Alexander & Sheridan Ltd. chairs

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Hurt, care not known

   Made Apr 4, 2017 · , sent to the company May 30, 2017 · , published by CPSC Jun 13, 2017

   The product, in the report: Castered chair Model: Bridgeport Dining Set Manufacturer: Alexander & Sheridan Retailer: Kent Furniture

   Dear Attorney General Ms. [REDACTED]:

   We purchased a lovely dining room set from Kent Furniture in Belleveiw FL. The set was manufactured by Alexander & Sheridan. Within the first month two people, myself and a friend flipped out of the castered chairs. Both of us caught ourselves. About a month later a friend came in and the same thing happened, he reached down and the chair flipped out and he hit his head on the tile floor, thank God he was able to hold his head high and it didn’t hit as hard as it would have.

   I called Kent Furniture about the easy flipping out of the chairs, if you don’t sit all the way back or if you reach down to pick up something from the floor. They changed the legs and the casings of the casters of the chair with no change in the flipping action. They said that is all they could do. This was over a course of several months. I finally, gave up.

   Every time some one comes in to our house, we warn them how to sit in the chair because if you happen to not sit all the way back you can possibly flip out of the chair. A month ago I had a fundraiser for our local Veterans Club in my house and I warned guests as they arrived how they had to sit in those chairs. During the event someone leaned over and the chair flipped.

   So I started my quest to get these chair legs fixed. I asked Kent Furniture if they had another solution and they came up with finding different chair legs after my suggestion to have a 5 arm chair leg with casters, similar to a desk swivel chair. Since they never flip.

   The only way to solve this problem is for me purchasing the 5-arm legs and they would see if they fit and install them. So I contacted Alexander & Sheridan , the manufacturer, and they informed me they NEVER had a complaint and told me how to correctly sit in the chair. Here’s their response:

   I am sorry to hear that you are having an issue with our Bridgeport caster chairs. It has been a part of our furniture line for nearly 30 years and we have sold thousands of them. The leg base that we use is designed for the dimensions of our chair base and custom made for us overseas. Unfortunately, we don’t have any options for a 5 leg chair base. Those are designed primarily for office chairs and are typically smaller than our chair base. I believe the cause of the problem is sitting near the edge of the chair. If you are more comfortable sitting on the front edge of the chair, I’m afraid that any caster chair is not going to be safe. The Consumer Products Safety Commission published a list of Do’s and Don’ts regarding caster chairs, including those with 5 leg bases: 1) Don’t lean so far back in your chair that the wheels or legs lift up off the floor. Leaning can cause the chair to slip out from under you, cause structural damage, or can loosen important connections that can cause the chair to fall apart. 2) Never put all your weight at the very front edge of the chair. If you sit too far forward, the chair can tip over. Use a chair with a forward tilt mechanism if the task requires sitting in a forward position. I do appreciate you contacting us with your concerns. Kent Furniture is a very reputable company that we have been doing business with for many years. I understand that they have tried to do everything they can to help you with this problem. You may need to consider switching to a stationary chair with 4 legs. Best regards, [REDACTED] Alexander & Sheridan Director of Sales [REDACTED] [REDACTED]

   Something has to be done before there is a tragic accident. In Florida more people have tile floors and hitting your head on the floor is very dangerous. Or just flipping out of a chair can be dangerous.

   I’m writing to this department in hopes that you will pull these chairs from the market or have the manufacture put 5 arm legs on all these chairs. The set is beautiful and very comfortable, but oh so dangerous.

   I look forward to some action to prevent any more flipping of these chairs.

   Sincerely [REDACTED] PS: This was not a cheap set. I was buying quality merchandise, but received faulty chairs! Here is the link to the actual dining set: http://www.rattanwicker.com/bridgeport-collection/

   Model

   Bridgeport Dining Set

   Bought from

   Kent Furniture, Florida

   Bought

   Jan 1, 2014, about then

   Where

   Florida: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Unknown

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   made or sold by Alexander & Sheridan Ltd.

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Level of care not known

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources