Damaged Fridge and bank fobbing me off!

kunal_x

Hi

After moving in to my new home I ordered a £700 panasonic fridge over a month ago and received a the delivery just five days back. To my misfortune when it arrived it had a 5mm dent on the side panel. This was noted and pictured by the delivery people.

I immediately contact the delivery company and the retailer to tell the issue. From the options provided by the retailer they said will get in touch to agree on a compensation as i did not want to wait over a month again for a replacement.

Four days later I called them again and started getting fobbed off by stories like the director off the business didnt get time to look at this and they need to get in touch with panasonic for refund.

I knew i was being given a lot of BS so i decided to send them an email which stated the deadline they have respond and agree a compensation or in failure to do so by the allotted time or reasonable compensation
value, the email is to notify them that under The Distance Selling
Regulations (online purchase & return for any reason) and Sale of
Goods Act 1979 (Not Satisfactory As Described), I would like to return
the fridge freezer being damaged at the point of delivery and due to failing satisfactory new condition; i am asking for a full refund of £700.

And ... Nothing from them. So I called my banks credit card dispute team and i could not believe they started fobbing me off as well. The reason i could not believe it is because this is a very well know bank known for its no.1 customer service.

I told them that under section 75 consumer credit act I would like the refund for the the item because of such and such reason. The bank representative tells me this situation is not covered under it as there has been no breach of contract??? :mad:

She kept referring me to VISA's t's and c's and kept saying this situation is not covered. Bank representative also stated that i have to return the fridge on my expense and the refund is not guaranteed. I asked her how am i supposed to eat or store food and she was now heading me towards consequential loss of either eating out and/or spoiling the food i already have in the fridge.

Now every where i have read it states both the card issuer and the bank are liable for a purchase made over £100 and me as a customer has a valid claim of breach of contract or misrepresentation under other law, such as the Sale of Goods Act where this product was damaged at the point of delivery.

Why are they both fobbing me off. Am I being too nice with my bank by not sending them a strong letter. Or have i got this completely wrong.

All i wanted was a fridge and i was happy to negotiate cause of it being damaged.

Unhappy,
K

wealdroam

I don't understand why you don't just tell the retailer you are rejecting under SOGA the fridge you now have.
Tell them to arrange the delivery of a fault free replacement, and tell them you will continue to use the existing fridge until the replacement arrives, at which time a simple swap takes place.

No 'consequential losses' drama.

kunal_x

kunal_x wrote: »

I knew i was being given a lot of BS so i decided to send them an email which stated the deadline they have respond and agree a compensation or in failure to do so by the allotted time or reasonable compensation
value, the email is to notify them that under The Distance Selling
Regulations (online purchase & return for any reason) and Sale of
Goods Act 1979 (Not Satisfactory As Described), I would like to return
the fridge freezer being damaged at the point of delivery and due to failing satisfactory new condition; i am asking for a full refund of £700.

I have and they are not responding. I called them Monday this week and they said they would get back. I chased them this Thursday asked me to email my intentions as quoted above and still heard nothing. That's the reason i went to the bank.

Oh and the replacement could take a month again.

meer53

You haven't mentioned how you paid for the fridge ?

If you paid by debit or credit card, under Visa chargeback regulations you can ask your bank to become involved as your goods were damaged on delivery. To do this, the goods need to be back with the retailer first. Once the retailer has the goods back your bank can action the chargeback and you will be refunded pending the result of the dispute. If you can't get the goods back to the retailer, send them a letter giving them notice to collect the goods, if they don't, contact your card issuer to let them know what you have done to try to get the goods back.

The breach of contract comes into play under Section 75 which is completely different from Visa chargebacks. Section 75 only applies to credit card purchases.

wealdroam

kunal_x wrote: »

I have and they are not responding. I called them Monday this week and they said they would get back.

But you didn't use the word 'reject' in your original post.
Did you state that you are rejecting the fridge under SOGA?
If not, then you need to do so as soon as possible, because using the thing could be seen as acceptance.
Probably best in writing too.

kunal_x wrote: »

Oh and the replacement could take a month again.

That doesn't matter because you still have your existing fridge.

kunal_x

It was an online purchase and paid by credit card.

Like i said i sent the retailer an email yesterday stating if they dont reply back by end of play today

"the email is to notify them that under The Distance Selling
Regulations (online purchase & return for any reason) and Sale of
Goods Act 1979 (Not Satisfactory As Described), I would like to return
the fridge freezer being damaged at the point of delivery and due to failing satisfactory new condition; i am asking for a full refund of £700."

paddedjohn

OP, whats your problem? you have said that a replacement will be with you in a month and during that time you have use of the damaged one.

kunal_x

paddedjohn wrote: »

OP, whats your problem? you have said that a replacement will be with you in a month and during that time you have use of the damaged one.

Do you really think i should trust a retailer to deliver a fridge who hasnt got back to me even after the reporting the problem twice with an ultimatum.

And why in this day and age does it take a month to deliver a fridge.

Why am i taking the pain of all this hassle when i paid the full price. Its not that they asked for £700 and i paid them a penny less.

Nilrem

kunal_x wrote: »

And why in this day and age does it take a month to deliver a fridge.

Because, unfortunately a lot of retailers don't actually carry any stock themselves of larger items (they'll be ordered for delivery straight from the manufacturers warehouse), and many manufacturers don't necessarily have a lot of stock in the country at any time (it's rare for them to be made here now).

Hence for a lot of larger stuff that doesn't sell in large numbers, they might only get a shipment from China or wherever they are made once a month.

It's the unfortunate side to the fact that most people would rather pay less and wait a bit, than pay a higher price, Many of the home appliances are pretty much on a "just in time" system, with little if any slack for spares/returns as it saves on unsold stock, but is a real PITA if anything goes wrong.

It's a real PITA, especially when you're dealing with the likes of Argos for whom the "ETA's" for anything like a fridge or a bed is a massive gamble.

visidigi

kunal_x wrote: »

Do you really think i should trust a retailer to deliver a fridge who hasnt got back to me even after the reporting the problem twice with an ultimatum.

And why in this day and age does it take a month to deliver a fridge.

Why am i taking the pain of all this hassle when i paid the full price. Its not that they asked for £700 and i paid them a penny less.

I think you aren't doing yourself any favours with the ultimatums etc given the item was only delivered on Monday - if it had been a few weeks I would understand, but 4 working days from the point of delivery is a little too pushy.

They have the see the photos, they have to be reviewed, it may need to be approved by their insurance before replacement can be issued etc etc.

I am not surprised First Direct (educated guess?) have also fobbed you off after 4 working days - these things take a little longer than 4 days to be looked into etc etc.

I think you may need to chill out a little and give them time to actually look into the issue for you.

Hintza

The OP is also mudying the waters by not being clear where they stand. Asking for a small discount and then asking for a full refund and then seeking section 75 all in the space of 4 days!