Sofas Don't Get Done Get Dom

I've been battling for consumer rights for years, but some companies are still not getting the message.

It seems to be the biggest companies not looking after their customers.

Day in, day out, thousands of you are still being taken for a ride,

and it's always the same old things -

shoddy products, bad customer service, and the dreaded small print.

The customer service level is the most important thing to some people.

Some firms are driving you barmy, causing you sleepless nights,

and can make you feel like you're the ones to blame.

But don't despair. Because I'll take them on - to make sure YOU don't get done.

Buying a piece of furniture is quite an investment.

You want to make sure that the person selling it to you knows what they're talking about,

that the item you're buying is well-made and is going to last some considerable time.

But what happens if things start to go wrong

after you spend your hard-earned cash?

This is just what happened to Beth Woodley from Hertfordshire

when in October 2011 she paid £1,741 for a swanky new sofa

from popular furniture retailer Harveys.

It was one of those sofas you look at and think, "That's lovely. I really like that."

They showed me a couple of others, but I kept going back to this one.

They kept sort of directing me back to that more than anything else.

But it was a lovely sofa. It was perfect.

Beth also suffers from back problems

and she says the sales person assured her

the sofa would support her.

So she bought the corner suite and it was delivered three months later.

But very soon, the stuffing was knocked out of her dream.

Within about three months,

I noticed some of the backs of the sofas where I'd been sitting

looked kind of creased.

It looked like the stuffing wasn't bouncing back.

I puffed it up a bit and thought, "Maybe that'll be all right.

"Maybe that's just the way it is."

But it gradually just got worse and worse

and then the seat started to collapse.

Adamant there was something fundamentally wrong with her sofa,

Beth contacted Harveys in August 2012

to make a complaint about its rapid deterioration.

I didn't think anything of it. I thought it would be fine.

They'll come out and see how bad it is and sort it out.

How wrong she was.

Harveys did send technicians out,

but the content of their report was the last thing she expected.

When I received the report from Harveys I was furious.

On the report it said that the damage was caused by wear and tear

due to the seat being in front of the television.

The second thing they said

was that the dogs been sitting on the back of the sofa

looking out of the window.

And the third point was, and it just plainly stated,

"customer is of large build."

It made me feel like I was too fat for my own sofa.

And it was an absolute insult to me.

After shelling out over £1,700

Beth has been left feeling humiliated, with a collapsing sofa,

and Harveys are refusing a repair, replacement or refund.

Sounds like she needs my help.

-You must be Beth.

-And you must be Dom!

-Lovely to meet you, Beth.

-Thanks very much for coming.

-Can I come in?

-Course you can.

Super. Thanks very much.

Beth, normally when I come to meet people and discuss their problems,

I don't sit this far apart from them.

But you don't want me sitting on this section of the settee.

-Absolutely not.

-Why not?

-Because it's completely collapsed.

If you sit on it, you'll find out.

OK. Proof of the pudding. Whoa! I see what you mean.

-It's completely different to the rest of the settee.

-Completely, yes.

'And Beth goes on to tell me that it's not just one section

'but that all the sections on her sofa are gradually collapsing.'

Everyone's heard of Harveys. They're massive.

What did they say about this settee and being fit for purpose?

I spoke to them about the fact that I'm quite a big girl.

I have a back condition.

I asked them how supportive it was and they said perfect settee.

I actually looked at some other settees there

and they kept bringing me back to this one,

saying this one would be the better option for me.

Beth tells us she explained what she needed to the expert salesperson.

And she claims they said the sofa would suit her needs.

I need spinal fusion. I've got two prolapsed discs in my back.

The bottom of my back has deteriorated

so I need something that's going to support me when I sit down.

'Beth's condition can be extremely painful and it's important she has a supportive and comfortable sofa.'

How are you sitting on this settee at the moment?

I can see loads of booster cushions.

I'm sitting with pillows tucked around me

so I don't slide down the back of it.

'And as the report on the sofa

'points out that Beth is of a large build,

'I can't help wondering

'if it was suitable for her in the first place.'

They said because it was wear and tear, it was my fault.

My question to Harveys was how can that be wear and tear?

This sofa is six months old.

'The report also suggested Beth's dogs might be to blame for the damaged sofa.

'So I need to clear this up.'

Why did that engineer say that to you? What do you think?

Well, what happened was, there's a little nick on one of the seats.

It's like a scratch. And actually my son did it with his school bag.

It just caught the outside of the material.

So they guy came along, went like that and went, "Did your dog do that?"

I said, "No, actually, my son did it."

So he's assumed your dogs are sitting on the back?

