Bad chair day as one man’s suite turns sour...
Former joiner’s recliner gripe resolved
Richard
Carruthers is finally sitting comfortably – and with an extra £150 in his back pocket – after Raw Deal resolved a dispute he had over an easy chair.
The retired joiner bought a reclining seat from DFS Furniture in Dundee for £580.
He thought it would be ideal, as he is plagued with arthritis in his spine and often has to shift positions because of the pain.
Richard, 76, waited for 11 weeks for the chair to be delivered – but when it arrived at the beginning of September he quickly realised it wasn’t suitable for his needs.
“I didn’t feel safe on it at all,” he said. “I felt like it was going to tip over every time I tried to pick something up, either at my side or when I moved forwards.
“I thought the base was too small for the seat and I felt like the whole thing wobbled and it might fall over when I shifted my weight.
“The final straw came when I scalded my leg with hot tea which had spilled out of the cup when I moved position, and the chair moved too. After that I had no confidence in the seat, as I felt I didn’t have much control over it.”
Richard, a dad of six and great-grandfather of one, contacted DFS and a repair man was sent out to adjust the reclining mechanism.
But Richard still wasn’t happy and he asked DFS to take the chair back and refund his £580.
“This was all to no avail,” he said. “I went back and forward to the store three times but all the manager would say was that the chair was made that way and there was nothing that could be done.
“I was beginning to think I would have to give the thing to a charity shop and buy something else instead.” Richard then wrote to Raw Deal for help and we asked DFS head office to look into the issue. As a result, he is getting a replacement seat which is being specially made in a similar fabric and colour to his current living room suite.
On top of that, the seat he has chosen cost £150 less than the first one he bought and DFS has agreed to refund him the difference.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We take customer service very seriously and diligently look into any issues raised. “We have inspected the product purchased by Mr Carruthers twice and have established there isn’t a manufacturing fault with the chair.
“As all our products are hand-made to order, we are unable to offer a refund unless there is a manufacturing fault. “However, we have taken into account Mr Carruthers’ arthritis and we want him to find a chair he’s more comfortable with, so we offered him the opportunity to come back to the store and select a new chair that is more suited to his individual needs.” Richard thanked Raw Deal for intervening and is looking forward to putting his feet up in comfort in his living room.
“I felt like I was hitting my head off a brick wall,” he said.
“It was very frustrating. “I doubt if I would ever have got this resolved if it hadn’t been for the intervention of Raw Deal.”