Expert: Mark H. Miller - 2/15/2010

Question
QUESTION: I recently purchased two very beautiful sofas from Thomasville.  The sofas have a tight back. The upholstery was COM with a very heavy black linen from Calico Corners. The dacron threads are now coming through the linen.  At first I thought it was cat hair.  Every place we sit or touch it comes through.  So you can imagine these black sofas with little white squiggly threads all over the backs and cushions.  I have tried vacuuming, sticky rollers and the new velcro like pet hair remover.  The Thomasville dealer told me it was tough since my fabric was COM.  Any ideas?

ANSWER: Hello Barbara,

What does the dealer mean by "tough" since you used COM?  To me it's a no brainer, from what you write me - the manufacturer is at fault - period.   

This is my opinion;  you gave your COM to a reputable manufacturer who has made thousands of sofa's over many years.  COM only means that if the fabric fails, or the dye comes off on your clothes that would not be their problem - they did not sell you the fabric so therefore they offer no guarantee on the fabric.  

But suppose you gave them a fabric with a floral pattern, and they placed all the flowers up-side down - could they say well that's tough because it was your fabric - absolutely not.  Or what if your fabric was a velvet and they placed the nap going the wrong way - could they say that's tough because it's com - no way.  Or you gave them leather - which has blemishes and holes in it, and they placed a huge blemish right in the center of the inside back.  Could they say well that's a tough one - it's your leather and that's where the cow ran into bobbed-wire - again - no way.   

Each of the above materials requires special handling,  flowers have to be placed the way they grow in nature - with the blossoms up and the stem down - the pattern has to be matched, same flower in the center of each cushion for example.  Velvet has the nap going down on vertical areas and forward on horizontal areas.  Leather is cut to avoid the blemishes as much as possible.

Every upholstery fabric that is used, com or not, requires handling that is specific and unique to that individual fabric.  You are not asking the manufacturer to grant you any warrantees about the fabric - that warrantee is between you and the fabric retailer.  However, you have every right to demand that the upholsterer or fore-person or anyone in the manufacturing process used his or her knowledge and expertise in upholstering your furniture and in doing so be aware of special requirements that are unique to your fabric,  or excersize the optoin to refuse to use it.  Any manufacturer has the right to not use your fabric.  Or to tell you that you need to have it sent to another facility and have a special backing placed on the fabric before they can use it.  Had you provided the manufacturer with a fabric that is unsuitable for upholstering they could simply have said that you need to give them something else.  But they did not do that, they started using it - neither did they say to you that there would be problems if you used this material.  Manufacturers have an obligation to inspect any fabric before they start cutting it,  what if there had been a huge stain or flaw in the weave - could they say that's a "tough" one since it was com - do you see how ridiculous that sounds to one in the business.  They are pulling your leg.

Then the next question is, did this start only after you received the sofa.  I say, that most likely they were aware of the problem - even if only after the sofa's were finished.  They had to clean them before they went out of the shop.  In the process of upholstering there is lint and dust etc. all over, when they started cleaning your sofa's readying them for delivery - they should have and in my opinion did notice the problem then.  In other words there was something wrong before the sofa's even left their plant - how could anyone but they be responsible for that.  They should have noticed the problem even as they were upholstering.

The next issue is, is there a way they could have upholstered the sofa so that this problem would not happen.  In my opinion, absolutely.  They knew that your fabric is black.  They know that the batting material is pure white.  All they needed to have done is place a thin black cloth between your fabric and the padding material.  Look under the sofa, and you will most likely see a non-woven, thin black material - the dust cover, jet black, it's cheap and thin,  they could have used that under the fabric - they buy it by the bale.  

Placing the barrier does require extra labor,  they would have been within their right to contact you, and say that the material you provided them with requires extra handling and therefore there will be an up charge,  had you refused to pay that up charge and now have your problem that would be too bad - logically had they called you and said that the material you provided them with has a problem, would you not have said and what kind of problem is that,  and if they said that white threads are going to be coming through your fabric would you not have made a decision to either not use it or asked what can we do about that?  Some manufacturers charge extra for matching stripes, or patterns, or doing a job in leather - as an example - they chould have charged you extra for special handling.  

Let's use another example - suppose you went to a warehouse outlet and bought four new tires for your car, and the tires had holes in them.  You then take your tires to a garage and pay the garage to mount the tires on your wheels.  And when you drive away the mechanic says - well that's a tough one, I can see that you can't drive on tires that don't hold air - but you gave me those tires and so I put them on - I could have put an inner tube in there but I just didn't do that - this is a "tough" one.  I think you see my point.

I am sorry this happened to you,  had you gone to a cheap fly-by-night sweat shop I may have said you got what you paid for.  The manufacturer you used should have known to place a black barrier between your fabric and his padding material - it's that simple.

Good luck in resolving your issue I hope this insight will help you do so,  please don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of further help.

Mark Miller.  
    

