Thanks. Not really incurred any expenses, as I am not working currently.

So here’s an update. DFS Service Centre phoned us whilst we were away last week to say parts have arrived and to book appointment for Service Manager to replace. Then on Friday the Store rang to say manufacturer had read our report, investigated and had made an offer. The offer is to replace the leather. I asked if that was all the furniture (i.e. not just the chair) and going back to the carcass. They replied it was. I asked if I could have a copy of the manufacturer’s response (in same way as I provided my report). They said they would refer that to their Escalation Dept. as it was them that we’re dealing with it. Obviously that may come today, but wondering how best to respond. To me it seems that the manufacturer wouldn’t offer to effectively rebuild the furniture if it wasn’t faulty. We don’t want a rebuild, as ever grateful for any advice.

Thanks again for your advice. The original faults would be corrected by the fitting of the parts ordered in July (but not yet arrived/fitted), but the delamination of the seat area has occurred since and so no parts coming. This is a fault which proves natural oils cannot be the cause - no skin-to-leather contact on the seat. Plus the independent expert advises the issue is evident in the sofa and he expects that will also peel. Could accepting the repair be deemed as accepting DFS’s view that there is no manufacturing fault? They continue to spout that the replacement of these 3 parts is a gesture of goodwill.

The ombudsman would be the Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman not a financial ombudsman. Bon 22nd July - after the service visit - DFS sent a email which contained the following text …”after speaking to the service manager who completed your recent visit and seeking further advice from the manager and another service manager, it was determined that when the cause of the peeling was identified as natural oils” They also advised we should use a wet cloth to wipe regularly. Their website at that time advised “Do not use a damp cloth as this will absorb moisture and cause the leather to dry out and possibly crack or peel” I took a screen dump of this advice on their web page on 20th July. I advised them of the contradiction between the advice on the webpage and that of their service manager in an email on 24th July The interest free credit agreement was signed in store to purchase the furniture. It is not Hire Purchase. To date we have had 5 emails from DFS stating no fault and ordering parts is a gesture of goodwill. They have never responded to my proposals of Alternate Dispute Resolution, so I instigated the inspection by an independent expert. Mainly to get an independent view and report. I didn’t inform DFS in advance. They have a copy of the report.

Thanks DX100UK. I just thought there may be a narrative from the judge in this previous case, which might prove useful to quote back to DFS and show the person receiving my communication that I have researched and I am aware that they have lost a very similar case.

The report cost was £250. Which I did off my own back, because I wanted an independent in-depth examination of the furniture and was confident it would back up my view. It was a risk but I would rather lose £250 than the £3k we paid for the furniture If we go to court I would include this in the claim The letter before court action was dated 19/09/23 and their reply was on 22/09/23 in which they changed blame from “natural oils” to “poor care and maintenance” I have spoken to IKANO Bank today to clarify who my consumer rights lie with - as other than deposit paid to DFS the balance is on an interest free agreement with the bank. They say both organisations are jointly liable. I would have thought it would have been one or the other, not both. IKANO bank have been aware of the dispute for some time and I receive emails from them acknowledging that they are trying to resolve the matter. But today they reconfirmed they had not heard anything from DFS since August when they told IKANO that parts were on order and expected to arrive sometime after mid-October. One last question, is it worth trying to involve the Furniture Ombudsman to act as Alternative Dispute Resolution? I advised DFS in August that I was prepared to use ADR, but they ignored this too Thanks in advance.

I posted in this thread as “Mango 212” has personal experience of taking on DFS with the same issue that I had and so would welcome information from them (ideally court reports) to assist me in my next steps.

So an update. 1. DFS continued to advise no manufacturing fault and so they were only ordering replacement parts as a gesture of goodwill 2. The peeling/delamination continues, including parts where no skin contact happens - thus can’t be “human oils” that DFS claim. 3. Paid for an independent upholstery specialist to inspect the furniture and he confirmed it is defective and not fit for purpose. 4. Advised DFS, they now blame poor care & maintenance. They want the full report from the specialist to “forward to the manufacturer and await a response.” However they “would only consider a report by an independent specialist if it was sanctioned by DFS, which in this case it wasn’t” So what should I do next? - send them a report, despite they advise they won’t consider it? - go to court?

