Express & Star

Couple's warning after eight-month fight to get sofa fixed when warranty ran out

A couple are warning furniture shop customers to double-check insurance cover after an eight-month fight to get a faulty sofa repaired.

Published
Brian and Beryl Faichuk, from Wednesfield, with the sofa which has now repaired

Brian and Beryl Faichuk, of Wolverhampton, bought the dark grey two-seater powered console from the SCS branch based at Gallagher Retail Park, in Axletree Way, Wednesbury, four years ago.

They took out insurance on the £900 sofa, which is fitted with electrical parts, but when it became uncomfortable to sit on due to a manufacturer defect to the sprung seat interiors they discovered that the policy did not cover the problem.

It has now been fixed by SCS, who said the warranty period had run out and that it carried out the repair as an "act of goodwill" to the customer.

A relieved Mr Faichuk, 61, of Lichwood Road, Wednesfield, said he found the process of dealing with SCS and the chain's furniture insurers Castelan, difficult to navigate and that it took months of correspondence with both before an engineer finally turned up last month to fix it.

Brian and Beryl Faichuk, from Wednesfield, with the sofa which has now repaired

"I always thought that if you spend good money on a piece of furniture it would last a long time. I was brought up on used furniture and it never fell apart. They just don't make furniture like they used to.

"They should make it clear to the customer. If they had told me that the springs weren't insured I would not have bought it. All they specified was covered was the electrical parts.

"As it was a manufacturing fault, I said outright that I want it repaired. I fought really hard to get it fixed while most people would have given up a long time ago due to the legal wrangling.

"I would advise people to read through the contract very carefully before parting with their money. It's unbelievable that it took eight months to get it sorted out and I'm telling you it was hard work.

"The suite wasn't cheap. The bill for purchase, the cover, the cleaning kit and the midweek delivery added up to more than £1,200," Canadian-born Mr Faichuk said.

When approached by the Express & Star SCS declined to comment.

Castelan said: "A technician visited Mr Faichuck and fully assessed the damage to his furniture. They concluded that the reclining mechanism was in perfect working order and that the defect existed elsewhere within the piece of furniture. This would usually be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty, which is a completely separate policy of insurance to our own.

"Mr Faichuck was then directed back to the retailer that he purchased the policy from, in this case SCS, to commence a claim against the manufacturer’s warranty. We do not underwrite that policy so it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."