Hi, 

Thank you for your reply.

The houses were built by a small, local developer. I’ve come to realise he’s not a particularly nice individual who’s driven by greed. 

I will make the Subject Access Request and ask my neighbours to do the same. My feeling is that he will fail to respond, or only pass on selected information. 

Thanks again.

My partner and I moved into a new build house on a small development of 11 houses two years ago. The development is accessed by a lane maintained by the local council.

I asked the developer about the plans for the road servicing the houses prior to purchasing and was told the section covering the first seven houses, including our property, would be adopted by the council, with the remaining road maintained by the householders, as it was too narrow, and did not meet adoptable standards.

The developer said adoption would be under a Section 37 agreement, following one year of maintenance, as the bond required by the council for a Section 38 agreement was excessive. Our solicitor was particularly bad and failed to pick up a clause in the agreement relating to fees for the road, outbuildings, litter picking, fencing and green spaces until an hour before exchange, at which point our buyers removal van was outside. We managed to get some of the clauses removed after arguing that there were no outbuildings, fencing or green spaces on the site. It was an extremely stressful process from start to finish.

Last September we received a £300 maintenance bill from the developer. We paid this thinking it was for the first year of maintenance, prior to handover of the road to the council. We were speaking to one of our neighbours a few weeks ago and he told us the developers was now retaining ownership of the road. We have since received another bill for £360 this year. The developer has told all seven home owners that the road would be adopted. I’ve read that legally, verbal agreements are as binding as written agreements.

What’s the likelihood of successfully fighting this collectively on the basis we purchased the houses on the verbal agreement that the road would be adopted?

Thanks. 

Again, thank you for your input. 
 

I’ve reviewed the letter and that section is actually correct, the technician opinion of the cushions being satisfactory related to the Sofology technician, not the independent inspection I commissioned. is this not clear enough?

I am completely determined to getting this resolved through the courts. Poor choice of words when I said “see what they come back with”. 
 

Yes, at typo!
 

I’ll send it recorded delivery tomorrow and see what they come back with.

Thanks again for your help. 
 

Thank you for your help, it’s much appreciated.
 

I have drafted a letter of claim as shown below.

Do I have the right to request a refund, given the fact that my first complaint was made ten months after taking delivery, or is the best I can hope for now is another repair? 
 

Quote

 

Sofology Ltd
Golborne Point
Ashton Road
Golborne
Lancashire
WA3 3UL

 

21 February 2022

 

Letter before court claim

 

Dear Sofology Ltd,

Order Reference: xxxxxx

Re: faulty Midas Sofa xxxxxxx

 

I first complained to you using the Resolver website on the 24/07/2020 regarding a faulty Midas sofa purchased from you on 26/09/2019, and delivered on the 25/10/2019. You sent out a technician on the 10/09/2020 who attempted to repair the defects. 

 

On the 10/09/2020 I made a second complaint to you, again using the Resolver website, however, you have failed to respond. This was escalating to the Furniture Ombudsman on the 16/11/2021. You have however, failed to engage with the Ombudsman. 

My initial complaint related to a section of the framework protruding against the material, resulting in the material stretching over the defect. The inner corner of one section of the sofa was poorly finished with rucked material and visible staples. The seat cushions were excessively soft and provided little support. The technician attempted to repair the protruding frame defect and the poorly finished corner. It was his opinion that the cushions were satisfactory.

 

My second complaint related to the ongoing issue with quality of the cushions, the poor repair carried out following my first complaint, and the structural failure of the frame, whereby two of the verticals wooden struts at the back of the sofa have detached from the main frame. I have had the sofa independently inspected by a local upholsterer who is a member of the Association of Master Upholsterers, a copy of the report was submitted to you on the Resolver website on the 10/09/2021.

 

As all previous attempts have failed to resolve this matter, I now requesting a full refund of the purchase price of £1899.00 on the grounds that the goods were not of satisfactory quality under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. 

 

I would request that you acknowledge receipt of this letter as soon as possible. If you don't agree to the refund, could you please then send me a detailed response saying why you don't agree.

 

If I do not receive a satisfactory response from you within 14 days of the date of this letter, I intend to issue proceedings against you in the county court without further notice. This may increase your liability for costs.

 

I refer you to the Practice Direction on pre-action conduct under the Civil Procedure Rules, and in particular to paragraph 13-16 which sets out the sanctions the court may impose if you fail to comply with the Practice Direction.

I look forward to your acknowledgement.

 

 

 

Quote

 

I purchased a corner sofa from Sofology in September 2019 costing £1899. The sofa had a few faults, including issues with the quality of the seat cushions which sink to the point that it feels like your sitting on the frame, the frame was protruding against the material at the back of the sofa and stretching the material, and there were visible staples in the internal corners. Due to all the issues around Covid etc, I didn’t make a complaint to Sofology until July 2020, this was done via the Resolver website. Sofology replied quickly to my complaint and sent a technician to assess the sofa. The technician attempted to repair the protruding frame and rectify the visible staples. He insisted there was nothing wrong with the seat cushions. Stupidly, we took no further action at the time. 

Fast forward to September last year and I found that two of the structural, horizontal wooden struts at the back of the sofa have detached from the rest of the frame. I had an independent, qualified upholsterer inspect the sofa and write a report. He has identified the previous repairs, which, in his opinion were poorly done, he has also agreed that the seat cushions are poor quality and almost fold in half when sat on, and obviously he has highlighted the structural failure in the frame. I started another complaint using the Resolver website, uploaded a copy of the report and photos of the damage. However, Sofology have completely ignored my complaint and have not responded at all. Following the timeline advice on the Resolver site, I made a complaint to the Furniture Ombudsman on the 16th November last year. To date, Sofology have not communicated a response to the Ombudsman. I emailed them last week and they said they are still waiting a response. Im not sure what the Ombudsman deem to be an acceptable time limit for Sofology to respond, but I feel they have had more than enough time. So my question is where do I go from here? The estimate given by the upholsterer to repair the sofa is around £700, the cost of the report was £150. Can I proceed with a claim through the courts? The sofa was purchased on 0% finance through V12 Finance, I’ve not made any attempt to claim under section 75 as of yet. 

Thanks. 

 

Sent from my iPad

 

Sent from my iPad