Art Van Furniture Repair

We bought two leather sofas from Art Van Furniture less than two years ago. We have bought furniture from Art Van for over two decades and for four different homes. We've been satisfied with quality up until now.

The first set of leather sofas were lovely and expensive, but within two weeks in our home, they were unbearably uncomfortable. The cushions were so bad they had become like nothing more than just a leather covering over hard plywood!  Ugh!

(Are you wondering what this has to do with germs??? Be patient, my friends, I'm going to work the germ theme into this rant! haha)

So we went back to the store to complain. They wanted to replace the furniture with a new set, but I was afraid we could run into the same problem. I loved the white leather and the modern, super cool style, but I didn't want to risk being stuck with something like this happening again.

So we picked out another two leather sofas in brown, not my favorite, and slightly less expensive than the original pair we had chosen. We opted for the matching ottoman since my hubby wanted to be extra comfy as a couch potato at night.

Within the first year one of the sofas frame broke. It was Christmas Eve and my hubby came to sit on my sofa (his is by the back wall & mine is floating in the open space into the livingroom area), on the end cushion which is rarely ever sat on, except by the cats and sometimes my mother when she's visiting. While John is exchanging gifts with me, the couch gives a loud CRAAACK! We stare at each other in surprise. Then another loud CRAAAACK!!! We're alarmed now. I tell him to get off, but it's too late. The frame has completely broke and splintered.

After the Christmas holiday we call Art Van's service department to come inspect the broken sofa. They say it's going to have to be taken to the repair shop. They say these frames from the manufacturer are rather weak to begin with, but the repair shop will make it much stronger so we won't have to worry about breakage again.

I wonder why they charge so much money for inferior quality. Past furniture we've gotten from Art Van was much better made. It lasted longer. We were always happy with it. Now I'm wondering about the other sofa, the one along the back wall that my husband dominates. Is this going to break too?

Okay, here comes the germ part: I call the Art Van furniture repair shop after the tech leaves my house with his determination that the sofa will have to be picked up and transported to the repair warehouse where it will stay for about a week.

I am most concerned because of all the other furniture that is in that place for repairs. Who knows what kind of homes this other furniture comes from?! Do you know what an epidemic there is now in this country for bed bugs? Bed bugs are nasty and so hardy it is extremely difficult to get rid of them once they become a part of your household. I don't want them in my home! Also, what about fleas? I don't want fleas in my house! There could be all kinds of fleas hidden in other people's furniture, just waiting to jump onto my furniture and ride into my home where three (indoor only) cats live! Egads - NO! :-(

The person on the phone I speak with reassures me that they are careful about the furniture they bring into the shop. The men who come to inspect the furniture always survey the home to make sure it's clean, etc., etc. I'm really not buying this though. I'm thinking how the guy who came out saw one of my cats. How does he know the cat isn't riddled with fleas???

Also, just the thought of unwashed men's hands all over my sofa, MY sofa!!!, seriously creeps me out! I hate the thought of these people picking it up, putting it into their (dirty?) truck with other furniture in such close quarters, and then taking it to the repair shop where another person is going to be messing around with it. Ick! But what can one do? It has to be repaired!

So off it goes and when it comes back it has a thin layer of dirt/dust on it. Dirty men's fingerprints on it too. Yuck! I don't want to sit on it. The hubby, darling that he is, gets it all clean for me when he gets home. That way he doesn't have to share his own sofa anymore and can stretch out to his heart's content! :-)

So now his sofa has a creaking, sagging, rubbing on the floor frame. I figured it would happen. It took less than 1 1/2 years, but it's out of the free repair time limit. The cushions on both sofas are also worn down and uncomfortable. My back, hips and butt kill me after sitting too long on this furniture. We still owe more than half the money on this crap furniture since we took the interest free payment option out to buy it. Will we buy anymore Art Van furniture in the future? NOPE!

By the way, in case you're wondering if we're just fat people, straining the poor furniture past its limits or something, no, we are not!!! Neither of us are!


Okay, end of rant. I hope the Art Van people see this someday soon and realize I am going to go around the internet leaving bad reviews for them on every place possible. We started with The Better Business Bureau last night, followed by my blog today....