Damaged Goods

Rich22

I bought a single bed at the beginning of May from a company 'Our World of Interiors' it should have been next day delivery, but later that day after the order had been placed I received a phone call saying the bed they had in stock was damaged and not in a satisfactory condition to be sent out. As I was in no rush for the bed I was happy to wait for when new stock arrived, and so it was left.

Eight weeks later still nothing on where or when my new bed was going to arrive bearing in mind this had now been paid for using a credit card, so I decided to send them an email to see what was going on. They replied saying the bed was now in stock and they would sort this out for me.

When the bed arrived about three days later, the delivery driver kindly bought the three packages in to my house, where I signed for them and he left. It was only when he left that I then noticed the tears and holes in the packaging, and realising that I had accepted delivery and not seen this damage I feared the worse, so thinking ahead before I unwrapped anything I took photos in case if there was any damage inside I couldn't be accused of having caused it myself as I unwrapped or assembled the bed.

Supprisingly everything seemed to be ok, and then I noticed on one of the side panels to the bed that there was a small hole/tear. I immediately emailed the company and explained that there was damage to a piece of the bed.

They asked if I had made a note on the drivers delivery sheet, that the packages where damaged, and I said that I hadn't because as he had brought them packages into my house I hadn't seen or examined the boxes. Hence the reason why I had taken photos.

The company replied saying that because I hadn't made a note on the delivery note that they weren't liable for any damage or refund.

I answered back saying that although I had signed the delivery note this merely is for acceptance of delivery and not for acceptance of the condition of the goods inside which can't be checked unless you unpack-age everything.

After threatening legal action they then came back to me and said that they would contact their suppliers and get the parts that I required out to me, and hoped this was ok.

When I emailed them the other day to see what was going on with these new parts I then get an email saying that they are not going to replace the parts or the bed, but if I like I can buy a whole new bed from them !

What I wanted to know is where do I stand in getting either my money back or getting them to replace these parts. I am thinking about taking legal action on this and taking them to a small claims court or is it best to contact my credit card company ???

Thanks for your help.

Rich22

These are the emails that I received. You have to start at the bottom as these are in date order.



Hi

The below note is clearly stated on our wesbite. As we use a courier
company and if you understand how logistics work everything is man
handled and damages can occur.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Please check your item before signing for it. if the packaging looks
damaged please put “damaged” next to your name on the drivers
PDA/delivery sheet.

If you just sign your name on the PDA/delivery sheet then you have
agreed that you have received your item in good condition, therefore
any claims raised against the courier for damage will be rejected and
World of Interiors Ltd will not be liable.

Can you please reply back.

Regards

On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 10:53 AM, RICHARD wrote:
No I didn't make a note on the drivers delivery note. It wasn't until I got
the packages inside and the driver had gone that I noticed the extent of the
damage, hence the reason why I took the photographs before unwrapping.

Could you please get back to me as soon as possible with regard to replacing
these damaged items as at the moment the bed in still in it's original
packaging and it still currently stood in my hallway a week later.

Thank you


Richard


On 5 Jul 2012, at 16:44, support@ourworldofinteriors.com wrote:

Hi Richard

Thanka for your email and I am very sorry to hear of the damage to the item.
Did you make a note of the damage on the drivers delivery sheet?

Regards

Adam

On Wed, Jul 4, 2012 at 7:01 PM, wrote:

REF: 100000655

Dear Sir / Madam,

I have now received the bed, many thanks.

Unfortunately the packaging when delivered was in an awful condition and
prior to opening I felt the need to take photos in case the bed inside was
damaged in any way. Upon closer inspection of each package there were huge
holes, and tears penetrating the outer packaging and through to the items
enclosed. I carefully removed and inspected each item for any damage,
surprisingly there only appears to be damage to one piece of the bed, and so
this will need to be replaced. It is a tear in one of the side panel
lengths, I would call this the right-hand side as you look from the foot of
a bed to the headboard.

I have included some photographs for your attention so that you can see
the state of how the packaging arrived to me.

Could you please advise me on how I should proceed with this damaged item.
Do I only need to send back the damaged piece or do you require the entire
bed to be returned. I have retained all the packaging and the bed has not
yet been constructed.

Yours sincerely





On 2 Jul 2012, at 08:57, support@ourworldofinteriors.com wrote:

Hi,

The bed has now come back into stock, we will let you know over email
when your item will be out for delivery.

Kind Regards

Billy

On Sat, Jun 30, 2012 at 9:41 AM, > wrote:

Order No: 100000655




Dear Sir/Madam



I ordered this bed at the beginning of May and was told that there was
going

to be a delay in receiving my order, I was told approximately 4 weeks.


We are now nearly 8 weeks away from the original purchase date, and still
no

sign of this bed being delivered. Could you please advise me on the
current

situation of this order and when it will be completed.

