In a pickle sandwich

GarLea

Hi all,

Just after some advice, as we do not know where to turn to. Our problem is that back in June 2008 we purchased a 3 seater and 2 seater recliners from MFI and paid an extra £100 to have insurance for a further 3 years. The total cost of the sofa's plus insurance was £829.00.

Recently the chair has some structural damage (im not a qualified technician) but it is plain to see and the seats have become very uncomfortable to sit on. Myself and my partner both work long hours so we dont get to sit on the sofa's much.

We contacted the insurance people (guardsman) who provided us with a claim form, after 2 weeks we recieved a reply saying that because its structural damage we are not covered under the insurance but only for accidential damage, wear & tear etc. The sales person who sold us the insurance stated that we are covered for structural damage also. I contacted guardsman this morning and said that there is nothing they can do as MFI has gone bust, but they have given me a contact number for MFI underwriters, (who were as much use as a chocolate fireguard).

Surely paying this amount of money then the goods should last more then 2 years.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all

Optimist

You have two options as it is a insurance it is covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service but you would need to go through Guardsman's own complaint process before you can go to the Ombudsman. I would read your policy first to ensure Guardsman are actually correct or not

Alternately if you paid by credit card or took credit out on the furniture then the credit card company are equally as liable as the supplier under the section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. However if you go that way you would need to claim using the Sale of Goods Act and would more than likely need to proof that the furniture was faulty at manufacture.

There are people around who would give you a report to help you in this. One such here .

cybergibbons

Useful topic would probably result in a lot more people reading this.

GarLea

Thank you very much for your reply, we paid by debit card. I shall investigate further tomorrow.