Please can anyone help me , last year my leather started to crack but only the three seater the two seater still looks new, having a busy life with three children and pregnant I kept saying I will have to sort this out well my baby came and now i am not at work on the 10th January this year I contacted the Range.

I purchased April 07 so it was one and half years old when the cracks started , January this year it's still under two years old.

I was told it was wear and tear,they hadn't even looked at it, well to cut this short, The Range sent out a furniture upholster Homeserve, who told me he could feel the difference in the 3 seater vinyl compared to the 2 seater seater but that it would cost the range too much money to repair and the years warranty is up.

When he told me about its only the vinyl areas that have cracked , I was shocked as I thought I had bought all Leather, he said I should take it up with the Range.

He asked had I washed it I said no as it was a new room new furniture covered with throws and no food or drink aloud in the front room but I had wiped it at the most twice when I had put the throws in the wash.

His report came back with the Huggies pure like cotton wool and water had damaged the sofa.

Obviosly not happy with this I paid for Homeserve to come back, this now 5 months after first report, the upholster said what did first report say I told him it would be unfair to say he said well if you dont say I will look it up on the computer when back at the office.

Well yes his report states it's the wipes, I did not wipe the whole sofa exspecially where it is cracked the only area was the top back where it gathered a bit of dust and used the left over from same wipe for the arms, as I said it was all clean as no food or drink . I am now having to arrange through Fira to visit as I beleive it is faulty vinyl and we have taken good care of it.

Is there anyone else who has had a similar problem with there sofa cracking, for the two times I used the wipes I wish I hadn't but I thought if I told him I had not ever touched it he would of said that was the course.

If anyone can help me with any advise as I have now been pursuing this now for 7 months, whats so anoying is its not like the sofa is worth thousands it's just £600, I would not of purchased this if I would of known this was to happen , I would expect a good 5 years plus from a leather sofa.

Please Please can anyone help me.

Netty

Netty

I am afraid the saying ' you get what you pay for' applies here. You don't get a good quality leather sofa for £600, it would probably cost a minimum of £2k for anything of decent quality and it would not be from The Range, SCS, DFS or any other value furniture store.

Having said that the sofa covering should have lasted longer than it has done, if you have kept to the advice noted in relation to maintaining the condition of the sofa.e.g. cleaning. There is normally a label attached to the fabric somewhere with advice about cleaning.

Wait to see what Fira say about this and then take advice from Consumer direct if need be. I would have said try your Home Insurance if you have accidental damage cover but this normally excludes damage caused due to cleaning.

Huckster

Hi Hukster

Thanks for your reply I know where your coming from regards you pay for what you get , this sofa previous week was £800 I generally thought it was leather, obviously not top stuff,but definatly not leather and vinyl, this was our first time buying a brand new suite..

My instructions was to wash with a mild detergent, as I said never washed but wiped a couple of times with Huggies baby wipes and they say like cotton wool and water, the areas cracked was not touched by the wipes and the two seater the not a problem.

Have now recieved forms from Fira, so fingers crossed they can find the fault and it not be wear and tear.

Cheers

Hi Netty,

I was interested to read your post about your sofas from The Range, as I am currently helping a friend fight a similar battle! Your scenario sounds very similar - my friend purchased the leather 'Ontario 3+2' less than 12 months ago, however one of the sofa faces has now become considerably cracked and split.

They contacted The Range who asked for photographic evidence, which they provided, however they then received a letter back saying there had been no other reports of it happening, and they are "unable to take this matter any further as (they) do not feel (our) concerns are a result of a manufacturing defect but due to general wear and tear.' ....For a sofa less than 12 months old??!!

I would be really interested to know which sofa in particular purchased, perhaps there is something we can do to help each other.

Many thanks,

Sharon

Shaz2009:

See the consumer direct site for information http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/know-your-rights/furniture/

Suggest you make a complaint to The Range and if no joy, you can go to the furniture ombudsman. http://www.fira.co.uk/services/furnitureOmbudsman.html

I have heard of people who have purchased furniture ( not from The Range), who have had independent reports done on the quality of products and have used these to reclaim their money back. I think Fira can advise on this.

The trouble with a lot of furniture these days, is that it is made in China from low quality materials and then transported by the ship load to distributors. I am not sure alot of these retailers have alot of control over the quality of the products, they are only interested in their profit margins.

Huckster

Hi ya Sharon,

Sorry to hear your friend has the same problem, I can't beleive it, I have now been writing to the Range since January this year, now over 9 months and yes mine was wear and tear, same as yours say the Range. " Rubbish".

