This sofa inspection report was compiled for a customer in April 2021 who had disputed the quality of the sofa cushion foam inserts they received from the retailer.
Having reached an impasse in their dispute with the retailer, they contacted their credit card company – who asked them to get a specialist to compile a sofa inspection report for them – in order that they could initiate a chargeback.
The customer contacted us – and we compiled the following report for them. The credit card company paid for the compilation of the report, so the customer didn’t have to. The report achieved the result of the customer getting a partial refund from their credit card company for the sofa, and with this partial refund they got new cushion inserts which they were very happy with – overall a great result for the customer!
The report is copied below – we have removed any references to the customer or the retailer for the purposes of data protection.
To whom this may concern,
We are a professional furniture restoration company and I am a trained upholsterer, accredited by the AMUSF (Association of Master Upholsterers & Soft Furnishers). As a company, we are regularly engaged by customers to provide advice.
THE CUSTOMER approached us in October 2021, asking us for some advice re: the sofa cushions supplied to them by THE FURNITURE RETAILER, delivered to them in November 2020. She suggested that she was unhappy with the finish of the cushions, and wondered if we might be willing to come to her home and provide some advice, and perhaps if necessary, write a report on their condition?
I include our findings as regards the request by THE CUSTOMER below;
Upon visiting THE CUSTOMER’S HOME I inspected the sofa, and enquired as to a number of questions. THE CUSTOMER explained that a set of replacement cushions for the sofa were delivered by the manufacturer on 21st July 2021, by way of a response to her initial complaint about the fabric wrinkling and foam firmness (or lack thereof). The replacement cushions appear to be of the same grade of foam, and also suffer the exact same issues as the original cushions.
The cushions felt extremely soft, in my opinion, and the firmness level wouldn’t normally be considered firm enough to give adequate support to anyone of an average adult size and weight.
On most (but not all) modern pieces of upholstered furniture, the seat cushions provided will be of a foam variety, and the back cushions will often be a stuffed blown polyester fibre, although some (as in this case) will be provided with a foam cushion for the back cushions as well.
Both the seat and back cushion covers are all tufted/tensioned with inner twine/buttoning ties to hold the tufting/ties in place.
This in many ways complicates the cushion cover design, but is provided primarily to make sure that the cushion cover sits very tight on the foam cushion itself, and in theory should give an optimal look for an extended period of time, and in doing so the cushion fabric should never suffer from a sagging, wrinkling look using this method – the tufting itself provides constant tension which simply shouldn’t allow it – thus the fact that this creasing/wrinkling in the cushion fabric shows so clearly, supports the thesis that the foam grade supplied is not practical for the intended purpose of the cushions.
When the sofa was supplied to THE CUSTOMER, there was a known global supply shortage of polyurethane foam, see:
This supply shortage was an issue for everyone in the furniture trade, and it was impossible to predict when we might see a regular supply of the full range of foams available.
As a result, I’d suggest that perhaps the manufacturer has used a supply of foam in the cushions they may not have normally used prior to this supply shortage, although obviously this is conjecture based on the timeline, which may be a complete coincidence.
Given how soft the cushions were that were supplied to THE CUSTOMER, it seems reasonable to suggest that the foam inners are not suitable for the intended use. As the foam grade used does not serve the intended purpose of the tufted cushions whatsoever, it is my professional opinion that the use of this foam in the 6 x sofa cushions (and the resulting effect on the cushion covers themselves) merits being classed as a manufacturing fault.
I recommend that all of the foam cushion inners be replaced with a firmer grade of foam. The work includes replacing these with a suitable foam, cut to size, including the labour time involved in re-tufting/re-fitting the 6 x sofa cushion covers, where necessary.
Please let me know whether you have any further questions or queries as regards this report.
If you wish me to supply further statements or assist in further proceedings, I’m happy to do so.
Enclosed are a selection of photos showing the creasing/wrinkling on the sofa cushions supplied by the manufacturer.
Yours Sincerely,
Signature Upholstery Company Director
P.S. If you’re in or near Edinburgh, Scotland, and need help compiling a sofa / chair inspection report in your dispute with a retailer or furniture manufacturer, please get in touch and we’ll see what we can do for you.