Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/13/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Ray's Leather repaired our sofa in 2022 for $1600 but the repair failed only a few months later, well within the warranty period. Later in 2022 they visited ** and concluded they needed to order some parts from ***** (Pirelli bands) that needed to be installed to make the repair. We had understood that those bands were to have been installed during the original repair but evidently they had not been. We've had no contact with them since last September despite having sent multiple emails and leaving phone messages. I've indicated to them that if supply chain issues prevent them repairing the sofa properly, since it is in a condition causing back damage, we need to abandon the (re) repair and discuss a refund that we can use to put toward a replacement sofa. There has been no response over many months. This is unprofessional and unacceptable and we feel badly burnt for $1600 that did not deliver on the promised repair.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2023

  Thank you BBB for informing us of this complaint. Unfortunately, after further inspecting this concern we have found that the customer has a bad back problem and has no relation to the repair whatsoever. He states that the repair did not hold. On January 27, ********************************************************************************** his the same repair condition as it as we left it after the repair. I have attached before and after photos from the date of service on May 25, 2022 and a photo on the inspection date on January 27, 2023. We went out of our way to try to accommodate the customer. We drove an hour out of our way to come and inspect to make sure everything was to factory standards. We have had multiple conversations over the phone. We offered ordering new cushions from the factory, however, due to the long delays to get the cushions the customer has now requested a refund. Comfortability is nearly impossible to warranty due to the fact that it is subject to personal opinion. For this reason manufactures will have a very limited warranty on their padding on the furniture. We do disclose this in our terms and conditions which ****************** did sign the day of service. We also take a posture to do everything in our power to make sure our customers are 100% satisfied. Unfortunately, ****************** is being unrealistic. He states the repairs are hurting his back and claiming the repairs did not hold. After much further inspection and found this not to be true, he says he no longer has patience to wait for the parts. We will once again reach out to the customer inform them that we have responded to his claim. I believe we have done everything in our power to try to make this right. Unfortunately, some people are impossible to please.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/03/2023

   
  Complaint: 20317388
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  I regret that the vendor has responded in ways that are factually incorrect. The repairs failed within three months of the $1600 repair - any cursory inspection of the sofa shows the collapse of support of the two end seat cushions relative to the rarely used central cushion. The central cushion is in more-or-less the correct, repaired condition but the remaining ? of the sofa degraded rapidly after repair. Yes, we got a visit from ***'s Leather in January, after notifying them of the problem, requiring a warranty repair, in September. 4 months before we had the visit. We then waited for many months, made multiple efforts to email ***'s Leather and also left two voice mails over that time but had no reply. Yes, the condition of the sofa is badly stressing my back and my wife's back - we end up sliding from a normal seated position to something more horizontal because of the lack of normal levels of support.

  In desperation to get a response (for the first time in my life - I don't make a habit of leaving reviews or filing complaints) we filed the complaint with the BBB - we had no alternative given the unresponsiveness of the vendor. He indicates his workload is too high and he has too many commitments to check his email, etc. Clearly that is the case. We suggest that given the limitations in staffing he might consider taking on less work so he can support those clients he has taken on, but that's his decision. From our perspective we have been waiting 11-mo for a re-repair of a failed repair. We have been patient, understanding there are supply chain issues (I feel the effects of this on my own work and with my own field crews), but this situation could have been avoided had ***'s responded to our email and phone requests in anything like a timely manner, but that didn't seem to be a priority, so  out of desperation I felt I had no alternative than the BBB. Now we are hearing that we are unreasonable and that no repair is actually required. This is not true. Yes, ***'s did phone me - but this was within a couple of hours after we filed the complaint with the BBB, and I assumed at the time that his call was in response to that. He then phoned me yesterday, quite upset about the BBB complaint, which apparently he had just seern, and it transpired that he thought I filed the complaint after he phoned me - that was not the case, it was a coincidence. It was filed before he phoned me. In any event he indicated I would be responsible for paying for his labor to effect the re-repair. We are disinclined to proceed on that basis. This should simply be a warranty issue. There is no way that the $1600 repair should have resulted in partial collapse of two of the three seat cushions within only 3-months. This is a regrettable situation, I've spent enough on the repair to buy a new sofa - but on environmental grounds since our sofa still had excellent leather, we thought a repair would be the best decision. Sadly we really can't wait any longer, are not inclined to spend even more on this re-repair, so will now start shopping for a replacement sofa.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2023

  In response to Mr. ******** request for a full refund. We will not be refunding his money. As stated in our terms and conditions, which ******************** signed the day of service, padding is subject to personal comfort and is not covered under any warranty, retailer, manufacturer or service company. That being said, we have offered suggestions and have spent resources, fuel and countless hours attempting to come up with a resolution the client would be satisfied with. ****************** has stated multiple times he does not want to wait for parts to be ordered and has demanded a full refund. We do hundreds of these types of repairs every year and have never received a firmness correction complaint of any kind. While we do our best to give the customer the benefit of the doubt and accommodate whenever possible to ensure the customer is satisfied this is a personal comfort issue and not a failed service repair from our company. In the same week ******************** had service we did an identical sofa in the same town from the same retailer and the same manufacturer requesting firmness correction as well with the exact same roll of foam. We received a five star review from that satisfied customer raving about what a difference we made in their favorite sofa. No part of this request or complaint has made sense and unless there was disintegrated foam or the Pirelli came detached there is no warranty to cover as that was the service we were hired for and provided in addition to making a second trip there to inspect. In the 26 years of doing this we have never had a complaint with firmness correction repairs.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/10/2023

   
  Complaint: 20317388
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I find dealing with this vendor to be unnecessarily stressful; furthermore my previous communications were aimed at a discussion about a refund, but I didn't specify a full refund, and it seems that expecting a repair of the previous attempt within 11-months appears to the vendor to be unreasonable. In any event, his customer service response is aggressive, unfactual and I am done dealing with him. We have been extremely patient and this entire situation could have been avoided if he had simply responded to our emails and phone messages in anything like a timely manner, rather than keeping us waiting for months. Potential clients can factor in my replies and his response and make their own judgement but at this point I prefer not to do business nor provide access to my property to ***'s Leather. That's $1600 down the drain, but at least now we can replace this sofa with something that doesn't have failed supports.

   

  Caveat emptor. We can consider this BBB case closed (my very first customer service complaint of any kind, ever), with the client indicating the vendor's response has been unsatisfactory and unprofessional. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/10/2023

  Further communications with ***'s Leather will clearly be unproductive. His phone call to me about a week ago was aggressive one he finally looked at the BBB email that had been sent to him many weeks previously, and his responses thru BBB have been unprofessional and factually incorrect. I do not wish further communication form ***'s leather thru BBB or for that matter any other means. Customers should be wary - he seems grossly overcommitted and incapable of meeting reasonable queries about extended delays in repairs and clearly has issues dealing with the stress. We previously had ***'s repair another sofa under warranty, and that was for a minor cosmetic issue. While his first repair failed, he managed to come back within a reasonable period of time and make a repair that was successful. That was clearly not the case this time, and it seems his overcommitment has increased and his ability to deal with that has commensurately decreased. Having said that he didn't need to get nasty and aggressive in how he has dealt with a legitimate complaint. This is really terrible customer service. This is not how to respond to a real issue with a $1600 repair.