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Swarcliffe grandad told sweat caused damaged sofa
Swarcliffe grandad Lesley Penny was left red-faced when a furniture store said his sweat had caused a chair to bubble and peel.
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Customer service staff working on behalf of Harveys Furniture Store told the 79-year-old's daughter that his perspiration had damaged the six-month-old brown leather armchair.
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Jennifer Martin, 43, had called the shop for an explanation on behalf of her dad – who is too deaf to use a phone – after he received a letter from them that blamed the damaged patches on "local conditions".
Mr Penny was even more puzzled as the store had already been out and recovered one of the chair's arms only weeks earlier when he lodged a similar complaint.
He saved for two years to spend 1,200 on the armchair and a three-seater sofa from the company's Brando range that arrived at his home in December.
Mrs Martin, who lives in Sunderland, said: "They told me that the chair had been contaminated by sweat from my dad's head and hands that had made the leather peel.
"They are making out that my dad has some sort of disease where he sweats excessively.
"When dad bought his furniture he thought that it would last, that he had bought from a firm with a good reputation, one that sponsors Coronation Street."
She added: "It is not like he is having wild parties or has had children jumping all over it. He lives alone and watches television."
Fault
Mr Penny said: "It makes me feel terrible and I don't know how the young man who came to look at the chair and took photos on his mobile phone could possibly prove that this is not a manufacturing fault.
"This is the second leather sofa that I have bought in my life and the other one lasted years and it cost a lot less money."
Mr Penny – who is demanding a full refund or the opportunity to exchange his furniture – is now commissioning an independent upholsterer to inspect the furniture. His daughter has already reported the matter to West Yorkshire Trading Standards.
A spokeswoman for Harveys said that a second independent inspection would not be arranged.
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 18 May 2012
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Temperature: 8 C to 12 C
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