He's assuming that the dogs are sitting on the back.

-Do the dogs sit on the settee at all?

-They don't, no.

They have their beds and they sit on the floor.

'Not willing to back down,

'Beth demanded the company send out another technician

'so she could get a second opinion.

'And they agreed.'

He was very nice. There wasn't an issue.

He walked in the front door,

he looked at the sofa and went,

"Oh, God, yes, that's completely unacceptable."

'Finally, it seemed somebody agreed with Beth.

'But when she got back on the phone to Harveys,

'it was a different story.

'Once again, she was told that the damage was her fault.

'Now that's what I call confusing customer service.

I would have expected them to say,

"We're ever so sorry. You need something a bit better.

"We will give you your money back against this."

Would you be happy with all three of those answers?

Yes.

What's money like for you?

Unfortunately, I had a big back operation

so I'm on sick benefits at the moment

because I can't go back to work yet.

-So things are tight?

-Things are very tight.

Beth, I won't ask you to see me out, cos you have a bad back.

-I'll get on to Harveys and hopefully get this sorted out.

-Please do.

-ASAP.

-Thank you.

-Lovely meeting you.

-Cheers.

-Bye, lovey.

I'll tell you what surprises me here.

Harveys are a very, very large national company.

They should have a good customer service and for some reason,

Beth doesn't seem to have received it.

I'm going to find out why and see if I can sort this out.

Maybe it's just a breakdown in communications,

but I won't know until I get on the blower.

Harveys are the largest furniture specialist in the UK

with over 150 stores nationwide.

Their motto is...

But for Beth, it's been a case of more hassle and less customer care.

Harveys are owned by Steinhoff International,

one of the five biggest furniture groups in Europe.

And having done my background research,

it's time to get the ball rolling with my first phone call to Harveys.

I'm placed on hold.

ANSWER PHONE: 'We apologise for the delay.

-'The call is important to us and will be answered as soon as one of our advisors...'

-Two minutes.

This isn't boding well.

I wish I had a nice comfortable settee to lie out on right now.

Put me feet up.

After being on hold for three minutes,

I finally get through to someone

who provides a number for Harveys marketing department.

'Record your message at the tone.

-'When you are finished, hang up or hold...'

-How annoying!

Good morning. My name is Dominic Littlewood. I'm calling from the BBC.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to get hold of anybody to speak to.

Could you give us a call back, please? Goodbye.

That isn't good vibes. I'm ringing a department that's meant to deal with people like me.

Problems, complaints and issues like that.

So far, I've not been able to speak to anybody in the department.

Just one voicemail.

Not a good start, Harveys.

Sadly, Beth is not alone.

Because there are other customers complaining about Harveys taking a back seat

when it comes to sorting out their sofa problems.

I've also heard from two other people.

Will and Sue Scott from Staffordshire

and Tim Moxey from Bath,

who are all at the end of their tether with Harveys.

Tim Moxey paid £989 plus delivery and insurance

for a sofa and a recliner chair in January 2012.

But just six weeks after delivery, the fabric on the sofa had split

and the recliner felt unstable, therefore unsafe when he sat on it.

In March 2012,

just like they did with Beth,

Harveys sent a technician out who told Tim they'd repair the sofa,

but that he was sitting in his recliner wrong and they wouldn't replace it.

But Tim says he wasn't told there

was a specific way to sit in it when he bought it.

Now after eight months of frustrated correspondence with Harveys,

Tim is still waiting for both problems to be sorted out.

The third case I've decided to take on is slightly different,

but no less disappointing.

Will and Sue Scott from Staffordshire paid £1,392

for a chocolate-brown three-piece suite from Harveys in May 2012.

They were given a delivery date which was three months later.

I put a ring round the calendar, all excited, waiting for it to come.

Obviously when it turned up, I was so disappointed.

I was really, really heartbroken.

They'd got the wrong colour settee.

So I had two right colour chairs,

and a tanned-coloured sofa.

So the Scotts were given another new delivery date of October 2012.

It was now six months since they'd ordered the sofa.

The guys came at five. And he said to me, he says...

"I think you'd better sit down."

I said, "Why?"

He says, "We've only got the one settee and one chair.

"We haven't got another chair."

I says, "That's no good to me. I want the whole thing."

'Twice Harveys had failed to deliver the correct three-piece suite

'and communicating with them wasn't easy.'

I phoned customer service and they just put me on hold

or put me on to somebody, and they don't give out their names.

So we were really, really fed up, weren't we?

Yeah, we were. Yeah.

'Sue and Will asked their daughter Emma to see if she could get anywhere with Harveys.'

