A B.C. man who bought a floor model sectional couch had to take matters into his own hands to get a refund due to the furniture making a persistent cracking noise.
According to a decision at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, the customer bought a sectional couch for $1,568 from Hometown Furniture in Kelowna.
The customer alleged that the sectional had a manufacturing defect.
In response, the B.C. furniture store said it repaired the sectional and offered $900 in store credit and that it satisfied its warranty obligations. However, that isn’t how the tribunal saw things.
On Aug. 5, 2023, the applicant purchased a 3-piece sectional from the B.C. furniture store. It was a floor model which the shop had displayed at its store.
After the sectional was delivered, the customer noticed a persistent cracking noise from one of the sectional pieces.
“He says the noise appeared to be caused by a break in the plywood on the frame’s top platform, underneath the upholstery,” the tribunal decision states.
After discovering the noise, the customer contacted the store, which sent a technician over to inspect the affected piece. Hometown replaced the piece and delivered it to the customer.
Within weeks, the customer discovered the same issue in another piece. Over those weeks, all three pieces began exhibiting the same noise. The customer seemed to think it was a manufacturing defect relating to a broader structural issue.
After contacting the store again, the customer was offered $900 of in-store credit. However, the customer’s request to use the credit to purchase another type of furniture was denied.
Instead of accepting the credit, the customer asked Hometown to fix the sectional. It agreed and picked it up. After inspection, the store discovered minor cracking in the plywood frame, adding that it didn’t constitute a structural failure or safety hazard. As a remedy, it said it added internal wood reinforcements to improve support and reduce flexing or associated noise.
Hometown said its approach was the industry standard.
Once the sectional was returned, the furniture store advised the applicant to make sure users did not sit on the top part of the couch.
The customer told the tribunal that the cracking noise persisted despite the additional supports. After removing the bottom lining from one of the sectional pieces, the customer discovered that the plywood was visibly cracked and provided a picture to the tribunal.
Hometown didn’t dispute the crack or the cracking noise, but said that the presence of cracking doesn’t render the product defective, nor does it impair the couch’s safety, functionality or durability.
Despite it being a floor model that was sat on for testing purposes, the tribunal determined that the couch wasn’t used, as used would imply that someone purchased it and then returned it.
“I find that a reasonable person would not expect a new $1,500 sectional couch to make a persistent cracking sound or to have cracked plywood under the upholstery,” the tribunal said.
The tribunal determined the sectional was not of a “merchantable quality.”
Hometown was ordered to pay $1,693, including $1,568 for a refund and the rest in tribunal fees. This decision is reminiscent of a similar case that made its way to the tribunal over a floor model TV sold at London Drugs.