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Not having a good day

(81 Posts)
gentleshores Thu 17-Oct-24 15:10:26

So my nice "new to me" chair was delivered today. It looked immaculate in the shop - almost looked like a new chair. It's a light coloured linen loose cover. Not something I'd normally choose but it was comfy and I liked it and nothing else in the shop was comfy.

Total disaster. The delivery men were awful - didn't cover it with anything, got it stuck going through the back door (we've had a sofa through that door before) and yanked and dragged it partly against the outside stone wall - and it had moss stains all over the arms and one wing. I tried to stop them and say shall I get a blanket to put over it but too late.

Honestly it made me cry. I knew straight away they were stains that wouldn't come out easily. Phoned a professional upholstery cleaner who said - not on linen loose covers, the chemicals could damage it. Phoned a dry cleaner who said they can't guarantee getting moss stains out.

If I was younger and fitter I might have tried washing it in the machine but the ironing would be really hard and I can't do that any more. And it might shrink - no labels to say how to clean it - it just says linen.

Shop offered a few options - they could pick it up, get it cleaned and redeliver it. I don't trust them, it would take ages and I don;t think their professional upholstery cleaner will achieve it having just spoken to one.

I opted for a refund of the delivery cost. Even just taking the cover off and taking it to a dry cleaner seemed hassle. I didn't want to make it worse by trying to wash it off,

But in the end I thought I'd try some bicarbonate of soda on it then wipe that off carefully, to try and remove most of it and then get it dry cleaned.

Another disaster. Apart from anything else I have a really painful right shoulder and that is now worse. Bicarb isn't supposed to leave white spots like bleach marks is it? I've used it on fabric before - but - that is what has happened.

It removed most of the worst green stains and mud marks - but it left little white spots as if bleach had been spilt on it (it's multicoloured light colour).

So now it just looks grubby on both arms and one wing with little white spots.

And I have a very painful shoulder and won't be able to do anything for a few days.

I suppose I could get new loose covers made but that would be quite expensive I think.

sunglow12 Sat 19-Oct-24 18:48:08

How frustrating for you -so sorry ! 😔

gentleshores Fri 18-Oct-24 23:05:14

I think it was more than just ageist but it was definitely attitude. I think because the price tag was on it, and it was only £50 they just didn't treat it with respect. Despite the price, it was immaculate and also something I had bought as suitable for me - so they should have treated it with more respect.

Allira thank you. I think I have established it's probably machine washable. The stains are gone with bicarb and some sponging but not quite as white as it should be on the arms now - I'll get arm covers for now until I can face washing and ironing it!

Allira Fri 18-Oct-24 22:23:49

You could try washing on a low heat with diluted hydrogen peroxide and detergent.

Allira Fri 18-Oct-24 22:19:37

gentleshores

Allira

Ps which firm was it?

I mentioned earlier it was a well known charity that sells donated furniture. I did indeed make my views felt about the delivery and am having the delivery cost refunded. And I asked for them to make sure something like this doesn't happen again and furniture is protected and handled carefully.

To be fair the man said he would do whatever was needed to put things right, and because it was a charity I didn't want to ask for too much. I'm happy I got the delivery charge back. Nothing would have made up for the stress and upset at the time.

Sorry, missed that.

gentleshores Fri 18-Oct-24 22:15:33

Thank you :-)

BlueBelle Fri 18-Oct-24 20:41:57

Well all sounds ok I d put it behind you and enjoy the lovely chair

gentleshores Fri 18-Oct-24 20:08:24

Allira

Ps which firm was it?

I mentioned earlier it was a well known charity that sells donated furniture. I did indeed make my views felt about the delivery and am having the delivery cost refunded. And I asked for them to make sure something like this doesn't happen again and furniture is protected and handled carefully.

To be fair the man said he would do whatever was needed to put things right, and because it was a charity I didn't want to ask for too much. I'm happy I got the delivery charge back. Nothing would have made up for the stress and upset at the time.

MissAdventure Fri 18-Oct-24 18:52:49

The high end companies are often no better, BlueBelle.

They're just less transparent.

BlueBelle Fri 18-Oct-24 18:45:36

Yes they do sell Temu and Shein on Amazon MissA without using the name
This is the working hours and working conditions that were found in Shein
working times are from *8 a.m. to 12 p.m ; then from 1.30 p.m. to 5.45 p.m.; and then in the evening from 7 p.m. to 10 or 10.30 p.m. They work after dinner every day of the week except one, with one day off per month
That amounts to over 75 working hours per week.
Doors are locked and there are no usable fire escapes if there was a fire many lives would be lost
Surly no cheap goods are worth this

win Fri 18-Oct-24 18:22:34

BlueBelle

I would really not use Temu although it’s up to each individual but they are not a good firm they have terrible human rights issues with their workers and the stuff they sell whilst looking fantastic (I get tempted when I see pictures) is very touch and go as one review said ‘some wonderful stuff, some not so good and some straight to the charity shop’ (where we have to dispose of it to landfill via the rag man) and you really don’t want to cause yourself more upset

Get a nice throw and don’t think about it any more it’s done and dusted you have the chair you love and the initial shock and disappointment is over, have fun finding the right type and colour of cover for it

I hundred percent agree, I ordered a couple of tops from Temu that looked amazing, I have never seen such bad workmanship and the material was so thin you could see through it. I buy from Amazon a lot and have never been disappointed. I too will avoid Temu in future unless I can see by the labelling that is is exactly the same as I can get elsewhere and then the prices will no doubt be the same anyway. The have a lot of very cheap junk on Temu

Allira Fri 18-Oct-24 16:21:53

Ps which firm was it?

