fireplace warehouse - burnley

laineybird2000

Hiya all

I purchased a fire, surround and plinth from the fireplace warehouse in burnley and feel conned...
i spent £1750 on what was decribed and sold (noted on ordersform at time of sale) as a limestone surround, fire and plinth.
4 weeks later fire gets delivered, the babys poorly and im rushing so i sign the note. next day their fitters come do their job, i signed the form then got to have a good look at it.
its scratched in 17 places on the fire, the surround is limestone effect (some form of molded concrete?) the air vent is hanging off the outer wall.
i wrote to the co. within their 3 day limit describing the damage and complaining that i had been miss sold. limestone v limestone effect etc. i got a snotty letter bach from the regional guy saying they had a signed del note which states limestone effect (they do, but i purchased the fire 4 weeks before it was delivered and no mention of limestone effect is on my order form) and that the fitters are unaware of any damage. they asked for photo's to be sent (which i've done, giving them 14 days to recitfy problems)
the regional guy called, i was out, he left a mesage to say he'd call back - he hasnt. a rep called to make an appt to assess damage, they only do that on a wed afternoon apparently.
where do i stand with sog? can i get a full refund or should i settle for the damage being fixed?
i havent used the thing yet as i dont want to give them any wriggle space, lucky its warm enough...

thanks for reading

mc33033

laineybird2000 wrote: »

Hiya all

I purchased a fire, surround and plinth from the fireplace warehouse in burnley and feel conned...
i spent £1750 on what was decribed and sold (noted on ordersform at time of sale) as a limestone surround, fire and plinth.
4 weeks later fire gets delivered, the babys poorly and im rushing so i sign the note. next day their fitters come do their job, i signed the form then got to have a good look at it.
its scratched in 17 places on the fire, the surround is limestone effect (some form of molded concrete?) the air vent is hanging off the outer wall.
i wrote to the co. within their 3 day limit describing the damage and complaining that i had been miss sold. limestone v limestone effect etc. i got a snotty letter bach from the regional guy saying they had a signed del note which states limestone effect (they do, but i purchased the fire 4 weeks before it was delivered and no mention of limestone effect is on my order form) and that the fitters are unaware of any damage. they asked for photo's to be sent (which i've done, giving them 14 days to recitfy problems)
the regional guy called, i was out, he left a mesage to say he'd call back - he hasnt. a rep called to make an appt to assess damage, they only do that on a wed afternoon apparently.
where do i stand with sog? can i get a full refund or should i settle for the damage being fixed?

Hi Laineybird2000,
What did you ask for if you gave them 14 days to rectify the problems? Did you see an example in a showroom? If you did and it doesn't match then you can use SOGA "not as sample". If you didn't see if and it clearly stated in the description on the brochure or what used to order it that it was "limestone" then you may be able to use "not as described". A delivery note is not the be all and end all they make it out to be. But we need more details about your order - how it was placed etc.

laineybird2000

hiya
thanks for reply. yes, in showroom the salesman described the fire (its a hole in the wall jobby with frame) frame as limestone. there was no visible info or price advertised with it. he talked us through it and always refered to it as limestone. ive been on their website and the fire i bought isnt listed there anymore. the sample in the showroom looks like limestone (to my untrained eye) the one delivered and installed looks like molded concrete...

i placed the order with the sales guy and he wrote limestone on it. i have the origional copy.

i didnt ask them for anything to be honest. i just gave them 14 days to rectify the situation. i wasnt sure if i could ask for a full refund under soga (re - not as described) or resign myself to having been an idiot and have the damage fixed.

what do you think? i've never really stood up for myself before and its a little daunting, but it's a lot of money just to feel duped.

thanks

hollydays

Is the showroom far from you?
Is limestone any more rare than something limestone -effect?

laineybird2000

no, the showroom only 10 mins away. the one in the showroom looked and felt like limestone - its was described and sold as limestone - limestone was ordered on their paperwork. i just want what i paid for...

hollydays

ok=racking brains-ithink limestone is quite soft.I suggest they have inadequately packed it? it's kinda soft and chalky?woud need a helluva lot of packing.

mc33033

laineybird2000 wrote: »

hiya
the sample in the showroom looks like limestone (to my untrained eye) the one delivered and installed looks like molded concrete...

Hi Laineybird2000,

If you do want to reject you have to let them know ASAP - the longer you leave it the harder it is to reject. There may be two breaches of SOGA here - first the item is not "as sample" and also it may not be "as described". Both would allow you to reject if you argue you haven't accepted the goods (might be hard to argue this as you didn't reject with your first letter).

However all is not lost if it is deemed you have accepted the fire, you are entitled to a fire just like the example you saw in the showroom, so if they have to replace parts to get to this standard then the onus is on them to do so. If I were you I'd get back to the showroom with a camera and see if I could record the differences between what you have and what they have and move forward from there. Let us know how it goes.

laineybird2000

thanks mc, good advice. will do it tomorrow. got the chaps coming round on wed for inspection. will updtae you then

laineybird2000

update - they have now stated they cant inspect the fire untill the 1st july! are they up to something? because its going to be 1 month between installation and inspection, could they wriggle if i go for refund? could i just cut my loses and ask for refund now?
thanks for all your help

mc33033

laineybird2000 wrote: »

update - they have now stated they cant inspect the fire untill the 1st july! are they up to something? because its going to be 1 month between installation and inspection, could they wriggle if i go for refund? could i just cut my loses and ask for refund now?
thanks for all your help

Hi laineybird,

There's nothing magical about the month mark, but the longer this goes on the harder it is to reject it.... if you are confident you can prove that the item isn't the same as the one you saw in the showroom and isn't as described/of satisfactory appearance and finish then what you can do is write to them via recorded delivery advising you are rejecting the goods. You can use the template here and amend it suit your situation:

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/making-complaint/template-letters/sale_of_goods_act/

The burden of proof remains with the seller for the first 6 months - see if you can get good pictures of the faults as soon as possible though to make your case as strong as possible.

savemoney

ruthboo is a :spam:mer 4 times on forums and spam on here too http://www.reallyannoyingshit.com/