offered money back to keep damaged goods?

montysma_2

I bought a chest of oak drawers, which arrived with quite a deep scratch /gouge thing right on the front, about 3 inches long, quite deep, looks like a power tool skidded along it in the factory.

Retailer insisted on sending out a "technician" to see if they could repair it. This took 3 weeks to happen. The guy said he couldnt conceal it because the scratch was against the grain, and it actually looked a bit worse when he was done. Said he would tell the retailer and they would contact me. Fast forward a week to today when I phoned them having given up on them contacting me.

Anyway, before discussing anything else he offered me money off it for my inconvenience, to just keep it. (the drawers cost £359.)
I said, how much money?
He said how much do you want?
I said well I dont know your ball park figures.
He said £75 into your account today.

I know I can reject the goods, but it is more hassle trying to re package it and arrange uplift. Its all taken nearly a month so far.

What I wonder is, is the £75 just his starting figure and I could negotiate more and just live with the damage. And if so , how much. It is right on the front.

But maybe for big discount i could learn to live with it and think of it as "character"

Has anybody done this and how much did they get back and how much is reasonable to ask for? The are obviously hell bent on not replacing it.

Was he chancing his arm? Could I reasonably expect more for visible damage on the front and for the inconvenience of the month its been sitting in my living room unused? What would be a reasonable amount to ask for?

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Why dont you go back to him with a price that you think is acceptable to you - given that you're the one who will have to keep looking at it and the scratch

shaun_from_Africa

Why not have a look in your local Yellow pages/Thompson etc to see if you can get hold of a good cabinet maker and seek their advice as to the possibility and cost of a repair, and depending on what they state, go back to the retailer with a revised figure

The technician who visited you was probably being paid a small fee and may not have had much of an incentive to do a good job.
Another thing to bear in mind is that if the retailer was able to get a full refund from the manufacturer then they probably would have done this already, so if you reject the unit for a full refund, they will in all likelyhood be left with a £359 item that they couldn't resell at anywhere near the full price.
Because of this, you will probably be in the driving seat when it comes to negotiations over the compensation amount.

I know I can reject the goods, but it is more hassle trying to re package it and arrange uplift

You don't have to repack it or go to much of an effort with regards to collection.
All you need to do is to inform the seller of the fact that you are rejecting the unit and ask them to arrange for the collection and packing of it.

unholyangel

To put it in context, they've offered over a 20% refund.

Personally I'd push for £100 off but I am a chancer when it comes to things like that. If he's offered £75, is not willing to go as high as £100 but is willing to go higher....you should end up with £80-90 discount by countering with £100.

I dont mind furtniture having a mark here or there if it saves me money. But only you can see the mark so only you can really decide whether getting it £x cheaper is worth it.

Especially if you can cover it up (perhaps with a throw? if not to cover it completely, at least to hide it some?), its definitely worth it :X

Country_Cousin

I think you are in the driving seat here. If you reject it - he will have to pay someone to come and collect it and then he is left with a Unit that he will not be able to sell for anywhere near full price from the sound of it.
I would try and take an objective view of the item and truthfully tell myself how much I would pay for it if it was in the clearance/seconds area of a shop. I suspect you would not want to pay just £75 less than full asking if the defect is so visible.
If you don't get anywhere near what you think the item is worth then I would reject it and ask him to come and collect it.

liam8282

£75 is the start of negotiation.

You can always refuse the cabinet if you are not happy, so the aim is to work out a price that you are happy with.

Consider that the retailer will be out of pocket delivering the item, collecting the item and then trying to resell the item.

All in all, just push for the price that you are happy with.

pcombo

I would ask them to send you what profit they would make out of the order.

zaax

That gouge will always be noticeable.
It worth getting a replacement, the supplier should provide a 'Hot Swap' ie use the packaging the new one came in to package the old one and for his staff / couriers to do this, all at there cost of course.

bod1467

If it was me, and I was prepared to keep the defective unit, I'd be looking for at least 40% off the purchase price (depending on the location and severity of the mark).

But that's just me.