Allira Fri 18-Oct-24 16:20:21

It's a light coloured linen loose cover
Tell the store you want a replacement cover.

Get straight in touch with your local Trading Standards Office or your local Age UK
This too. I agree with M0nica.

It was the store's fault and up to the store to put it right. Even if they say the delivery people are a separate firm, their contract is with the delivery people, your contract is with the store.

Merhaba Fri 18-Oct-24 16:17:11

Oh dear. Poor you. If it was me I'd buy new covers to go over your new chair.. Its the delivery mens fault so get back to the company and tell em you want your money back.. Not happy...

gentleshores Fri 18-Oct-24 16:14:48

Thank you so much for those links. I've got over the stress and upset today. Others think it looks ok since my attempt to clean it off. I can see it's a slightly different shade on the arms but it's not too bad. I probably will get another set of covers at some point but I think for now I'll just get some arm covers :-)

I had fallen in love with that chair after seeing it twice and trying it - so comfy. So it was very upsetting. I'm back in love with it now and will look after it :-)

And now we need to put new legs on! I need it a bit higher.

Dillonsgranma Fri 18-Oct-24 14:21:44

These are the people to contact. Free measuring service

Dillonsgranma Fri 18-Oct-24 14:17:54

Ring plumbs. They’re online as well.
They will come out and measure for a new cover , Or you can buy ready made stretch ones from plumbs
They’re very good. I can recommend
In the meantime , buy a big throw and cover the chair with that

sharon103 Fri 18-Oct-24 14:10:21

M0nica

If it had stains on it before it even came in the door, then it wouldn't have made its way into my house. I would have made the men immediately put the chair back in the van and take it back while I rang the store to make a strong complaint and demand at best a total refund, at worst a new set of covers for it.

It sounds to me like a classic case of ageism, you are an old woman and tey did not think you mattered.

Get straight in touch with your local Trading Standards Office or your local Age UK.

They wouldn't have got away with that with me either M0nica

SaxonGrace Fri 18-Oct-24 13:30:30

Just what I was going to say, and by doing this you can ring the changes with colours, look at Dunelm type shops.

yogitree Fri 18-Oct-24 13:19:45

M0nica

If it had stains on it before it even came in the door, then it wouldn't have made its way into my house. I would have made the men immediately put the chair back in the van and take it back while I rang the store to make a strong complaint and demand at best a total refund, at worst a new set of covers for it.

It sounds to me like a classic case of ageism, you are an old woman and tey did not think you mattered.

Get straight in touch with your local Trading Standards Office or your local Age UK.

THIS!

nexus63 Fri 18-Oct-24 13:15:23

do you have a throw blanket, i got two of the soft fleece type to put on my couch as i could not afford a new one and could not find anything suitable in the charity shops, sitting on it with the fleece blanket made it warm and cosy.

cc Fri 18-Oct-24 13:10:23

(Once you've put the damp cover on the chair you could put a dehumidifyer in the room with it).

NotSpaghetti Fri 18-Oct-24 13:06:16

GrammarGrandma

I can't understand why you accepted it in its stained condition when it was the deliverymen's fault.

Because it was already in the house and there were no more?

It was a lightly used second hand purchase.

cc Fri 18-Oct-24 13:06:08

B9exchange

I regularly wash the linen covers on our sofas, they come out really clean, and I then put them back damp, straight out of the washing machine, and let them dry in situ, no ironing required.

Yes this was what I used to do on our old loose-covered sofa, though you do have to limit the spin speed to avoid creases. I used to air dry it for a while as it could be a bit to wet when it came out of the machine. The fabric will probably tighten up when it is wet, you'll need some help with the stretching over the chair.
I can't understand why the colour came out of the fabric with bicarb. It might be easiest to try to fade the rest of the fabric a little, perhaps a cold wash with a normal powder detergent and a little of one of those powder stain removers that you add to a wash.

Mmc123uk Fri 18-Oct-24 12:53:31

MissAdventure

These type of things might solve ýour problem, of course, available at five times the price elsewhere. smile

There are pages and pages of them, and they get excellent reviews.

Yes agree, I bought these from Temu for my sofa & they are lovely, brilliant and at such a great price. I remember how expensive those Plumbs ones were years ago ..!

GrammarGrandma Fri 18-Oct-24 12:03:30

I can't understand why you accepted it in its stained condition when it was the deliverymen's fault.