Hi BankFodder I sent the letters you posted last Friday and although neither DFS or Hitachi acknowledged them an email came on Saturday from DFS to say they admitted there was a fault and that they would collect them and cancel the agreement. On Monday Hitachi emailed to say that they were aware of this and were now cancelling the finance agreement. They came today to collect them. I just wanted to thank you for the guidance you gave me, the letters really did get things moving very quickly. I’m still shocked at how bad DFS were to deal with and how they try to pressure a customer away from their lawful rights. We’re going to look at local independent shops for sofas rather than these large national companies who really don’t care at all about their customers. Again thank you for your help, brilliant consumer forum

Thank you for sending me these letters, they’re really to the point and I’ll get these done today. I’ll let you know the outcome, many thanks.

Thank you for the reply, the Hitachi finance is arranged via DFS online site, you just request it and then it takes you through a digital signing process similar to a car dealership. One of the calls I received about 3 weeks ago from the local DFS store was from a manager I think, he said the sofas were bespoke made which is nonsense as it’s just a main line mass produced one, he also mentioned me having to pay up to 20% of the total cost for return, all of this I have refused. I suspect this is what they might come back with on Saturday, if they do actually call that is. I’m on my way to work but if you think the letter is the best route I’ll do this later today, it does look very good and yes I am prepared to send it and follow through if necessary. Really appreciate your advice.

Thankyou

To update, today DFS sent two repair men to our house, it felt quite intimidating as they insisted that I should let them repair the sofas and it got quite heated as I kept refusing this saying that I was rejecting them. They did admit there’s a fault which they think that they haven’t been set up correctly but it felt like just another reason to repair. They eventually said that as it was an online purchase I do have rights and left saying the local store manager would telephone me. Received an email to say he will be calling me on Saturday but I’m wondering what excuse will come next. I suspect they will tell me I have to pay to have them returned. Im sorry if I’ve made this thread too long, I feel I’ve done everything right and I’m struggling to believe anything they say now.

Bank Fodder, Can you give me any further advice, your last comment was asking me about Hitachi response which I’ve copied to you. You said it might be a little more tricky but not explained why? Should I still send a 14 day letter of claim with the storage fee that you recommended ?

Hi Bank fodder I’m not sure what I should do now since your reply this morning, could you please let me know what you think cheers

I’ve just received this email from Hitachi Finance. The date of 20th October is what DFS pushed for when I first called them the day after I received the sofas. Seems they’re still pushing to get their repair man in. Should I refuse this and carry on with the letter of claim? DFS have made me aware they have scheduled a visit for 20 October 2021. I appreciate you wish to reject the goods and do not want to accept a repair and so I have made this clear to them. Any claims reported do require a visit to inspect the goods before a decision/outcome can be made. This is the email Hitachi sent me after I first contacted them. Thanks for getting in touch with us to raise a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. We've provided information below which explains how we will handle your claim, what you can expect from us and how long it takes. If you'd like a paper copy please contact us and we'll send it to you. Your claim will be looked after by a member of our Claims Team who'll be in touch shortly. We aim to resolve your claim as quickly as possible and we'll keep in touch to let you know what's happening. If you'd rather be contacted by telephone or letter, please let us know. If you've a current agreement with us, you still need to make your monthly repayments in full and on time, regardless of your claim. If you have any questions for us in the meantime, please call 0113 380 1065 or email claimsteam@hitachipersonalfinance.co.uk. How we will handle your claim Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and we are committed to providing you with the best possible service. We know that sometimes things can go wrong, and when they do, we want to know so we can help you put it right as quickly as possible. How long it will take We will try to resolve your claim quickly through a member of our Claims Team. It may take some time to review your claim and where we need to look into it in more detail we will write to you to let you know and keep you updated with our progress until we have reached a decision. We aim to resolve the majority of our claims within 8 weeks. What to do if we can't reach an agreement If after we've done everything we can to help with your claim, you're not happy with our decision or if you think we're taking too long to look into it, then you can raise a complaint Whilst we hope this won't be necessary, a member of our Customer Care Team will independently investigate the claim review and decision, and provide you with a Final Response Letter.

Yes, no deposit. I could have paid for them but they were offering the 4 year interest free terms so I chose this as I realised that it provided some sort of additional consumer protection. I tend to always use my credit card for holidays, large purchases etc but as it was easy online to use the Hitachi scheme I thought buy it on that and pay off later.

Thanks for the prompt reply, can I ask as Hitachi are also involved and have equal liability do I just send the letter of claim to DFS or both? Hitachi at present have only responded to say their enquiries can take up to 8 weeks. Also, as I’ve not actually paid anything yet am I completing the letter of claim to just request return of the sofas, the storage charge and any possible court costs? Sorry if my question sounds daft I just want to word the letter correctly. Forgot to ask is it reasonable for us to use the sofas whilst this claim is in motion, we really don’t have anything other than dining room chairs to sit on which after a while gets really uncomfortable.

Hi Everyone, I’m looking for some guidance as to what I should do next. I ordered two sofas online from DFS using their Hitachi finance 4 year offer and after 15 weeks they arrived on the 26 th September but one is damaged internally as it creaks and cracks when sat on. I called them the next day and they said it will have to be repaired and I would have to wait a month for their engineer to come as they’re busy! At this point I decided to reject the sofas under the 14 day Consumer Rights Act 2015. I’ve also reported this to Hitachi Finance quoting section 75 and pointed out that they are equally responsible in sorting the matter out. After sending emails and receiving 5 calls from DFS insisting on an engineers repair visit they’re now ignoring me. I also sent an email to their CEO but have had no reply. it just seems like they do not acknowledge the consumer acts at all. I’ve not paid anything yet as Hitachi have put a two month hold on the agreement while they investigate but they say they cannot confirm the outcome of my rejection? We are using one of the sofas as we have nothing else to sit on but I’m unsure if this is ok. I thought that this should be straight forward ! Thank you in advance of any advice given.