And you think you are buying leather
We were called in to a customer to look at 4 leather dining room chairs that had been bought from a large furniture retailer in Aberdeen.
Our customer had contacted the retailer after a few months when the backs of the dining chairs started to split.
The retailer sent a technician to assess the problem, sub contracted from another company..
Who then reported that it was wear and tear plus customer abuse and the retailer would take no more action. The 4 chairs cost £400.00
When I examined the chairs I initially thought I was looking at cardboard but after checking with a magnifying glass the leather turned out to be Bonded leather.
I sent one of the chair backs to be tested by an independant testing company.
Bonded leather fibre is made from small fragments of leather fibre that are bound together with an adhesive and then cast into sheets. The sheets have a polymer coating applied to the surface which can be embossed to give a similar appearance to genuine leather. Because the internal structure of the leather is no longer intact, the material will only have the strength imparted by the adhesive binder.
In this particular test it was found that there was insufficient binder used and the material was very weak
The report summed up by stating that bonded fibre is ok when used on solid surfaces but should not be used on flexible chair backs plus it does not meet The British Standard BS 2780:1983
The Retailer was given the report, and our customer has contacted the store since then and was given promises that they will look into the problem.
I spoke to my customer weeks later and they are still waiting on a reply from the Retailer.
This is normal, as the retailer is now body swerving the problem.
I called in to our customer to find out how things were progressing and the shop has replaced 1 back Bonded fibre cushion.
They therefore have admitted there is a problem but the other 3 backs are starting to show signs of cracking.
Are you getting a bargain
I was asked to go to a customer who had problems with the colour coming off his arm chair. He was upset as he had bought what he thought was a good leather suite reduced from £2300.00 to £1100.00
This suite was never £2300.00, I keep saying this is a magic price. When I examined the chair the leather had this 'look'.
In my opinion this was splits leather with a light covering of colour and top finish.
Remember retailers have to make a profit and many spend a lot of money advertising, retailers spend thousands per year on advertising. This has to be paid for in some way. Plus all the overheads.
They cannot buy for example for £100.00 and sell for £150.00
Sales Patter - One of the worst bits of information we have heard 2 different stall holders who sell care kits give, was to use a shaving brush dipped into their hot cleaner and gently massage into the leather as this opens the pores in the leather and allows the dirt to come out. These two stall holders had different names but bought the product from the same manufacturer.
Remember normal leather has a pigment or artificial colour which is sealed by a clear top finish.When quizzed about this statement they said we only buy from a company and put our own label on the box plus they did not clean leather suites only demonstrated on a cushion top.
Many so called conditioners and hide food sold as rejuvenators have strong smells like brasso and are sticky. One we tested sprayed on a silicon finish? We have said before there are magic coloured creams out there that traders use to freshen up suites proir to selling, just like magic they disappear in a few days. Beware
If you need advice just contact us.
Many of the kits you can buy from the internet, shops, car boot sales, TV shows are only care kits.The vast majority are sold by people who have never cleaned a leather suite. They will not clean a dirty suite. In fact there is not enough cleaner in the pack to clean a 3 pc suite.
Click onto the cleaning page and you will see pictures of a smoke damaged suite before and after cleaned how it should be done.