Complaint Rating:

Company information:
Ashley Furniture Homestore
Frisco, Texas
United States

I purchased a whole leather living room set from
ASHLEY HOME STORE IN FRISCO on February 19, 2007. I
also purchased the 5 year warranty. It was delivered
to me on March 5th 2007. What I have is a leather
reclining sofa, reclining leather love seat and
leather rocker recliner, all the same brand &
material.

We have had no problems until this past week. Our
furniture is PEELING, yes peeling. The salesman
assured me that it was 100% leather wherever our
bodies touched. I wasn't aware that leather was
supposed to PEEL, it just flakes off. It looks
horrible and it's only 9 months old!

Yesterday I called the insurance people and they
basically told me that 'peeling' was specifically not
covered, although stabbing with a knife was. So if I
stab my couch 'accidentally' they will fix it for free
for 5 years but since it is DEFECTIVE and PEELING it
is not covered.

I then called the Ashley Home Store where I purchased
the furniture and asked to speak to the manager, they
asked why and I explained my problem to them. They
then said that I would have to let a customer service
person know and they would take care of my problem. I
went through the whole speech with the customer
service lady and she explained that they would be
happy to come and look at my defective furniture and
see what, if anything, needed to be done about it. I
was very upset and asked if I could just get my money
back (since it's already paid in full) or exchange it
for some other type of REAL LEATHER furniture in their
store. They then told me that they would 'repair' any
defective furniture or replace the cushion for up to
one year then after that I am on my own. They said
that peeling leather is not uncommon.
On January 11th, the Ashley Technician came to review
the issue. He immediately saw the problem and then
started PEELING back more of the leather. Now there
is a huge 2-3 inch spot that is totally peeled away.

He was VERY friendly and very insightful. He told me
that he could replace the one cushion and the other 8
or so spots that are peeling he could 'paint' them
when he repaired the cushion. He said that my PAINT
was PEELING off of my leather. I wasn't aware that
leather was painted. When I showed him other pieces
of leather furniture that I own that haven't ever
peeled (but show wear) he let me know that furniture
isn't made the same way it used to be. He said that
in the past things had better quality and held up
better.

I also told him of the extended warranty that I
purchased that was good for 5 years, but did NOT cover
peeling leather. I told him that didn't understand
why it didn't cover that and why the manufacturer only
covered peeling leather for one year. If it peels, it
should be replaced or refunded no matter how long you
have had it!

I expressed how unsatisfied that I was with the
product and asked if I could just get a refund and
purchase quality furniture from a business that stood
behind their product. He replied no, that Ashley
doesn't give refunds anymore. He said it was
'cheaper' for them to hire someone to go 'repair' it,
even if it was numerous times than to refund the money
back to the customer. I asked him if he had ANY
Ashley Furniture in his home, he replied NO MAAM, I
WOULDN'T HAVE ANY OF THAT FURNITURE IN MY HOME. When
I asked why, he said that it wasn't good quality. That
is pretty sad when your own employee says that about
your products! I need to get this resolved, as I
don't want a couch with an orange circle on it in my
family room.

After hearing the technicians advice and knowledge it
made me wonder why anyone does business with Ashley
Furniture. I know one thing, I will not be back.
They need to have higher standards and make sure their
customers are HAPPY, then they would have a great
referrals and repeat customers.

I have filed a complaint with the BBB and they sent it
to "Tom" and he emailed back saying that since a
'technician' was scheduled to be at my house on the
11th he considers this issue RESOLVED. I DON'T THINK
SO!

I called the credit card (which happened to be the
store card) and wanted to dispute the charges, they
said I couldn't dispute unless Ashley REFUSED to
'repair' my couches. I asked if PAINTING FAKE LEATHER
meant repair, she didn't answer. Needless to say the
account is paid off and CANCELLED and I am telling
EVERYONE I KNOW to NEVER do business with ASHLEY
FURNITURE AGAIN.

I thought it was odd that the other 3 leather pieces
of furniture that we have owned for YEARS has NO signs
of PEELING whatsoever and looks better than my 9 month
old Ashley Furniture!