I phoned them three times in one day and they just don't get back to you.

'The final delivery date the Scotts were given was on 10 November 2012.'

We were all excited

that we were going to see an ending to all this palaver.

A knock on the door.

He says, "I've got a note here for a three-piece suite

"but I've only got two-piece suites on.

"A two-seater settee and a chair."

I says, "Hang on a minute. You're telling me it's all wrong again?!"

'A failed delivery, not once, not twice, but three times?

'Sounds like something out of a comedy sketch.'

'So let's see if our Trading Standards expert Andy Foster

'can shed some light on the law.'

The Sale of Goods Act governs everything that we buy.

It doesn't matter what it is, a PC, a car or a sofa.

There are four main things that give us certain rights.

First, that things are of a satisfactory quality,

that they are as described,

that they're fit for the purpose they're supplied for,

and that they should last a reasonable length of time.

'Both Beth and Tim's furniture started showing signs

'of deterioration within months.

'To me, that doesn't seem a very long time

'for an expensive purchase.

'But Harveys have said that Beth's problems are due to wear and tear.'

If it's within six months of purchase,

then the trader is obligated

to demonstrate what is the exact cause of the fault

and when it occurred, to decide whether there's a breach of contract

or whether it's wear and tear,

and if it's after six months, the consumer needs to do that.

In that case, they may need to seek an expert report

who would diagnose what the fault is

and whether that is a breach of contract or whether it is just reasonable wear and tear.

What about the fact that Harveys are saying

that damage caused to Beth and Tim's sofas

is because they're of a larger build.

And Beth says she mentioned her bad back before she bought her sofa.

Some people have particular needs

and will need things for a particular purpose.

If that's pointed out at the time that person's buying them,

then we can rely upon the sales person to make sure the goods they supply will fit that need.

The problem is no-one has hard evidence

of what was said on the day of sale.

So, what now?

It's a really good tip

to get them to write that down on the invoice or order form

that that's what you want the goods for

and if they turn out not to be suitable for that,

then you have a claim in law.

This all sounds like good news to me.

I can't wait to speak to Harveys

about what I found out from our expert,

so I decide to follow up my voicemail with an email to Harveys

outlining all three customer complaints.

It seems I've ruffled some feathers,

because the director of customer services himself -

Richard Powell - has been in contact with all of the cases.

And he's made some offers. But I don't think they're enough.

The Scotts have been offered a £300 goodwill gesture,

but still don't have the correct suite.

Tim Moxey has been offered a £250 goodwill gesture

and an inspection of his wobbly recliner chair.

And Beth has been offered a £100 goodwill gesture

and for her sofa to be re-stuffed.

But she's concerned that's not enough to address the problem.

So we've arranged for independent expert Richard Renouf

to inspect Beth's sofa

to see if Harveys are right

and the damage is wear and tear due to her weight,

or if there is something fundamentally wrong with it.

Ooh!

That one goes a long way to this side, doesn't it?

Straightaway, Richard has noticed a problem.

Time to have a further look inside.

There's a lot of foam coming out of here.

That shouldn't be happening. Let's get off a bit more.

Right. The entire foam block has split

and that foam is crumbling.

And that tells me that there's quite a serious problem in here.

And that's why it's so uncomfortable to sit in.

I'm surprised that none of the inspectors who've been already

have picked that up.

I'm not surprised, because all they did

was come in and put their hand down the back of the chair

and said that the foam had folded.

That's not a very thorough job at all.

'And it seems that there's another fundamental fault.'

I know there's a couple of things that you were worried about.

The first was the back cushions.

These are made with a fibre filling.

Fibre is meant to be like feather and down.

You know what a feather pillow's like.

You have to keep plumping it up.

You shouldn't really use it on a suite like this,

because these are fixed cushions.

-You can't wrestle with them to get it plumped up.

-It's impossible.

'Gordon Bennett! So, in less than an hour,

'our inspector has found two issues

'which sound like manufacturing faults.

'Why didn't Harveys' guys spot this?

'Our expert is pretty convinced this isn't wear and tear.'

What I'll do now is put all my findings into a report

with all the photos and so on that we've taken

and that will show conclusively that this suite is faulty.

'This is good news for Beth.'

To know that it's not in my imagination,

that I wasn't to blame for that is a real relief.

I know I can take further action now and do something about it,

Nobody would be expecting a problem with a settee

even within the first three, four, five years.

For something like this to have gone wrong,

definitely needs to be dealt with by the retailer.

This needs to be replaced or even a refund given,

because it shouldn't be like this.