You said your friends was an Ontario suite , mine was Chicago brown 3 + 2 seater recliners, but they maybe the same company PCL collection. Well I hope under a year you should be alright, this is what has happened to me so far I hope it helps.

I contact customer services The Range.

They want receipt I can't find receipt, so they ask for last 4 digits of card used and amount spent.

I contacted my bank who could see my payment to The Range and what card I used. I gave them the info ,but The Range say unable to locate my purchase, without my receipt they will be unable to take this any further.

Someone was watching over me ,the receipt turned up a week later, so i emailed it and the photos to The Range.

They replied "we make sure our products are of the best quality , use only suppliers who meet our high standards and strict codes of practice ,we have sold high volumns of this item and have not received any previous reports of this nature, if a fault was present at the time of manufacturing i feel it would have become apperent within a much more reasonable time frame, i donot feel your concerns are a result of a manufacturing defect but wear and tear, I hope you will continue to be a valued customer of The Range.

They are having a laugh "wear and tear" only the 3 seater cracking/spliting, now it peels off.I had only had a year and a half when it started , you would not expect this so soon.So they made me get the bank info and still wanted receipt, I find receipt and they still aint pursuing it, so I contacted consumer rights on ; 08454040506 who advised me to contact The range and to say that under the consumer rights,the sale of goods act, products should have a reasonable amount of usage . i therefore give you 28 days to contact me to arrange a visit to inspect/action this product.again, saying how can you say wear and tear without seeing it.

consumer rights people have been a great help, the range contacted me to say that homeserve furniture repairs was coming to visit.

He came looked at both sofas, told me he could feel the difference in the vinyl VINYL what vinyl thought was all leather, first i had heard of leather/leather match,he said that the range has asked him to repair but this is too big a job the whole recliner would have to be sent away and because it has gone a over a year my warranty has ended, this was when he asked had i washed it, honest i was and told him , never had too wash, but when throw overs in wash, may of wiped at the most twice with baby wipes. What AN IDIOT I WAS to say this, he now had his answer blame it on the wipes and he was gone.

Sure enough report came wipes ruined my sofa funny how the 2 seater still looks new ,treated and used the same.

I wrote to the range saying not happy, as well as cracks ,i have been misssold a product ,at no point was i told it was leather/leather match, guess what thay say it did not fit on reciept,

I even went into our local store under cover and asked the same women who sold me my suite, how do you know whats leather and whats not, she said she goes by price and touch, not any leaflets or does not check on computer.

The range say at point if sale i was advised this. I WAS NOT.

my receipt read " Chicago 3 str brwn leath",they could of fit it on or put it on written receipt, oh well i was advised not got a leg to stand on as they do not have to legally tell customers what the exact materials used are.

I was not Happy and contacted consumer rights who advised me to get a second opioion contacted the Range , who said if second furniture man comes and says customers fault then i have to pay , fair enough as i know i have looked after well.

Homeserve came again, but the man asks "what did first report say" I told him I wanted his opinion. he then said "if you don't tell me , I can look it up on the computer at the office" so I told him the wipes, not long after that he left and sure enough The Range wrote with much joy that i had to pay for report and that this is the end of this complaint etc.

Consumer rights then advised me of Fira the furniture ombudsman on; 01438 777700, because the range are not in their group of registered companies a fee of £295 for a full inspection and this document holds up in court or a basic report for £95 i took the £95 the man came, same thing what you washed it with, i havn't just baby wipes twice, soon after gone,well so far have not received this report, i do so hope he finds out the vinyl in the 3 seater is faulty but i have a feeling he aint.

The furniture inspector is not allowed to say anything to me ,when the Fira representative came i asked if he had the history in my letter i wrote he said he hadn't seen my letter, i was advised by Fira to write it all down and address to the furnitue man, when I contacted Fira they said I should of written it on the forms , so they agreed to send my letter to them, but this is now after his visit.

Going back to your friends when i spoke to consumer rights they said a sofa is to have a good usage and should not be replaced every couple of years.

In a way i hope you and I aint the only one's and that they are all PCL collection make, then the Range cannot say they aint had any other complaints.

I hope the history I have gone through has helped ,I would deffinatley call consumer rights then at least you and me are complaining about The Range.

Please keep me updated , I have also written to Don't get done get Dom, they replied got enough at the mo but may contact for next show, also just written to Watchdog.

I keep my fingers crossed for yoy frien and don't give up yet as i said i am now 9 months on.

Goog Luck

Netty from Andover

Huckster - thanks for your advice, I've consulted the Consumer Direct website and have found a very good sample letter which quotes the Sale of Goods Act, we're going to use this to write to the Range once again.

