Company became a scam?
Long-time Secretlab owner here, posting because I’m genuinely shocked at how this is going.
Quick background: I’ve spent over €6,000 on Secretlab products over the years. Been using their previous-gen chair daily for 2 years, zero issues, recommended the brand to everyone who’d listen. Recently bought their newest model.
New chair arrived with a noticeable wobble. Not subtle — you can see it, hear it, and physically feel it bumping into your body when you sit normally. The play is at the junction where the gas lift cylinder connects to the 5-star base. I shot a comparison video: new chair wobbling on the left, my 2-year-old previous-gen chair (me sitting on it) rock solid on the right. Same setup, same floor, same person. Night and day.
Here’s where it gets ridiculous:
First reply (Mark, Customer Care): “check if the 4 screws on the multi-tilt mechanism are tight, apply WD-40, wait 3 days, then report back.” The screws were already tight — I checked before contacting them. And the wobble isn’t even in the multi-tilt, it’s at the base. Told them this.
Days of silence.
I send a formal email citing EU consumer law — Directive 2011/83/EU (14-day withdrawal) and Directive 2019/771 (2-year legal guarantee of conformity). Three options: replace with same model pre-inspected, swap for the older model that actually works, or full refund + pickup. 7-day deadline.
They reply with a DIFFERENT agent (Syke this time, like they’re playing tag), completely ignoring my entire formal email. No mention of the legal basis, the deadline, the requested remedies. Nothing.
And then this gem, direct quote:
“Based on the video, I can confirm with you that the wobble is just normal and cannot affect the functionalities of the chair.”
Followed by another request for ANOTHER video, this time of me pressing the backrest. Another 3-day wait built in.
So to summarize:
• Defect documented on video
• Multiple agents passing me around, none reading the previous correspondence
• Each “diagnostic step” eats days, conveniently running out the 14-day return window
• And now in writing they’ve told me a structural wobble in a brand new premium chair is “normal”
That last line is what really got me. A €700+ chair that bumps into your body when you sit on it is “normal”? Then why doesn’t my 2-year-old Secretlab do it?
I’ve sent a final notice — 5 days to commit to replacement or refund, otherwise I’m filing with UOKiK (Polish consumer protection authority), doing a chargeback, and publicly retracting every recommendation I’ve ever made for this brand. Which, given the €6k I’ve spent and the people I’ve sent their way, is not nothing.
Posting here because I know Secretlab monitors this sub and I want this on the record. Also genuinely curious — has anyone else gotten the “wobble is normal” line? Is this a known issue on the current production batch? Because if it is, that explains why their support is so desperate to stall everyone past the return window.
Screenshots of the email thread attached.
Edit: to be clear, I’m not looking to bash the brand for the sake of it. I was a fan. I just don’t appreciate being run in circles while the clock runs out on my legal rights.