'Hear, hear, Richard. I couldn't agree more.

'It seems like good news all round

'in support of my battle with the furniture giant.

'And it seems Harveys are starting to take this seriously,

'because they've sent someone out to inspect Tim Moxey's wobbly recliner

'and one guess what they've told him?

'Yep, that he's too heavy for it.

'It seems there's a repeating pattern here.'

Tim weighs 19 stone.

But the Harveys' technical expert

who went round to inspect his recliner

said it had a weight limit of 17 stone.

Trouble is, no-one told Tim that.

Harveys also cite Beth's weight as a reason why her sofa broke.

And all this has got me thinking.

Surely they both should have been sold items that suited their needs

at the point of sale.

Reminds me of junior school, this!

'When we heard from Andy Foster at Trading Standards earlier,

'he seemed to agree.

'So I really need to speak to Harveys again

'with all the expert findings I've gathered so far

'and to discuss their recent offers and goodwill gestures.'

I'm not happy unless it's the sort of compensation

I think they're entitled to.

And at this stage, it's not.

So, expect a phone call.

Let's see if I can get that offer up to something which Dommy likes.

'Sadly, yet again,

'I get the voicemail of their customer services manager.'

Need to speak to you, Richard, to see if I can sort out

a few of the outstanding issues

with these clients that I emailed you about.

I look forward to your call.

If it's this afternoon, it'll be even better.

Thanks, Richard. Bye.

Rather annoying,

because I had to leave a message.

You can't blame him for that. If he's in meetings, he's in meetings.

Now I've got to wait for them.

'I'm taking on furniture giant Harveys on behalf of three customers

'who have had major problems.

'I've got Will and Sue Scott and their undelivered sofa.

'Beth Woodley and her sinking suite,

'and Tim Moxey with his ripped sofa and unstable recliner.

'There has been email correspondence with Richard Powell,

'the customer services director of Harveys.

'But I can never get hold of him on the phone.'

Voicemail.

'What a surprise!

'So I've found out the name of the Harveys MD, Stephen Campbell,

'and I'm about to let Richard know

'I'm prepared to escalate this complaint.'

Richard, I need to sort things out

re the problems that you're aware of.

I'm having trouble getting through to you at the moment.

If you can't get through to me,

could you pass the message on to Stephen Campbell

that I'd like to have a chat with him

and see if he can call me back today, please, if possible.

Look forward to hearing from you, Richard. Thanks. Bye-bye.

That's the sort of message you can leave somebody

which will make them respond.

Because I've mentioned the Guvnor's name.

He won't want the Guv'nor making a phone call.

'And I was right.

'Word of my attempt to contact the MD must have spread,

'because I've just had some good news.

'Harveys have repaired Tim Moxey's ripped sofa

'and just four days later, he's made an agreement to keep the recliner

'as long as they fix it adequately.

'He's aware of the weight restrictions

'but has told us he might slim down a bit.

'Harveys are also giving Tim £250 as a goodwill gesture

'for all the hassle.

'There's also been good news for Will and Sue Scott

'because they've been sent a refund cheque for £1,700

'as well as a £300 goodwill gesture.

'And that's not all.'

Since Dom's been involved,

we've got our three-piece suite that we've longed for for a long time.

And I would just like to say,

"Thanks, Dom. Thank you very much for all your help."

Yes. It's all over with now.

-Yes.

-So, thanks a lot.

'It's my pleasure.

'And a cracking early result.

'But in Beth's case, things aren't looking so good.

'Harveys are sticking firm.

'All they've offered so far is a monetary goodwill gesture

'and to re-stuff her sofa, which she's not happy with.

'But they have now made an additional gesture.'

Harveys have said they want to send round

yet another independent surveyor to look at Beth's sofa.

And this will be the third one.

Now, Beth has agreed to that.

But she's said, "This will be your last one."

'And after he's been, she's feeling positive.'

Much better this time.

Took the sofas apart, checked the insides, checked the stuffing.

Took the backs off.

So, very professional. He was here about 45 minutes, so much better.

I've been waiting now for six months, maybe,

for this to be resolved.

I hope that they'll agree with the professional independent inspection

that I had done

and see that their sofa is faulty and give me my money back.

'It seems it may not be that simple.

'Six days after the inspection,

'we get an email from Harveys stating that

'although their technician

'said one of the faults is a manufacturing fault,

'this can be fixed by re-padding the sofa

'and they have offered this plus a £350 goodwill gesture

'as a full and final settlement

'as the rest of the damage, they say, is wear and tear.

'I just don't think that's good enough.

'So it's time for me to get back on the blower.'