Netty - thank you very much for your lengthy reply giving account of your situation, I appreciate you going to the time and effort to write it.

The letter we have received from the Range appears to be word-for-word the same as their reply to you. We are going to write again quoting the Sale of Goods Act which states a product must be of a satisfactory quality, now if the Range are saying the state of my friends sofa is caused by general wear and tear then obviously it must not be of a satisfactory quality if it has not lasted even 12 months.

I will also call consumer rights, as you say then another complaint against The Range is being logged.

I don't think I have any more information I can currently offer which may help your situation, however I will keep you updated when the Range reply. I had also thought about contacting Watchdog, obviously it would strengthen your case if they have multiple complaints about the same problem, so I will speak to my friend and see if they will be willing to, also will ask them to consider Don't Get Done Get Dom.

Many thanks again and good luck too,

Sharon

Hi Netty,

Well, we have a result! Further to my last post, we wrote a letter to The Range quoting the Sale of Goods Act, as recommended by Which? website. The letter basically said:

"The Sale of Goods Act 1979 makes it an implied term of the contract that goods be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. As you are in breach of contract I am entitled to have the sofa replaced and I would request that you confirm that you will do this within the next seven days.

I also require you to confirm whether you will arrange for the sofa to be collected or will reimburse me for the cost of returning it"

Within about 3 days my friends received a reply fromThe Range, saying they were sorry for the inconvenience, and inviting them to go into the store to choose a replacement!

I realise you are much further down the line with your complaint and have already had a lot of correspondence with them, but I just wondered if you had yet quoted the Sale of Goods Act, and if not would it be worth giving it a try. Here is a link to the sample letter we used.

http://www.which.co.uk/advice/understanding-the-sale-of-goods-act/sample-letters/index.jsp

I hope this may be of some help to you.

Good luck,

Sharon

Well done to you it gives me a bit of hope.

Since last message arranged for Fira to visit, again he blames on the wipes, so I contacted Fira to say i am still not happy with the report , awaiting a reply.

Will have to contact consumer rights again and advise progress, also I did quote Sale of goods act , this was when they took action and arranged an upholster to visit.

I am now looking into finding if I can have the sofas cut and examined.

Also The Range say PCL a reputable company Can't get hold of also they part of the Kay-el group can't get hold of them.

When lookin on Pcl site looks like the leaflet that comes with sofa Care instructions has changed and states type of material used, I am going to visit the Range and check out what the store advertses like now.

I aint going to give up not after all this time.

Wish me luck and i'll let you know how I get on

Cheers

Netty

Hi everyone

I just wanted to say that I am facing a similar battle, this time with the Ohio suite. The 2 seater is fine and the 3 seater has started to peel.I have e mailed the Range and got the same response, it must be wear and tear. I sent photos as asked, and have offered to take the cushions to store for inspection, but no, as I have had the sofa for 2 and a half years it must be wear and tear!

I am going to see how they respond to my last e mail and will quote the sale of goods act if required.

The range old me that this was an isolated incident but these posts prove otherwise!

Thanks everyone, wish me luck...

Hi Rachael

Sorry to hear your news but it may help my case, can I ask what is the make is it PCL, please also contact consumer rights on: 08454040506 ,if all of us contact them , we may have this all finished with quicker.the Consumer rights people have been a great help to me, although I am still not satisfied with Fira's report ,consumer rights are waiting my next action and to advise what Fira ( furniture ombudsman) said .

I contacted Fira and paid £99 but the upholster to inspect he came he had on his report customer says wet wipes did not do this. So he again blames it on the wet wipes, but WHY only the 3 seater 2 seater no problem.

I wish you luck and now I know I am not an isolated case , there is 3 of us just on Moneysupermarket.

If you know of any other places to ask if anyone else has had problems with the Ranges Sofas please can you advise, and I will get straight ont asking other sites as I am sure there is more of us.

Thanks and good luck Netty

Hi Rachael

Hi Hi are you getting on with The Range,

I have been told to get another furniture upholster too look at and to not mention wipes and hope they say Vinyl is weaker in 3 seater compaired to 2 seater.

Also Consumer rights have said if I was not told at point of sale I need to try to get some proof, if there is anyone out there who can advise me please please can you help, they say it was advised at point of sale,and sent me a print out of their computer, I never saw this at point of sale, I asked my receipt says Leath. They say Leather/Leather match did not fit, so why not write on hand written receipt.

So if anyone out there had a similar case with product please let me know

Cheers Netty

Ps Rachael what make Ohio but what is maker.

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

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 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