What do you suggest I do with a lemon sectional sofa?

[gkisystems]

I purchased a brand new sofa sectional sofa (for around $3500) a little more than a year ago at a regional chain furniture and electronics retail store it Illinois but it was shipped to Wisconsin - so I believe the sale falls under the jurisdiction of Wisconsin laws (WI sales tax was charged). The retailer has stores in both states and their HQ is based in Wisconsin. The item I was purchasing was in high demand so much so that it was backordered for a month and it arrived in late December 2012. Since getting it, it has been nothing but problems. It is under a 1 year warranty and has attempted to be repaired once (but it was not repairable) and it has been replaced four times with the exact same model. My 1 year warranty runs out at the end of this month and I"m concerned that my problems will continue even after I receive my next replacement in approximately 1-2 weeks from now. Incidentally, the model that was selling so well last year is now discontinued and no longer manufactured - hinting at the possibility that the manufacturer knows this model has reliability problems.

I would like to return it for a full refund or at least store credit to pick out a different sofa. I have requested this before, but my request was denied. Given that I continue to have problems, I plan on making another request - but its possible they may continue to deny my request.

What legal rights do I have, if any? What is your recommended course of action?

 

[Zigner]

You have the right to have the terms of your warranty fulfilled. It sounds like the have done/been doing that.

 

[gkisystems]

You have the right to have the terms of your warranty fulfilled. It sounds like the have done/been doing that.

I called the store and now have some new information. The piece that was attempted (unsuccessfully) to be repaired this morning was approved for a replacement. However, the replacement piece is NOT equivalent to what I purchased. The manufacturer discontinued the exact item I bought (heat + vibration + power recline) and replaced it with a model under the same SKU that only has vibration + power recline - no heat feature. The manufacturer took out the heat feature because it was causing the electronics to short out.

According to the sales manager at the retail store, the new model without heat is more reliable because the heat feature has been removed. However, I'm concerned that I paid for that feature and now my warranty is not being fulfilled because the replacement piece has fewer features than the piece I bought at the time I bought it.

What should I do in this situation?

 

[justalayman]

what does your warranty say to the issue where the furniture is not repairable and no exact replacement available?

 

[gkisystems]

what does your warranty say to the issue where the furniture is not repairable and no exact replacement available?

It does not specify:

http://franklincorp.com/customer-care/warranty-information/

 

[Zigner]

It does not specify:

http://franklincorp.com/customer-care/warranty-information/

Sure it does - plain as day:

All warranties are subject to the availability of repair or replacement parts.


That means that if their is no replacement part available, there is no warranty.

 

[Silverplum]

Donate it to a nice organization.

 

[justalayman]

in the end, I don't think their limitation of the warranty would preclude you from having some rights regarding this but arguing the point is going to cost you more than the $3500 you paid for the furniture. There are obligations under the UCC that would likely prevent that from being the sole basis to deny all forms of addressing your situation.

I would like to return it for a full refund or at least store credit to pick out a different sofa. I have requested this before, but my request was denied. Given that I continue to have problems, I plan on making another request - but its possible they may continue to deny my request.

so, you have a nearly 1 year old sectional sofa, which you have had the use of for 1 year other than the heating action in the one part and you think it would be fair to be given a full refund?

The heating element of the section involved does not make the furniture worthless. At best it diminishes the value but since that is a minor portion of the overall unit, not by much.

I would address this to Franklin directly through their contact section on the website and possible your states Attorney General consumer complaints division.

 

[gkisystems]

Sure it does - plain as day:

All warranties are subject to the availability of repair or replacement parts.


That means that if their is no replacement part available, there is no warranty.

How would any reasonable consumer know at the time of purchase that replacements will stop being available before the end of the determined warranty period? For a company to claim "We stand behind our product and that is why we are able to offer you the best warranty in the industry" while also claiming they offer no warranty whatsoever (based entirely upon their own whims) if they decide to stop making replacement parts seems Orwellian and misleading.

The company that manufacturers the sofa stopped making all their furniture (including my model) without the heated seat feature less than 12 months after me being sold my furniture. It seems that this is a major change for such a large company and they most likely knew about it (although I cannot prove it) at the time the furniture was sold to me, but failed to disclose it.

 

[Proserpina]

How would any reasonable consumer know at the time of purchase that replacements will stop being available before the end of the determined warranty period? For a company to claim "We stand behind our product and that is why we are able to offer you the best warranty in the industry" while also claiming they offer no warranty whatsoever (based entirely upon their own whims) if they decide to stop making replacement parts seems Orwellian and misleading.

The company that manufacturers the sofa stopped making all their furniture (including my model) without the heated seat feature less than 12 months after me being sold my furniture. It seems that this is a major change for such a large company and they most likely knew about it (although I cannot prove it) at the time the furniture was sold to me, but failed to disclose it.

Flip that argument on its side for a second.

How would any reasonable seller know at the time of purchase that replacements will stop being available before the end of the determined warranty period?

 

[Silverplum]

How would any reasonable consumer know at the time of purchase that replacements will stop being available before the end of the determined warranty period? For a company to claim "We stand behind our product and that is why we are able to offer you the best warranty in the industry" while also claiming they offer no warranty whatsoever (based entirely upon their own whims) if they decide to stop making replacement parts seems Orwellian and misleading.

The company that manufacturers the sofa stopped making all their furniture (including my model) without the heated seat feature less than 12 months after me being sold my furniture. It seems that this is a major change for such a large company and they most likely knew about it (although I cannot prove it) at the time the furniture was sold to me, but failed to disclose it.

Companies don't last forever. Sometimes there just are no more Twinkies.



(Actually, I think Twinkies *are* coming back. I read it somewhere. )

 

[Zigner]

Companies don't last forever. Sometimes there just are no more Twinkies.



(Actually, I think Twinkies *are* coming back. I read it somewhere. )

Oh, they are back

 

[Silverplum]

Also, "Orwellian," really?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orwellian

 

[gkisystems]

Flip that argument on its side for a second.

How would any reasonable seller know at the time of purchase that replacements will stop being available before the end of the determined warranty period?

The seller would know because they are the ones in charge of manufacturing the product and they told me that they "decided" to stop making all their furniture with the heating feature.

While I understand that companies can and do go out of business and are no longer around to provide warranty on their products, but in my particular situation, the company hasn't gone out of business and continues to operate.

The only reason why I bought this specific furniture is because it was the only model that I could find looking through multiple retail stores that offered a combination power recline + heat + reading lamps + vibration. There was not any other model for sale with this exact combination and had this model only been available with all the same features less the heat, I would have never bought it.

 

[Silverplum]

Oh, they are back

Good deal.

Colorado candy Jolly Ranchers were gone for a long while. Now made elsewhere, I don't eat 'em any more.