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They may blame you, even if you were there at point of sale. The Mirror highlight an example of a report by the Furniture Care Network which represents a clear conflict of interest. The Furniture Care Network are part of the Castelan group who also service warranties on electrical goods and produce reports on behalf of many high street retailers. This represents a clear conflict of interest in that a technician is able to dismiss consumer complaints. In the case, highlighted by The Mirror, the report deflected liability for frame failure of a recliner sofa, covered under EU law regardless of weight. Furthermore the report blamed the customer’s weight adding insult to injury. Some employed repairer networks technicians can get…

In some recent articles featured in the UK national press a potential conflict of interest was highlighted with one of the only customer complaint arbitration services available to UK Furniture industry customers. The Furniture Ombudsman is a self-appointed organisation whose membership is made up of, and funded by, some of the very retailers or manufacturers that a customer may be in dispute with. This was highlighted in a recent article written on the Guardian website. There is also potential that agreeing to the terms and conditions of them acting as a dispute conciliation service limits the actual legal outcomes available to a UK consumer.  See who is paying the Furniture Ombudsman on an ongoing basis to consider if this can…