Wakefield dad says he is “bitten all over” from insect infestation after buying ScS sofa

Andrew Wolff, who moved from Royston to the Walton area of Wakefield, said he picked up a sofa for his new home from Sofa Carpet Specialist (ScS) in Wakefield’s Westgate Retail Park on June 24, and by June 26 was covered in bites.

Andrew, 53, who works as a bakehouse operative in Ossett, said he was looking for a sofa to use whilst waiting for his old furniture to arrive at his new home.

He said the store offered him a discounted sofa from the “back warehouse” for half the price.

At first, Andrew said he was at a loss as to what the bites could be from, but after a few days he realised the sofa must be the cause, believing them to be from fleas or bedbugs.

He said: “I was lying on the sofa and suddenly it worsened all over my body. I thought, ‘I have never had anything like this in my life’.”

Describing the ordeal as “a nightmare”, Andrew has since had to enlist the help of pest control and throw away household items from his new home.

More than three weeks after Andrew got the sofa, ScS have removed it from the home, and the company has also agreed to refund Andrew his money. Andrew’s request for compensation has been refused.

He said: “I have had no apology. They have been an absolute and utter disgrace.

“I want them to admit to what they have done. Why should I put up with that? My kids can’t come around.

“I am bitten all over my body.”

Whilst Andrew does not believe SCS were aware about any infestation, he believes he has been misled as regards the sofa being second-hand. Andrew told SCS customer services that the sofa had “quite obviously been in another home”, and said he had not been informed of this at the point of purchase.

A spokesperson for ScS said: “We were very concerned to hear of Mr Wolff’s complaint regarding his recent sofa purchase and since being made aware of the issue, our customer care team have been in active contact with Mr Wolff to investigate the issue further.

“We can confirm that prior to purchase Mr Wolff was informed that the sofa in question was a returned item, and as such was being sold at a significantly reduced price.

“ScS had no prior awareness of any flea infestation in the sofa in question, and there is no confirmation that the sofa is the source. We are currently liaising with Mr Wolff to help him resolve his concerns, as well as coordinating collection of the furniture.”