If don't hear from you or the bed is going to be much longer then I will
be

asking for a refund for this item.


Yours sincerely

RICHARD

Rich22

Emails in order now:

Hi

The below note is clearly stated on our wesbite. As we use a courier
company and if you understand how logistics work everything is man
handled and damages can occur.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Please check your item before signing for it. if the packaging looks
damaged please put “damaged” next to your name on the drivers
PDA/delivery sheet.

If you just sign your name on the PDA/delivery sheet then you have
agreed that you have received your item in good condition, therefore
any claims raised against the courier for damage will be rejected and
World of Interiors Ltd will not be liable.

Can you please reply back.

Regards

MY REPLY BACK:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am assuming from your latest email that you are refusing to replace the
two damaged items that have occurred during transit, because I have signed
the delivery note. It is common for traders to sidestep liability by saying
that you signed for them. A delivery note (as the name suggests) indicates
merely that the product has been delivered and not that they have been
accepted. If there is a problem with the goods, you may still reject them,
particularly if you haven’t previously had a chance to examine them in
person. The law states that you should have reasonable opportunity to
examine the goods for yourself, ‘there and then’ is not reasonable.

For your information, the supplier is under obligation to ensure the goods
are well protected while they are in transit. The supplier must also make
sure the delivery company/courier are aware that the goods are fragile or if
they are to be kept or carried in a certain way. If they do not, they will
be liable for any damage occurred in transit. None of the three packages I
received were labeled in any way as fragile !

Anytime limits reporting faults should be in line with the law, any time
limits should be reasonable. I reported the fault on the very same day.

Having waited since the 5th May for this bed, which by the way should of
been "Next Day Delivery", it took over a month to receive this item! And
only then when I contacted you first. I have given you more than a
reasonable amount of time for the delivery of this product and I feel that
you could be reasonable in return.

If you do refuse to refund the bed in full or replace the damaged items,
could you please supply me with a contact name and address for the company
as I will be forced to take legal action against "Our World of Interiors
Ltd".

Yours sincerely

RICHARD



Hi

As we use a courier company in logistics you must understand that
damages can occur in transit. Therefore when a bulky item is delivered
it is best that you check the item for damages before signing. You
have confirmed that the packaging was damaged therefore it would have
been ideal to check the item before signing for it. Can you please
email us pictures of the damaged boxes and list the item that need
replacing and we will see what we can do.

Regards

Ian

Hi

I have just emailed our suppliers to forward us a price of the parts
you require. Please bare with us and we will be in touch to arrange
the delivery for you.

Is this ok?

Regards

Ian

On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 4:26 PM, Richard wrote:
Hi Ian

Was there any more news on the replacement parts that you were looking in to for me?

Thanks

Richard

THIS THEIR LAST EMAIL:

Hi,

Thank you for your email. Our suppliers will not accept the bed back
in this condition, even if you were to return the bed to our suppliers
they will not send out a brand new replacement bed free of charge,
this is because the item was not signed for as 'damaged'. You can by
all means purchase a new bed from us however we will not be able to
provide you with a replacement part or a brand new bed.

Kind Regards

Billy

molerat

Letter before action.

somethingcorporate

How did you pay? If by credit card they are jointly liable under S75 so give them a call.

shaun_from_Africa

Rich22 wrote: »

The company replied saying that because I hadn't made a note on the delivery note that they weren't liable for any damage or refund.

If you do contact them again, A link to the OFT guidelines on unfair terms in contracts may help.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft311.pdf

Group 2(a): Exclusion of liability for faulty or misdescribed goods
2.1.1 Any business selling goods to consumers is legally bound to accept certain implied obligations, whatever the contract says. These are the consumer's 'statutory rights'. Goods must match the description given to them, and be of satisfactory quality and fit for their purposes. Contract terms which
deny consumers the right to full compensation where goods are
misdescribed or defective are liable to be considered unfair under the Regulations, and are void and unenforceable under other legislation.

• Terms requiring that the goods are accepted as satisfactory on delivery, or imposing unreasonable conditions on their return. Consumers have a right to a reasonable opportunity to examine goods and reject them if faulty. In the case of complex goods, a reasonable opportunity to examine means a chance to try the goods out. Consumers cannot legally be deprived of this right by being required to sign 'satisfaction' notes on delivery, or by being required to return goods in a way that may not be possible

zahariel

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

If you do contact them again, A link to the OFT guidelines on unfair terms in contracts may help

That is a really useful bit of knowledge - I'll be storing that one away in case anyone tries that on me in the future...

Rich22

The company are now not replying to my correspondence.

Where do I go from here?

Do I contact citizen advice, trading standards, or my credit card company?

somethingcorporate

Credit card company. Then letter before action if that fails.