Hi Mango 212, I am having similar issue with DFS - a leather suite peeling after 14 months - and they are blaming natural oils. Despite communication including me offering independent arbitration and then paying for independent report they are refusing to budge. I would be interested in any assistance from someone who has taken them on and won. Is there any public documents with regards your court case I could read.

Thanks DX for your reply. If DFS replace the parts then where do I stand in a few months time when the same thing happens again? I am very reluctant to accept them replacing these high traffic (their terminology) parts, as I am sure it will reoccur, based on the other stories I have read about peeling leather on DFS furniture on this site and other forums. DFS don’t even accept there is a fault. They repeatedly state the offer of parts replacement shouldn’t have been made, but they were willing to proceed as a “goodwill gesture” I would be prepared to accept a reduction in refund for the period of time we have used the furniture (less than 10% of its expected lifetime). DFS can’t even agree how to look after the furniture. Twice since making the complaint we have been advised to wipe with a wet cloth. This is in direct contradiction to the DFS website which states “Don’t use a damp cloth, as this will absorb moisture and cause the leather to crack or peel” We have been using the materials provided by DFS

Purchased leather furniture (a chair, sofa and a footstool) from DFS in February 2022, delivered in May 2022. In June ‘23 we noticed that the leather was peeling on the arms and back of the chair. So we reported it to DFS. In July ‘23 a Service Manager visited to inspect and repair. She advised it was caused by “male natural oils” and despite applying some liquids was unable to fix it. Then advised she would order 2 new arms and a back. We were not happy with this and so advised DFS (that day) that in our view the furniture is not fit for purpose or of satisfactory quality and we were not prepared to have 3 major parts changed as there would be no guarantee that it will not happen again, or that the new parts would match the remaining original parts. We requested a full collection and refund. Then DFS responded that as the cause (in their view not mine) was natural oils we should have been referred to Guardsman (the extended warranty) and the parts should NOT have been ordered as it is not considered a manufacturing fault. So I emailed back 1. The furniture is guaranteed by DFS for 2 years and the Guardsman policy is for 5 years (3 years after the initial 2 year guarantee) 2. The Guardsman policy expressly states peeling or cracking only is covered once the 2 year’s guarantee has expired 3. How can DFS sell leather furniture for use by 50% of the population (males) if this “causes” a sofa to peel after 14 months? 4. I repeated that the goods were not fit for purpose (as a male apparently cannot put arms on the armrest) and are not of satisfactory quality (peeling leather after 14 months). I requested a full refund on these grounds under the terms of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I asked if they did not agree to the refund for a detailed response stating why. I also advised I was willing to use Alternate Dispute Resolution. I gave 14 days for them to give a satisfactory response or it was my intention to issue proceedings in the county court. I received an acknowledgment and was advised the store would call me - THEY HAVEN’T Last Friday a member of their Escalation team phoned me to advise that after 30 days from delivery, I could not request a refund and they have the right to repair and that I could not refuse this. Furthermore as it was a gesture of goodwill to replace parts and as they were paying for these parts, they would cancel their order if I did not agree by six o’clock today. DFS are reluctant to communicate in writing (other than basic acknowledgments), they don’t respond to requests (e.g. details of Alternate Dispute Resolution) and won’t accept the goods are faulty. Today I googled “DFS” and “peeling leather” and this brought me to your site, where I can see that there have been plenty of other instances in the last few years of DFS leather furniture peeling and being blamed on the consumer. So we have an ongoing issue because DFS fail to acknowledge their furniture is not compliant with satisfactory quality aspect of the Consumer Rights Act. I would be grateful for any assistance in getting this issue resolved