Advice Needed on Sofa

arakis777

I really need some advice on how to get a replacement or refund on a sofa. I moved house last year and bought quite a bit of furniture (including the sofa) from a local outlet. I received the sofa in June and it started to deteriorate fairly quickly. I paid £700 after being promised it was 'Quality Italian Leather'. I went around to the store in November to report issues and seller came around to inspect then agreed for a third party to inspect (he arranged this). Report came back as excessive wear! or manufacturing defect.

Seller finally agreed to have repair man around to inspect, he said it was unrepairable and essentially the surface was painted on and peeling off badly. This was over a month ago and seller is fobbing me off saying he hasn't received the report from the repairman. He is ignoring my emails and when I ring just keeps making excuse after excuse. It looks really horrible now and we need to keep it covered up with a throw.

I have kept all email trails and logs of calls and visits to store. I have tried contacting trading standards for my area i.e. Milton Keynes but have been told that only the local consumer's advise deal with this sort of thing now. I tried them and all then can advise is send a LBA (letter before action) and if nothing comes of it, take the seller to the small claims court. I don't really want it to go to court as I will have to pay costs up front and then may not even get full compensation. Is there any thing else I can do or contact for help? Thanks in advance

Regards

Dave

unholyangel

Quite often the LBA itself will have the desired effect to get your money back without court. You can add your fee's on if you win and i'm sure the costs can be as little as £55 (£25 to file online and £30 for the "hearing" from what i remember).

Essentially any reasonable financial loss you have suffered as a result of their breach of contract. So fee's associated with remedying the breach, fall within that category. Providing they are reasonable of course.

Did the repairman leave a copy of the report with you? Do you know his contact details?

arakis777

Thanks for the reply unholyangel. I have a feeling they will ignore the LBA but I will send it via recorded delivery in the morning.


I spoke to the repair man again this morning and he is adament it was sent on the day he came. This is the second report they have claimed not to have received - how convenient. I was advised I may have to send a a second and final letter (more time and money wasted). I hope that if it comes to court I can claim back postage expenses etc. I will update thread as soon as I get some finality on this issue.

unholyangel

arakis777 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply unholyangel. I have a feeling they will ignore the LBA but I will send it via recorded delivery in the morning.


I spoke to the repair man again this morning and he is adament it was sent on the day he came. This is the second report they have claimed not to have received - how convenient. I was advised I may have to send a a second and final letter (more time and money wasted). I hope that if it comes to court I can claim back postage expenses etc. I will update thread as soon as I get some finality on this issue.

Does the repairman still have the report? Would he be able to give you a copy of it?

Not that it is strictly needed as a small claims would go based on probabilities, but do you have anything to show you reported the faults in november?

The reason I ask is that within the SoGA, the first 6 months after purchase, it is assumed the product didnt conform to contract and up to the retailer to prove otherwise. After 6 months, it is up to the consumer to prove it is inherent.

November would have been right at that 6 months mark, possibly just before or after the 6 months depending on what date you bought it and what date you reported it to them.

Keep your LBA to the point though, make sure you title it "Letter Before Action". Mention important dates (such as "on x date i purchased a x from you. On x date i reported the following faults.......You had someone assess the sofa and they agreed it was a manufacturing fault on x date. I am requesting a refund/replacement/repair under the Sale of Goods Act as the goods are not of satisfactory quality.). Then obviously tell them they have x days to respond to your letter and that if they don't, you will begin legal proceedings.

arakis777

Thanks again unholyangel. The repairman says report can be retrieved if need be, he told us earlier what was in the report - essentially sofa is not repairable and it has a spray painted on veneer :mad:


I have a reply from the seller in November stating he has contacted the manufacturer. I have kept all his email replies. He hasn't replied to any email in the last month since the day the repairman gave his report.

I reported issue wihtin the 6 month period so should be OK. I sent the LBA letter to him today by recorded delivery. Tha nks for your help on writing this. I have a feeling he will call my bluff regarding court action. I have given him 28 days to reply and if no reply I will send final recoreded letter stating I am going to the small claims court. I will update thread once I have sorted this out.

unholyangel

Good Luck!

In your final notice, I'd only give them 7 days. 28 days to me seems a bit too.....whats the word.....unimportant. Doesn't really convey any sense of urgency but no matter

arakis777

Thanks again.

I gave them 28 days on advice apparently , to a judge it shows I have been more than reasonable. If they don't respond in that time as I suspect. I will send final letter and pay fee for small claims court. Take care.