Stephanie Coxon 24/08/2025
I purchased a “designer” dining room chair at the Farnham branch, in 12/23 before it closed, in the sale. 2 months ago I saw, after hardly any use, the seat cover (behind where your knees would be), had started to crack and peel. The chair rrp was
£459, so I’d assumed it was leather, but after some research I discovered it is “vintage leather, which is a bi-cast leather.
Unfortunately, once bi-cast starts to peel, the damage tends to spread quite quickly. It is possible to patch it up temporarily with a Leather Repair Paint from a kit, (which I tried, wholly unsuccessfully), but ultimately it will need to be reupholstered. I’ve investigated this and it’s likely to cost in the region of £300. I spoke with Vale Furnishers who confirmed that that particular manufacturer only offers a 12 month guarantee. I’m speechless - and obviously disappointed and annoyed - so my message here is “buyer beware”!
Vale Furnishers Team:
Hi Stephanie, thank you for your feedback. I have had a look on our system to try and allow me to investigate but can't find an order under your name.
During the closure of our Farnham store we were selling all of the display products at clearance prices. I'm sorry that we didn't explain about the different types of leather and the possible characteristics. We had some days that were very busy but that doesn't excuse us not fully explaining the types of leather to you.
We will carry out refresher training with the team in our Ash Vale showroom to ensure we do a better job in the future.
If you are able to let me know your order number I'm happy to investigate further and help if I can although as advised products generally only carry a 12 month warranty but it may be we can do something at our end.
Regards
Mark Chandler
Whilst I’m not in the office everyday feel free to email me directly on mark@valefurnishers.co.uk