DFS apologises after sofa saga which reduced elderly Leighton Buzzard mum to tears

An angry DFS customer has hit out at the furniture store after they sold his elderly mother a faulty sofa, claiming a 'patronising' staff member left her in tears.
Anne Gray is now looking for a new sofa and has been left with just a stool and an armchair.Anne Gray is now looking for a new sofa and has been left with just a stool and an armchair.
Anne Gray is now looking for a new sofa and has been left with just a stool and an armchair.

David Gray, 55, bought his mother, Anne, a new DFS sofa for her 84th birthday.

The present was delivered to her home in Leighton Buzzard in January, but just weeks later, he says they were disappointed to discover that two inches of a cushion seam weren’t stitched properly.

And, when they felt down the sides of the sofa, David claims they also found holes, along with material that had been stapled instead of stitched.

David said: “After we first noticed the problems, DFS sent an inspector in March. He seemed to think that it was not worth a complaint and was very patronising and a bit rude to my mother; she said he was disrespectful and wouldn’t look at her when she was speaking to him.

“She was left crying and called me at once, so I of course put in a very angry complaint.

“More incredibly, DFS made several attempts to ignore the situation.”

After contacting Barclays bank (a DFS business partner) in April, David says the furniture company apologised.

However, despite this, David says his treatment from DFS was disappointing, claiming a manager from DFS Milton Keynes said he would visit on June 11 but never turned up, and that another “patronising” inspector visited a few days later, who said he would call them to fix the problem, but never did.

At his wit’s end, David contacted the industry ombudsman, and last Monday the sofa was finally taken away.

He claimed: “The DFS guarantee of quality means nothing; they do not care at all about customer service or how they behave to an 84-year- old lady.

“Fully inspect your DFS furniture before accepting it into your home.”

David will be refunded by DFS, but in the meantime his mother is left with an armchair and a stool until they can get a new sofa delivered from a different company.

A DFS spokeswoman said: “At DFS we take customer service extremely seriously and we always endeavour to give customers a positive experience when shopping with us.

“We completely understand why Mrs Gray is disappointed and we recognise that on this occasion we have fallen below the high standards we set ourselves.

“We have sincerely apologised to Mrs Gray and her son and we have organised for a full refund.”