A father said he was “plagued” by painful insect bites after buying a second-hand sofa from a furniture store in Yorkshire.
Andrew Wolff, 53, was left covered in itchy red spots due to a suspected flea infestation after purchasing a three-seater sofa from ScS.
The recent divorcee claims he was offered the sofa at half price, £300, while staff at a shop in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said “a dog had jumped on it”.
But two days after bringing him home, she says his arms and legs were covered in bites, which she has been treating with antihistamines and tubes of steroid cream.
Mr Wolff said: “My children are desperate to come and stay with me and now they haven’t been able to come for four weeks. I’m under so much stress and now I can’t see them, it just adds to the problem.”
Andrew Wolff, 53, a recently divorced father, has said he is “plagued” by painful bug bites after buying a second-hand sofa from ScS.
Two days after receiving a discounted sofa, she says her arms and legs were covered in bites, which she has been treating with antihistamines and tubes of steroid cream.
Mr Wolff claimed ScS staff in Wakefield offered him the sofa (pictured) at half price, £300, because “a Golden Retriever had climbed on it”, while ScS insists they told the bakery worker it was a “returned item”.
A spokesman for ScS insisted that when he bought the sofa, Mr Wolff was informed that it had been “returned” by another customer.
However, the bakery worker denied this and said he has not been able to see his children for weeks due to the insect infestation at his new address.
He said: ‘The bites are very itchy, but they are also large and blistery. I’m not quite sure if they are fleas or bedbugs.
‘I went to the pharmacy at the weekend (because of what happened) and I showed it to her because I was worried. She said: “You’ve been stung and you had a very strong reaction.”
‘I’m now almost finished with my second course of antihistamines and countless tubes of steroid cream, which I apply with Savlon Antiseptic three times a day.
“It’s like I’m on vacation, putting sunscreen all over my body just to feel relief.”
Mr Wolff, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, had gone to his local ScS store to buy a sofa for his new property while he waited for his other furniture to arrive after leaving his marital home.
He said staff had offered him the couch from the “back storage room,” which he then drove to his new address on June 24 in a rented van.
However, he says bites soon began to appear on his limbs and body and by June 26 he was covered in painful red spots.
Mr Wolff said: “My children are desperate to come and stay with me and now they haven’t been able to come for four weeks. I’m going through enough stress and now I don’t see them, it just adds to all this trouble.”
Mr Wolff added that he has had to take time off work because he cannot cover his bites with long sleeves and gloves on a food manufacturing line that is “between 30 and 40 degrees”.
He added that the need to take time off work has cost him “a few hundred pounds”.
“They offered it to me for £400,” he said. “I said, ‘I’ll give you £300,’ and that’s why I bought it. They immediately said, ‘No problem, you can keep it for that amount.'”
‘The only words they said to me, it was kind of a passing comment, was, “We have this couch that a golden retriever jumped on and that’s why we have to sell it.”
“That’s why I bought it. I didn’t give it any more thought.
‘When I brought the sofa back home, there was hair everywhere, under the cushions and on the back of the sofa everywhere.
‘At that point I realised that it wasn’t just a golden retriever that had gotten on top of me, it had gotten into someone’s house. It was sold to me as second-hand, basically.
“The bites started the next day, but by June 26 they were already everywhere.”
Andrew said he contacted ScS customer service and then spoke to the store staff, who offered to replace the sofa with another one.
But after suggesting he should also be entitled to compensation, he says the offer has been withdrawn.
The father, who works at a food manufacturing company, said he was forced to take time off work and is still suffering from bites four weeks later.
He said: ‘The line I run is in the hottest place. Literally, the temperature where we work is between 30 and 40 degrees.
‘It is permitted to remove your hat, wear a hairnet and wear only a short-sleeved T-shirt.
‘But I have to wear a jacket over it to cover my arms and gloves to cover my hands so I don’t have a stronger reaction to the toast and bread powder.
“I’ve already had to take some time off because it’s been too overwhelming and I’ve also lost income because of it. I’ve lost a few hundred pounds.”
Mr Wolff added: “When I got the sofa back home there was hair everywhere, under the cushions, on the back of it everywhere. At that point I realised it wasn’t just a golden retriever that had jumped on it, it had gotten into someone’s house. It was sold to me as used.”
An SCS spokesperson said: “We were very concerned to hear of Mr Wolff’s complaint about his recent sofa purchase and since becoming aware of the issue our customer services team has been in active contact with Mr Wolff to investigate the matter further.”
Pictured: what appears to be dog hair on the sofa purchased by Mr Wolff
An SCS spokesperson said: ‘We were very concerned to hear of Mr Wolff’s complaint regarding his recent sofa purchase and since becoming aware of the issue our customer services team has been in active contact with Mr Wolff to investigate the matter further.
‘We can confirm that prior to the 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 knowledge of any flea infestation on the sofa in question and there is no confirmation that the sofa was the source.
“We are currently in contact with Mr. Wolff to help him resolve his concerns, as well as to coordinate the collection of the furniture.”
ScS has been contacted for further comment.
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