Let me tell you where I am with Harveys.

So far, every time I try to speak to them, I get through to a voicemail.

And they respond via an email.

For some reason, they don't want to speak to me man to man.

I'm a bit fed up with that,

so I'm going to see if I can get through to the CEO of the company.

See if I can start really stirring things up.

'After calling the main number for the Steinhoff Group who own Harveys,

'I'm given the number of the PA to Stephen Campbell,

'the MD of Harveys.

'I'm about to give her an update on where we are with Beth's case.'

She bought a brand-new settee and it's collapsed on one side.

What happened is, Harveys went round

and basically said it's due to her size that it's collapsed.

Bear in mind she went in the shop at that weight and bought this settee.

'I go on to explain what both

'Harveys' and our own independent experts have found

'and that we can't come to a mutual agreement with Harveys.'

We're hoping that somebody looks at this report

and realises it's a manufacturer's fault. She wants her money back.

'I've done my best to get a refund for Beth,

'but I'm running out of options.'

Thank you. Goodbye.

The clock's ticking. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

'I'm on my way to update Beth on the situation.

'But before I go in, there's one last glimmer of hope.

'I've had an email from Harveys telling me to make a phone call

'that could be important.'

With my phone call the other day,

I felt like I was sticking a stick in a hornets' nest.

Well, my thoughts were right.

I've got an email saying would I ring the customer services director

at 9.30 this morning.

It's now 9.29.

Let's see what he's got to say.

It's going to go one of two ways now.

Good morning. Is that Richard? Morning, Richard.

It's Dominic Littlewood from Don't Get Done, Get Dom.

How are we getting on, Richard? I'm hoping you've got some news.

I'm popping round to see Beth in the next 30 minutes or so.

So, where are we?

'He doesn't want his voice used,

'However, he is prepared to make her another offer.

'He also says that

'Harveys will be joining the Furniture Ombudsman Scheme,

'so if any customer has a problem

'n objective and impartial ruling can be made.'

I think that's a good move and I think that's very nice.

Thanks, Richard. Nice talking to you. Bye.

'It's been a six-month battle for Beth,

'but I'm pleased to say it's coming to an end.'

Sometimes, some of the cases I take on

literally go all the way to the wire.

That last phone call to Harveys was only this morning.

So, I'm here to give Beth the news.

-Hiya, Beth.

-Hello, Dom.

-How you doing, sweetie?

-How did you get on?

-Let me in and I'll tell you!

I won't tell you standing here! Crikey!

You're impatient!

Let me tell you where I've been.

I've been attempting to speak to the director of customer services.

I spoke to them this morning.

I told them this is your last chance.

I'm going to speak to Beth

and tell her about what Harveys are prepared to do for her.

What's happened is, they've sent me through a statement.

So I'm going to read that to you.

"We have carried out three separate independent inspections

"of Mrs Woodley's suite.

"And whilst some conditions differ from the independent inspection

"that Mrs Woodley arranged,

"we strongly believe that the findings of the inspections

"requested by ourselves were correct

"and that the actions we took were appropriate."

I'm feeling really annoyed, actually.

It just feels like they're brushing me off

and knocking me sideways again.

Give me two seconds. I'll be back in a bit.

What do you think of those little beauties?

They're from Harveys.

Thank you very much, Harveys, but that's not a new sofa!

No, it's not. Put those down,

because I want to read you the final paragraph.

It says, "However, when it comes to somebody's health

"who is right and who is wrong does not really matter.

"Mrs Woodley's long-term back problems

"are of obvious concern to us.

"We do not wish to make her situation any worse in any way.

"We are happy to refund

"the total cost of the purchase price to Mrs Woodley

"as quickly as possible.

"As a further gesture of goodwill,

"we are willing to send Mrs Woodley an additional £100

"and everyone at Harveys wishes her a speedy recovery."

Thank you!

Got your money back. How do you feel?

Just really, really relieved.

It's nice getting to that position now where you can start again with the slate clean.

-I can get something that's more appropriate.

-Is my job done? Can I go now?

It is done. Thank you very much!

-A hug for good behaviour?

-You can.

-Thanks ever so much.

-Thank you ever so much!

'Harvey's also said...'

It's been a long time coming, really.

I thought I wasn't going to get anywhere and I'd be stuck with this.

So I am really, really grateful.

It all worked out well in the end.

Beth's happy. She's got all her money back and a bunch of flowers.

I think Harveys have come good in the end as well.

But there's a lesson there for all of us.

If you feel you're right and you're not getting anywhere, don't give up!

Just keep trying.

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