated customer and name me, as I am not giving up yet.

Good luck

Netty

Hi Netty

I'm not sure what make the sofa is, all I know that it is the style 'Ohio'.

I'm not getting on very well, have e mailed and mentioned the sale of goods act but was told by the Range there was nothing they could do, they are maintaining that this is wear and tear. I called Consumer Direct who told me to put the complaint in writing rather than e mail, and send recorded delivery, which I have done, so I'm just waiting for a reply.

Failing that, Consumer Direct told me I can make a claim against my credit card company if I don't get the desired response from the Range. If you bought your sofa on a credit card it may be worth looking into.

To be honest I'm not holding out much hope that this gets resolved to my satisfaction, but I'm prepared to take this further as a leather sofa should not peel and crack after less than 3 years use. No-one has inspected the damage to my sofa as yet so this will probably be my next step.

Sorry I can't help much more, good luck with your ongoing struggle

Rachael

Hi purchase 3 and 2 seater leather sofas from The Range, we have looked after them ,but after a year and a half 3 seater started to crack , contacted The Range to be told wear and tear, not even looked at them, you do not expect to replace sofas after 2 years.

Upholster came to say Vinyl is weaker in 3 seater compared to 2 seater, but gone your years warrenty so the range will not want to spend out. This was the first time I had heard that it was leather/leather match.

The Range say at point of sale I was told, when I asked , then they sent me computer print out, I would not of seen this, why was it not on my receipt, as says 3 and 2 seater leath, The Range say did not fit Leather/leather match on till receipt, so why not on hand written reciept.They did not answer to that.

Please can anyone help me to get prove I was not told or advise please

Cheers Netty