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Here is Thomasville's answer.
Dear Ms. Clark:
Thank you for contacting Thomasville Furniture. We appreciate you taking the time to contact us about the unfortunate circumstances surrounding your purchase.
Regarding the sofa that was purchased from Vero Furniture, please note that we do not warrant customer’s own material (COM). We recommend that you contact the establishment that sold you that material for assistance.
Regarding your dining room and chairs, as your independently owned and operated dealer has closed, please mail us a clear, legible copy of your receipt (we do not have access to your dealer's records), complete photo of the affected piece(s) and close up photos of the affected area(s) and a brief description of the problem for our review.
Mail to Thomasville Furniture, Attn.: Consumer Services, PO Box 339, Thomasville, NC 27361. Reference Case # CRM 57132.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Thomasville Consumer Services

ANSWER: Hello Barbara.

Padding material is supposed to stay inside the furniture.  If a unique characteristic of your fabric is that it is loosely woven, then they should have compensated for that - in this case by placing a barrier between your fabric and their padding material.  

Even if your fabric is defective, which according to the manufacturer it is - or has an undesirable characteristic - then they should not have cut into your fabric.  If there is a defect that can not be readily seen at the time they cut into the fabric, such as the dye coming off or the fabric wearing out in a short period of time then they bare no responsibility for that.  But if there is a defect that can readily be seen - such as a weave that is too loose,  or a black material going over white padding then they have an obligation to stop and let you make the final decision to proceed or not.

Fabric houses have similar policies, which is that fabrics are usually returnable for any reason,  except once they have been cut into.  Upholsterers know this,  most fabrics come with a very large warning label warning workrooms not to cut into them if there is a problem with the fabric.  Fabric houses can not be expected to place warning labels on fabrics regarding the end use, because they don't know the end use will be.  You could buy an upholstery fabric and make a Halloween costume out of it,  or upholster your walls with it - maybe the glue won't stick - or leak through.  So a fabric house can not be expected to place a warning on their fabric that upholstery batting could leak through.  

I am absolutely convinced that this is not the first time there is a problem with a fabric and the padding material for this manufacturer - the problem they have is that now it is almost impossible to fix.  The cheapest way to fix this would be to start all over again and do it correct this time.  Taking the present material off, placing a barrier under it will take considerably more work than starting all over again - so for them it's a 100% loss - but for you it is also, this is not a problem that I expect will stop after a few months, if I had thought that I would have told you to give it time.  I don't think it will ever stop.  

Another example that a client can not be expected to know - but an upholsterer has to.  A very thin printed chintz going over ordinary cotton batting,  cotton batting has small seeds,  after several months those seeds will burst and cause small oil stains on the surface of the fabric.  You as an end consumer can not be expected to know that - but a skilled upholsterer should, and therefore would use Dacron batting instead of cotton batting under a very thin cotton chintz.  Had they used cotton batting under your fabric rather than Dacron batting there is a good chance that you would not have this problem,  but regardless, they should have placed a barrier between your black fabric and their white Dacron padding.

It's not the fabric manufacturer's fault,  it's not your fault,  in my opinion the fault lies 100% with the manufacturer of your sofa's they eliminated an important step - and if they did not know to take that step - well now they do,  and you should not have to pay the price for that.

You have a reasonable complaint,  you can not be expected to live with this problem, they can, and have the ability to remedy your problem.  Doing that will be costly - too bad - the letter they sent you is outrageous - simply because they did not sell you the fabric does not mean they bare no responsibility for omitting a step.  This is a classic example of let the consumer bare the problem - if you were to go to the fabric store with your problem - their response should be that the upholsterer should have placed a barrier between your black fabric and their white padding.  The circle always ends up with the upholsterer.  

I'm sorry they are giving you such a run around,  don't give up.  

Mark Miller.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Again thanks for your detailed reply.  Do you have any suggestions for getting results from Thomasville?

Answer
Hello Barbara,

If relying on the manufacturer's goodwill and integrity fails then you have several options,  you could sue in Small Claims Court.  Depending on the amount invested hire an attorney who specializes in consumer complaints - if you live in California look in the yellow pages of your phone book for the Bar Association and they will arrange a 20 minute free consultation with an attorney who specializes in your issue.  Other States may have similar programs.

You could contact the Bureau of Home Furnishing and Bedding or similar State agency in your State and file a complaint with them, and ask for guidance,  upholstering is a licensed trade and there are laws to protect consumers.

Look at the white law label that came with the furniture - on the chance that what the law label states is used for padding material was not actually used - does it state polyester fiber ( trade name Dacron).   Make certain you do not remove that label it is there for your protection.  

By the way, if adding an additional barrier had not been an option, using Dacron quilted on one side would have resolved your problem.  It's readily available - you are not expected to know what that is - they do know.

In my city - San Francisco, there is a local t.v. station that resolves problems like this as part of the news-cast,  just a letter from a dissatisfied consumer that they are going to the t.v. news will often bring desired results,  and t.v. stations love this kind of story.  

I hope this helps.

Mark Miller.