• William Harrington suffered from an agonising skin condition for two years
  • Doctors were baffled by the horrific burns and he fell into a depression
  • He has now found it was caused by a banned toxic in the sofa sold
  • Furniture from the same batch was sold by Argos, Walmsleys and others
  • Argos is now investigating if the eBay seller knowingly sold the toxic sofa second-hand and if they received compensation in 2010

By Helen Collis

PUBLISHED: 05:38 EST, 24 September 2013 | UPDATED: 12:39 EST, 24 September 2013

A father who suffered from a mysterious agonising skin condition for two years has found it was caused by a banned toxic sofa he bought on eBay.

William Harrington, 56, was delighted with his new reclining leather armchair, but had no idea it was from a highly poisonous batch of furniture sold by Argos and the now-defunct World of Leather.

Argos has recalled all the furniture, and in 2010 contributed along with 13 other companies to paying out 20million to customers who suffered painful burns.

Poisoned: William Harrington 56, had been poisoned by a chair sold originally by Argos and bought on eBay two years ago

Poisoned: William Harrington 56, had been poisoned by a chair sold originally by Argos and bought on eBay two years ago

But Mr Harrington's case highlights there is a risk some sofas still exist, and are even being resold second-hand.

Argos is now investigating to see if the seller had previously received compensation and knowingly resold the toxic sofa.

For two years, Mr Harrington suffered painful sores and an itchy rash all over his body, but he had no idea what had caused it.

He told his doctor: 'My whole body feels like it is on fire.'

Mr Harrington, a father-of-five, was referred to a specialist who told him he had been into contact with a dangerously toxic substance.

The property maintenance manager then discovered his armchair was from a batch of toxic chairs sold by chain Argos.

The burns from the sofa were so severe Mr Harrington fell into a depression

The burns from the sofa were so severe Mr Harrington fell into a depression

Embarrassed: He said he was forced to hide his arms and legs for fear of offending people

Embarrassed: He said he was forced to hide his arms and legs for fear of offending people

The black leather recliner armchair had been withdrawn from shops after complaints of allergic reactions.

But the eBay seller had failed to give Mr Harrington any warning when he bought it using the online auction website.

Mr Harrington said: 'Every time I sat in that chair it was poisoning my body and I didn't have a clue.

'The leather chair made my skin go all prickly and hot, I couldn't stop scratching, it was like someone had set me on fire.

'The last two years of my life have been absolutely horrific. I can't put into words what I've been through because of this chair.

'I've been so distressed with non-stop scratching that I ended up on anti-depressants.

'I have my own business and I have to cover my arms with bandages because I am so embarrassed at customers seeing the sores. They look so unsightly.

'I can no longer take my daughter swimming because I wouldn't dream of letting anyone seem my body looking like this.'

Now the sofa has been identified as the cause of his suffering, Mr Harrington has removed it from his house and his skin is starting to improve

Now the sofa has been identified as the cause of his suffering, Mr Harrington has removed it from his house and his skin is starting to improve

Mr Harrington bought the chair off eBay and travelled down to Cornwall to pick it up from the seller.

He developed a rash after returning the recliner to his home in Ely, Cardiff, but did not realise his chair was causing it - until solving the mystery after 18 months. No one else in his family was affected because it was his personal chair.

Mr Harrington's GP confessed he'd never seen anything like his rash before. He was prescribed steroid cream and referred to a dermatologist.

He then realised his desperate need to scratch got worse when he sat in his favourite black leather recliner armchair.

Mr Harrington went online - and discovered the chair had been withdrawn from circulation after a court action against Argos and other retailers which resulted in a 20million legal action over the poisonous furniture.

He added: 'I bought the chair off eBay for 80 but the chair is from Argos. I didn't have a clue this chair was going to cause me untold misery and distress.

'Argos needs to get a warning out there these toxic chairs are still out there and being sold to unsuspecting victims.

'Thousands of people like me may be suffering terribly, and not knowing why. Just be careful what you buy on eBay.'

The settees and chairs sold between 600 and 850 had been treated with a fungicide to stop them going mouldy in storage.

They had been treated with Di-methyl Fumarate - a substance that has triggered violent irritant-related eczema in some people.

It is so toxic that those who come into contact with it should wear protective clothing and glasses.

Argos have now recalled thousand of chairs and made compensation claims for millions of pounds.

Mr Harrington has since put the chair in the garage - and his skin allergy is slowly disappearing.

A spokeswoman for Argos yesterday said it will launch an 'urgent investigation' after speaking to Mr Harrington about the identity of the eBay seller.

'In 2010, Argos along with 13 other retailers participated in a Group Litigation Order granted by the High Court to compensate customers for personal injury from exposure to Di-methyl Fumarate from leather sofas.

'As a responsible retailer, Argos took all reasonable steps to contact customers who had purchased an affected product, to inform them of the issue.

'We asked customers to contact us and offered to either recover and replace the product or provide a refund.

'Argos fully complied with the court order and payment of compensation for valid claims.'

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

omg poor guy!! why did he sit back on it for the picture though? lol unless it was a different one

why did it take TWO YEARS and lots of anti depressants before being referred to a specialist?

I would sue their ass off!!! Seriously!!!!!!!!

This could have been solved a lot sooner if there was more diligence when it came to things that you come into contact with; as an eczema sufferer, this is second nature to me as things like bus seats can set my own eczema off... but surely getting a new chair, and suddenly developing a skin condition would be linked, even unconsciously?

This is why I stay away from ebay!

Ouch that looks really terrible!

Just read in the news today that ebay and Argos have made a click and collect deal

"ftlog, expat, 1 hour ago.....So you start getting sores as soon as you start using your new chair, and you carry on using it for 2 years? There wasn't a clue in the coincidence? No, well, clearly not." Come on. It would never occur to most people that a horribly toxic substance that must be handled by someone wearing hazmat would be sprayed in a chair. Please don't attack the victim!

Why wait two years before seeing a Dermatologist?

And sits back down in it unprotected for a DM photoshoot.

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