Buyer Beware- Zorora Sofa experience

Having made the decision to replace my 10 year old Coricraft couch I did some research and was inundated by ads for Zorora. Instead of simply accepting their online posts proclaiming their superior quality, I drove to their showroom in Salt River and spoke to the consultant about my needs.

I have no kids but do have 2 dogs and work from home, so I wanted something durable and comfortable. The sales person upsold me on a more durable fabric to account for the pets and I placed my order.

The couch arrived and I unwrapped it, but ended up holding onto my cream fabric Coricraft. Within a month I began to notice that there was a slump in the middle of the couch and that the fabric was pilling and becoming threadbare. I checked in with our domestic worker to ask her if something had happened and she said she treats the couch the same way she treats the 10 year old Coricraft, damp cloth if needed and a light vacuum.

A month after that and it was clear that our very minimal use was causing disproportionate deterioration of the fabric.

I contacted Zorora with images of the threadbare fabric, and they swiftly collected the couch for inspection. They kept the couch for some time and, after multiple attempts from my end to get an answer, the shop assistant called to say that the damage had been determined to be excessive wear and tear and would not be refunded. I could pay to have the couch re-covered at the reasonable rate of R800. What I explained was that I could not afford to re-cover the couch every two to three months as there was little I could do to change the circumstances that they believe constitute "excessive use" i.e. simply living in proximity to the couch.

When I posted my review on Facebook I quickly received a phone call from the CEO of the company. While I had hoped this would be a call to better understand my experience and potentially offer to recover the couch at no cost, instead I received a 45 minute argument about all the things that led to "excessive use" and a fair bit of mansplaining about fabric. I was then asked to not post on social media.

Subsequently I have been contacted by another dissatisfied customer who had the exact same experience, was fed the same excuses about excessive use and who ultimately was refunded after threat of legal action.

It is disappointing to know that it requires threats to have your experience taken seriously at Zorora.

It might be the case that I am one of a small group of people who have had this negative experience (perhaps a faulty bolt of fabric? ) but the way it has been handled is appalling, and it is clear to me that Zorora is far more concerned with it's social media image than with customer service.