Sitting uncomfortably: When your dream sofa turns into a financial nightmare

DFS customers say they’ve been left with faulty sofas, mounting bills and no clear resolution - I've been to investigate.

There’s nothing quite like sinking into your sofa at the end of a long day. A good couch is the heart of the living room – the place where we read, watch telly, host friends, or collapse with a cuppa. But what if that big, exciting purchase becomes a long, exhausting battle?

In my latest Morning Live investigation, I looked into complaints from customers of DFS, one of the UK’s biggest and best-known sofa retailers. Some told us they’d spent thousands of pounds on suites that turned up looking completely different to what they ordered. Others said they were charged extra to return items that were faulty or misrepresented.

We spoke to Robert and Janet, who’d forked out nearly £5,000 for a new suite, only to find it was the wrong material and colour. They’ve spent over a year disputing it, and their living room has effectively become a storage facility, with furniture wrapped in bubble wrap they don’t dare use.

Then there was Gary, a retired police officer from Cumbria, who noticed visible scars, mismatched colours and missing padding on his new sofas. The stress of dealing with this – on top of a devastating health diagnosis – left him feeling totally overwhelmed.

In both cases, they were offered refunds minus 10% – a fee DFS said was standard. But experts, including Rob Lilley-Jones from Which?, told us that if something is faulty or not as described, retailers can’t legally charge customers to return it. It’s down to the company to sort things, not the customer to pay more.

These aren’t isolated stories. We’ve heard from multiple viewers facing months of back-and-forth with DFS. And what unites them is a sense of powerlessness. When you’ve spent a small fortune on something essential, it’s easy to feel like the company holds all the cards.

So what can you do?
📸 Take clear photos of what you saw in-store and what you received.
📝 Keep written records and quotes – especially if they include upgrades.
💻 If possible, buy online. You often get stronger consumer protections.
📅 Act quickly – within 30 days – if there’s a problem. You’re entitled to a full refund in that window.
📨 Contact your credit provider if the item was bought on finance and you hit a brick wall.

I’m grateful to everyone who shared their experience with us. It takes guts to go on national TV and relive a consumer dispute, especially when it’s affected your home, your finances and your wellbeing. But stories like theirs matter: they remind us all that no one should have to fight to be treated fairly.

You can watch the full report now - and what DFS had to say about these individual cases - on BBC iPlayer (2 minutes into the show).

If you or someone you know has faced similar challenges, I’d love to hear your story. You can contact me via Instagram (@ionajbain) or right here on Substack.