Gumtree Purchase - Gone Wrong

mrs_sparrow

Yes, I also have to agree. Can you not mend it yourself and add a steel rod or joist to make it stronger?

To answer your question, a 4ft child will be around the age of 6 or 7 so a child would weigh around 20 kgs. And as they are not springy they are not really for jumping on. A child would never use the cot bed on the highest position either. You said your dog is 30kgs so already 10kgs over the weight it should be - plus it's in the wrong position AND your dog jumped onto it.

It's not the sellers fault at all. You are offended and think you have been ripped off but actually you have bought something, modified it, and have broken it. It's entirely your fault. I'd accept the half refund and think yourself lucky they don't have a rethink if they are reading this thread. I think that it shows that there are some decent sellers on gumtree after all.

RadoJo

I don't think you can use the fact that you told the sellers what you wanted to use it for against them - they aren't portraying themselves as experts in furniture or offering it as a cot/dog bed. I agree with the other posters that they have been generous in offering you a 50% refund. Just out of interest - why would the tip charge you? Is this just one of those things that differs from region to region?

Fire_Fox

As soon as you jump you effectively get heavier in terms of the force of impact, one of the reasons running can be so tough on our joints. So your 30kg dog actually applied more than 30kg of force when it jumped onto the bed, concentrated onto the small area of their paws instead of spread over a larger contact area of a seated or lying child. Not really surprising you broke a piece of furniture you had specially weakened for the purpose.

pinkshoes

My son is in a cot bed and is 13kg. I imagine by the time he reaches even 20kg he'll be way too heavy for it.

30kg is too heavy!

peachyprice

Forwandert wrote: »

Just to add, with the cot in the highest position the cot would be very high for a small dog. How big is the dog?

OP said it's 30kg, over 4.5 stone, Labrador size or about the size of a 10yo child.

You woudn't put a 10yo child in a cot bed with it on the high setting (you wouldn't put a 10 a in a cot bed.)

OP, did you have the mattress too, or was the dog jumping straight onto the base with noting substatial to absorb the weight?

antrobus

Fedup2009 wrote: »

...Do I have any legal rights or protections I can quote to them?

No.

You have purchased a wooden Babies R Us cot-bed & mattress from a private seller; SOGA merely requires that the goods are 'as described'. Which they were, so no argument there. If you had purchased the same from a business seller, then SOGA would additionally require that the goods where 'fit for purpose' and of 'satisfactory quality'. Clearly however, the purpose of a Babies R Us cot-bed & mattress is to provide a sleeping platform for a human child, and not a dog, so the fact that a dog succeeded in breaking the bed would be neither here nor there.

Take the offered £25.

mattyprice4004

Fedup2009 wrote: »

Let's take the dog out of the equation. What if a 4 foot child had broken it? The cot-bed is designed for use as a cot or a bed - you can take the side bars off - that's not the issue. This issue is that I bought something and it broke - beds aren't meant to break???

The issue is you bought something second hand and took a risk - and it didn't pay off.

Want a warranty? Buy from a shop.

I also note you haven't actually thanked anyone for their help...

mrs_sparrow

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

The issue is you bought something second hand and took a risk - and it didn't pay off.

Want a warranty? Buy from a shop.

I also note you haven't actually thanked anyone for their help...

But the warranty would not have applied as it was modified and not used for the purpose it was intended.

Also to add (not aimed at this quote, just an add on), I don't think it was the sellers fault either, despite being told what the OP wanted it for, how was they to know that a cotbed was not suitable for a 30kg dog?? They bought it for a child and probably thought 'it;s up to you what you do with it'.

The OP has not thanked anyone as they did not get the answer they wanted, they are probably still sulking and moaning to people down the pub!!

DCFC79

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

I also note you haven't actually thanked anyone for their help...

Thats because the reples haven't been ones like "yes you have a case for your money back".

MamaMoo_2

Most cot beds are suitable for up to age 5. The average weight of a 5 year old child is about 19-20kg. Also, once the child is about 6-12 months, the corned is expected to be used in the lowest position so that the children can't climb out. So what you've done is not only made the structure incredibly weak by removing the side and having it on it's highest level, but you've also put 50% more weight onto the bed than is recommended.
I discovered all this (avg child weight, age recommendations for cots etc) in 5 minutes on Google.
If I were the seller, I'd be telling you to get lost, sold as seen, do your research. You can't blame the seller because it didn't work for a purpose it wasn't intended for, and if you wanted to use it for an alternative purpose, you should have done the research to make sure this was feasible.