Creation S75 Claim and faulty goods

yellowplum

I have an issue with a Sofa and Chair I purchased from a retailer. The items where the shop models, I inspected them at the time of purchase 10 November 2010 and they where fine I accepted some minor marks and ordered them.

Paid by deposit on a Virgin Credit Card and the balance on a 0% credit agreement with creation.

I was told that I would not be able to collected the items until the sale period started after the 10 December 2010. I collected them on the 15 December 2010. When I collected them they where wrapped and I was unable to see them.

Once we had got the sofa and chair and unwrapped them we noticed that the castors where excessively damaged. I contacted the retailer and informed them of this by telephone on the 17th December and then sent a letter also by post.

I was told that I must have caused the damage to the items because I collected them.

I have refuted this and advised that I will reject the goods if they fail to repair them.

I also sent S75 claim letters to Virgin and Creation. However today I have received a letter from Creation advising that they 'have liaised with the store regarding the issues, and that because liability could not be established they cold not do anything further'.

Also that ' Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act only applied when there has been a breach of contract, proven manufacturing fault with the goods, or when damage has occured during delivery of the items by the store/delivery company. As your complaint does not seem to fall into these categories we do not have any liability for your claim'.

Do I have to enter into more detailed correspondence with Creation? Or can I just issue proceedings against them and the other parties concerned?

wealdroam

It appears that you cannot prove who caused the damage.

As you collected the goods, you may well struggle with this.

yellowplum

wealdroam wrote: »

It appears that you cannot prove who caused the damage.

As you collected the goods, you may well struggle with this.

As consumer direct stated to me that the onus is on the retailer within the first 6 months to prove that I had caused the damage and they haven't.

Also the fact that I collected the goods, and they where wrapped meant I was unable to see the damage at the time until I had unwrapped them at home.

I know I could not have caused the extent of damage that is on the castors as the brass has been scratched off and you can clearly see bare metal. This was not apparent at the time I purchased the goods.

Also the fact that all we did was lift the items into the back of a van and take them out of the back of a van carrying them less than 10 metres into the house demonstrates how improbably it would be for us to have caused the damage that has occurred.

wealdroam

yellowplum wrote: »

As consumer direct stated to me that the onus is on the retailer within the first 6 months to prove that I had caused the damage and they haven't.

Good point. I had overlooked that. Sorry.

yellowplum wrote: »

Also the fact that I collected the goods, and they where wrapped meant I was unable to see the damage at the time until I had unwrapped them at home.

I know I could not have caused the extent of damage that is on the castors as the brass has been scratched off and you can clearly see bare metal. This was not apparent at the time I purchased the goods.

Also the fact that all we did was lift the items into the back of a van and take them out of the back of a van carrying them less than 10 metres into the house demonstrates how improbably it would be for us to have caused the damage that has occurred.

Still don't understand all that justification about how you could not have possibly damaged it though.
But never mind.

yellowplum

wealdroam wrote: »

Good point. I had overlooked that. Sorry.


Still don't understand all that justification about how you could not have possibly damaged it though.
But never mind.

It stems to what is actually wrong with it...the castors have been damaged which means someone has dragged them over a concrete or other harsh surface to scrape the brass lacquer from them so much that you can now only see bare metal underneath.

What I am saying is that I only took them out the van and brought them into the house, a total distance of less than 10meters - hence even if I was to put them on the ground and wheel them for 10 meters I still would not be able to cause the damage that is on them.

Nevertheless what I really want to know is how to deal with the finance company on this issue. Do I have to notify them before I issue proceedings? Should I enter into further correspondence with them?