M&S sofa has broken - partial refund offered - thoughts?

[MrRockliffe]

Hi all,

My M&S sofa, which I bought just over 3 years ago, has broken. When I'm sat in the centre seat, I'm significantly lower than my other half, which is ironic because she's from a much lower social class than me.


Have been discussing with M&S for a few weeks, which has been tricky as they closed their furniture department. First conversation went something along the lines of:

"Send pics"
Sends pics
"Of the sofa, not nudes"
Sends pics of sofa
"Yes I can see that's a sofa what do you want us to do"
"It's broken"
"I can't tell on the picture"
"That's because it's a picture"
"We can't send anyone out because we closed the sofa department"
"Not really my problem"
"It kind of is because I'm not the one with a broken sofa"
"Touche"
"Sorry good luck"



Paraphrasing, of course.



They have now offered a partial refund of about 60% of original value of the sofa (roughly £1200 on a £2000 sofa). My argument is that I bought the sofa, with a 10 year warranty, because I expected it to last AT LEAST half that length of time, even with the excessive amount of pounding gaming I do on it.



They're going away to discuss if they can do anything else, but in the meantime, I wanted some views on whether you think it's appropriate? If not, what would be?




Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

 

[MrRockliffe]

You need to speak to the M&S refund department that deals with high social classes.

I tried the whole "do you know who I am" and they just said "no" so that was that

The expecting it to last at least half that time isn't relevant.

All that is relevant is (price divided by warranty length) * years warranty remaining.

(£2000 / 10) * 7 = £1400.

Allowing for it being just over 3 years old, an admin fee etc, then I think a £1200 offer is fair.

Hmm yes makes sense I guess. Just frustrating timing as I feel like I'm coming out worse off, with the requirement to purchase another sofa. They're not able to offer to have it repaired at all.

 

[MrRockliffe]

This thread is way out of my budget

What do you expect, driving round in an S2000?

 

[MrRockliffe]

Is it a corner sofa? I thought Gucci belt owners got lifetime warranty on their corner sofas.

No I'm not that cool

Does have a chaise though

 

[MrRockliffe]

This is not just a sofa, it's an M&S sofa.

I felt so fancy getting my sofa from M&S, and yet here we are

 

[MrRockliffe]

Boomer pic

Sorry I'm not a boomer I don't get the reference

 

[MrRockliffe]

No need to apologise, it’s ok.

I've been advised it's from the M&S advert, so apologies, I'm just stupid

 

[MrRockliffe]

It'd probably be worth pushing the "I've had 3 years use from my 'Guaranteed for 10 years' sofa" point, so you want 70% back.

Then take that money and pay a furniture specialist £150 to fix whatever is wrong with it, which probably isn't much.

They would collect, the refund for me to keep was around 900 I think he said

 

[MrRockliffe]

That's even weirder.

So they won't repair or replace it, and will take it away and only give you £1200? If they can't repair or replace it and dont have a sofa department anymore, then i would ask them what they intend to do with it.

So you've spent £800 to rent the sofa for 3 years basically?

Terrible.

That's what I'm viewing it as, and to be honest it's been pretty terrible for that 3 years.

It quickly became uncomfortable, and the chaise cushion is sewn to the base and can't be plumped up, so it has had a dip in it since the first month of ownership basically.


Really, I should have returned it but didn't.



I think the right answer is somewhere in the middle between a full refund and £1200. £1400 would be the lowest, but I can't get an equivalent sofa anywhere near that price now.

 

[MrRockliffe]

In your shoes seat, I’d accept the refund, then claim on house insurance for a new sofa. Profit. Upgrade to a corner sofa, live the high life that you so deserve.

Except mr stupid here doesn't have house insurance because he's, well, stupid.

