Help please! Retailer wants goods back but his courier company keeps not turning up

headcrash27

Hi, just wondered if anyone has any advice. I have had a heap of problems from an online bed shop (i won't state who as i don't know if i'm allowed to). I was delivered a damaged mattress 6 weeks ago and after numerous letters and telephone calls the retailer has finally sent out a replacement mattress. However he wants the old one back and the courier company wouldn't collect the old mattress at the time of dropping the new one of as I wasn't there to help them shift it into the van. They were due to turn up on my day off work but didn't turn up till the next day, hence why i wasn't there. I have since arranged with them twice more to collect the mattress and neither time have they turned up and I have stayed in all day waiting for them. Does anyone know if I have to hold onto this mattress or would I be entitled to say to the retailer that if it's not collected within 2 days it will be going to the dump? This is getting ridiculous, it is taking up the whole of my hall as i have nowhere else to store it and it i am having to leave and enter the house via the back door as it is taking up so much room. Any advice would be appreciated!

Ivory_Tinkler

Why on earth should you be expected to help load their van. Surely the company should send 2 people along if this is what is required?

headcrash27

Ivory_Tinkler wrote: »

Why on earth should you be expected to help load their van. Surely the company should send 2 people along if this is what is required?

I think he is just going for the cheap option! I guess it costs more for a two man delivery team.

Ivory_Tinkler

Well I think they are being really cheeky expecting you to help load a van with a damaged mattress. It might be worth you ringing consumer direct tomorrow and asking for their advice as to what to do with this mattress particularly as it is a nuisance to you in your home and that the company have failed to collect. I hope you manage to sort it out soon.

SPANIEL36

i think its really cheeky for the courier to say you should help load onto the van, just supposing you were a woman (i'm asuming your a man) and supposing your were a pregnant woman would they still expect her to help? or supposing youd got a broken arm or bad back?? i'm sorry but the delivery/collection people should deliver and/or collect from your property to the van and vice versa. Once the item is in the property then its the delivery person's discretion if they deliver it to a specific room or not. You said you'd be in on a certian day and they assmed you'd help them load the van, thats taking the jimmy

SPANIEL36

headcrash27 wrote: »

Hi, just wondered if anyone has any advice. I have had a heap of problems from an online bed shop (i won't state who as i don't know if i'm allowed to). I was delivered a damaged mattress 6 weeks ago and after numerous letters and telephone calls the retailer has finally sent out a replacement mattress. However he wants the old one back and the courier company wouldn't collect the old mattress at the time of dropping the new one of as I wasn't there to help them shift it into the van. They were due to turn up on my day off work but didn't turn up till the next day, hence why i wasn't there. I have since arranged with them twice more to collect the mattress and neither time have they turned up and I have stayed in all day waiting for them. Does anyone know if I have to hold onto this mattress or would I be entitled to say to the retailer that if it's not collected within 2 days it will be going to the dump? This is getting ridiculous, it is taking up the whole of my hall as i have nowhere else to store it and it i am having to leave and enter the house via the back door as it is taking up so much room. Any advice would be appreciated!

so you wouldn't help them( as you weren't there) shift the damaged one INTO the van....did they need help taking the new one OUT the van and into your house????

Sooler

charge them a storage fee

Tim_Deegan

I presume there was only one person when they delivered the mattress?

If so then I should think they are probably breaking manual handling regulations by expecting one person to carry such a large heavy item. So it sounds like they are cutting corners and putting they delivery guys health at risk in order to cut costs. You should name and shame them, then maybe they will stop cutting corners.

headcrash27

SPANIEL36 wrote: »

so you wouldn't help them( as you weren't there) shift the damaged one INTO the van....did they need help taking the new one OUT the van and into your house????

No, they managed to get the new one in by flipping it over a couple of times and then pushing it along the ground. I suspect this is how the damaged one up ripped! They couldn't take the damaged one away because it was upstairs and unpackaged. They were supposed to turn up the day before but didn't so we had to take off the packaging which we had put on and take it back upstairs so we could sleep on it that night. I start work at 5am and my wife was still asleep so we didn't want to repackage it the next day until we were sure that they were definitely going to show up.

headcrash27

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

I presume there was only one person when they delivered the mattress?

If so then I should think they are probably breaking manual handling regulations by expecting one person to carry such a large heavy item. So it sounds like they are cutting corners and putting they delivery guys health at risk in order to cut costs. You should name and shame them, then maybe they will stop cutting corners.

Yeah it was just the one guy, god knows what they do if they have to take it to a house with a load of steps. I said to the delivery guy that i thought it was a bit tight he had to shift all this stuff on his own and he said they are only supposed to shift up to 25kgs on their own - obviously a king size mattress is a fair bit more than that! Anyway they (finally) decided to show up yesterday to collect it, i'm just so glad to be rid of it at last. I didn't say before because i didn't think i was allowed to name names, but the bed company is mattressmate.co.uk and the couriers they use are nightfreight.

olly300

headcrash27 wrote: »

No, they managed to get the new one in by flipping it over a couple of times and then pushing it along the ground. I suspect this is how the damaged one up ripped! They couldn't take the damaged one away because it was upstairs and unpackaged. They were supposed to turn up the day before but didn't so we had to take off the packaging which we had put on and take it back upstairs so we could sleep on it that night. I start work at 5am and my wife was still asleep so we didn't want to repackage it the next day until we were sure that they were definitely going to show up.

If you are going to threaten to dump the mattress give them 7 working days and make sure you put it in writing as well as telling them verbally. I would put in the letter that getting one person to deliver and pick up the mattress is likely to contravene health and safety laws, and indicate that the person at home may be your wife due to the time you have taken off work, and she won't be able to help with carrying the mattress.*

You need to give them a reasonable amount of time to arrange pick up and also should be explicit in case the store decides to take legal action against you for dumping the goods.

*This is sexist but it's to get the point across that they can't expect to deliver/collect bulky goods with one person.