Upset Doncaster man's battle with furniture giant over faulty sofa

Stephen Partridge, who lives in Mexborough, is at the centre of a long-running dispute with furniture firm Poltronesofa at SCS.

His problems began at Christmas 2025 when he ordered a £2,700 settee which originally came in the wrong colour.

When he complained, he was sent a new sofa – but he says the replacement was poor quality and not to the same standard as the one he saw in the shop, with “visible inconsistencies.”

He contacted the company who sent out an investigator who described the claim as “invalid” and said no faults could be found – and he was urged to simply plump the sofa up to resolve the problem.

Still unhappy, Mr Partridge, of Hollingsworth Close, commissioned a £264 independent report which found multiple faults with the sofa including comments which read: “The right-hand facing headrest lacks sufficient filling material, a distinct dark discolouration or large black mark is present within the fabric weave’, ‘a clear linear indentation, measuring 10.5 cm in length’, and ‘the material has not been cut, sized, or tensioned appropriately during manufacture to accommodate (the footrest being put out).”

The report concluded that the “repair is neither proportionate nor reliable; replacement or full refund represents the only satisfactory and permanent remedy.”

It added: “Upon professional assessment, it is my considered opinion that the sofa suite is not reasonably repairable in a cost-effective or satisfactory manner.”

A Poltronesofa spokesperson said: "We are sorry that our customer is unhappy with their sofa.

"Since receiving their complaint, we have been in frequent correspondence with the customer.

"We appointed an independent third party to investigate and the technician they sent to inspect the product found no manufacturing faults or defects.

"As with all aspects of any soft upholstered furniture regular light dressing and plumping will alleviate the complaints raised, which the technician demonstrated on their visit.

"While we appreciate that the customer may have hoped for a different outcome, our assessment remains that the issues raised are consistent with the expected behaviour of soft upholstery, rather than a manufacturing fault.

“We understand that the customer may wish to seek a further independent review and so we have suggested they refer the complaint to the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman if they remain unhappy with our assessment and response.

"We follow the Ombudsman’s Code of Practice, and its decisions are binding on us.”