Social class doesn't equal cleverness

 

[MrRockliffe]

1 - get some/contents only if it's not your house.
2 - wait a month.
3 - make a claim.
4 - spend a few months being careful not to drop the soap in the shower.
5 - ???
6 - Profit

Thankfully I don't have a forum account with my name on it

 

[MrRockliffe]

I think the point is more that it's an irrelevant negotiating point "I bought a sofa with a 10 year guarantee because I expect it to last 5 years", pointless, you buy it because you expect it to last 10 years. Saying you only expect it to last half the guarantee period would just be arguing yourself out of money.

I'm always cynical with warranties and find it best to assume half the actual amount with no support, as I typically find myself disappointed otherwise - case in point this sofa.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Do you have the actual written terms for the warranty anywhere?

Maybe, but not sure where

That's fine for managing your own expectations but irrelevant when it comes to arguing with the supplier about claiming on that guarantee

Maybe, but I think it nails the point that if it can't even last half the expected time, it must be dog.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Which you complain about by saying 'It hasn't even lasted half as long as it should have done' not 'I expected 5 years from an item with a 10 year guarantee' - the latter just tells them they can probably get away with mugging you off a bit.

That is what I said

My argument is that I bought the sofa, with a 10 year warranty, because I expected it to last AT LEAST half that length of time

 

[MrRockliffe]

They are offering 1200 and you keep the sofa?

If it was 2k surely 1200 is enough to repair it?

Think my sofa is 15 years old and cost less (have replaced cushions)

No 1200 and they take it away :/

 

[MrRockliffe]

It's subtly different

You've said "I bought an item with a 10 year guarantee because I expected it to last 5 years" - this tells them your expectations were low and you'll probably be agreeable to a cut price settlement if they just stand their ground a bit.

You should be saying "I bought an item with a 10 year guarantee because I expected it to last 10 years and it hasn't even managed half of that" - this tells them your expectations are much higher and you're expecting a much better settlement.

Ah I see what you mean now.

In all fairness I did word it like the latter part

 

[MrRockliffe]

It's not a decent settlement at all. He didn't enter a deal to rent a sofa for 3 years for £800 did he? That would be ludicrous. He purchased a sofa for £2000 that was expected and guaranteed to last at least 10 years. In this case it didn't even last a third of that and I'd want a full refund. Even then, £2000 now doesn't buy you as much as it did 3 years ago. No wonder companies try and pull this stuff if people roll over for them so easily.

I can honestly see both sides, because imagine if the sofa died at 10 years old. I’d have then rented the sofa at £200 a month which is broadly the calculation they are going for.


That being said, it should last more than 10. My dad has had his for 20+ years.

 

[MrRockliffe]

I would expect a sofa with a 10 year warranty to last at least 15 years. I've had my current sofa for 11 years and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and its easily got another 10+ years of life left in it and it didn't cost half as much as this.

Personally, I'd be pushing for a full refund, its a £2k piece of furniture, not a £100 Ikea special and I'd settle at 80%.

3 years is barley broken in in terms of a £2k sofa and presumably you have matching arm chairs? Given they have closed their sofa department, you are not going to get a direct match to your other furniture. In my mind, that warrants a full refund as a starting point.

Did you pay on finance or credit card? If so, invoke your S75 rights and get your money back.

P.S. Always pay on credit card.

I did pay with finance, and I have said this to them.


I’ve basically given them the option to resolve amicably without the extra faff, but if they don’t come back with a reasonable offer I’ll be going full ham on them with S75.

 

[MrRockliffe]

How much does the same sofa cost now?

With inflation it probably seemed like a really smart bean counter move to just get rid of the "sofa department"

a 60% of a sofa bought 3 years ago is probably more like 30% of the value of a new one to the same standards

You can’t buy it but JL sell a very similar one which is £2700.

Mine was £2000 with 20% off.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Sorry to hear about your sofa, hope you get it sorted out.

In the interim, I have a decent second hand sofa you can have if needed.

Been used for the same thing, but at least that’s easy to wipe clean - mine is fabric