Man who reported sofa fault told he’s sitting on it wrongly
A MAN whose sofa had to be repaired twice in four months was told he was at fault for sitting on it wrongly.
Michael Woolf noticed his new £2,000 sofa was collapsing just weeks after first sitting on it, so called the furniture company he bought it from, Barker and Stonehouse in Birstall, to come and repair it.
But just one month later, the same fault occurred. Barker and Stonehouse say it is not a manufacturing fault, and the problem instead lies in Mr Woolf’s sitting position.
Mr Woolf, 76, said when workers from the company returned they suggested he was sitting too far forward in his seat.
When Mr Woolf’s wife Barbara pointed out she sat in the same position in another seat, she claims she was told it was because she was a woman.
“That to me implies they were saying Michael was too heavy,” she told the News.
“They asked us how long Michael spends sitting in the chair, and said they found people who were retired spent more time sitting on sofas.”
“It’s cobblers,” Mr Woolf added.
Michael and Barbara brought the sofa as part of a suite on a whim during a trip to Birstall’s junction 27 last June. Their new furniture arrived in September.
A spokeswoman for the firm said when he bought the settees Mr Woolf had signed to say he had received a care and usage pack, describing how to get the most from the purchase.
She said: “Of course everybody has the right to use their home furniture in any way they want to, but this care pack makes sure they are aware of any potential outcomes of that behaviour.
“This pack explains how you shouldn’t put stress on one particular area of the sofa for repeated periods of time.”
The spokeswoman said workers at Barker and Stonehouse had witnessed Mr and Mrs Woolf using their sofa like a dining chair and reaching forward to eat their dinner from the coffee table, which had caused the sofa to collapse.
But the couple denies using their living room suite as a dining area.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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