Tiger Sheds - Section 75 claim confusion!

Charismac

Hiya, I hope someone has some advice 'cos I'm really confused!

We purchased a metal shed online from Tiger Sheds in March using our credit card. The quality is really poor, the metal so thin it's razor sharp but aside from that, the box states 'no bolt down kit required' and 'all holes pre-drilled'. The instructions however require a bolt down kit and give recommendations and the first instruction is for a part that isn't pre-drilled!

We rejected it within 7 days and a legal advice line told us that its classed as misrepresentation and Tiger must arrange collection. Tiger have been slow to respond to every communication and just reiterate that we have to pay £48 to have it collected so we started a section 75 claim via Barclaycard.

We have supplied photos of the box and instructions but Barclaycard say they can't help until we return it and we have to supply documentary evidence - photos don't count. They claim that DSR are irrelevant to the claim. The legal advice line says don't return it, it's down to Tiger and we should write a 'letter before court action' to both Tiger and Barclaycard.

Who is giving us the right advice? I'm so confused between distance selling regs and mis-representation, contractual stuff. What do we do next? Any help appreciated!

bris

You can forget DSR, if you go down that route then you would need to pay to return it. You have to concentrate on misrepresentaion, if like you say it's not as described.

The problem you have is if they dispute it then it's off to the small claims court with all the details laid bare for the judge to decide.

S75 won't get involved until you return it.

They are pretty simple to build, are you sure you followed the instructions properly.

No one is right or wrong, but you do have to prove misrepresentation, so far it's only your word for it, they may not agree, this is why you need the court to decide. If they side with you then all costs are paid by them.

mo786uk

There is some overlap between the Misrepresentation Act and the 'not as described' part of the Sale of Goods Act. I would stick with SOGA not as described as it is easier and you may also be able to throw in 'not of satisfactory' quality.

Technically when there is a breach you don't have to send the item back under the SGOA unless agreed otherwise (i.e in the terms - see here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54/section/36

If you are confident of pursing the credit card all the way to the court then it might be worth just sending it back and adding it onto the cost of your claim.

bris

Misrepresentation may be very hard to prove here anyway. Tiger sheds sell metal sheds which the op bought, there is nothing on the website to be misrepresented, the metal shed is there to purchase the box or instructions are not visible so the op got what they paid for.

The problem seems to lie elsewhere, when in doubt follow the instructions, but the fact remains it's not been misrepresented on the website.

Personaly I think the quality is the real issue here and this is where DSR rights come in, I believe you need to excersize those rights, but that means paying to return it.

Charismac

Thanks for your responses. I checked out DSR and it says that if the item is faulty etc, then the supplier can't make a charge for collection. I can't post a link but it's paragraphs 5&6 of 'legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/2334/regulation/14/made'

I'm not concerned about going to small claims if necessary. The quality issues may be a matter of opinion but there is no question about the misrepresentation. We didn't even get past the 1st instruction in building it due to the issues but, in their defense, Storemore (Tiger's supplier) offered to send someone to build it FOC which was generous. If it wasn't for the other issues we would have taken them up on it but alarm bells had started ringing! Interestingly, someone else has posted a problem with the same company and same type of shed. They did try to build it and based on their post, I'm glad we didn't!

We were going to send it back at our cost originally because we didn't realise we didn't have to but Tiger wouldn't supply us with an address because they were determined we should use their supplier (Storemore) to collect it. To be honest I started to feel a bit nervous because they were being really 'persuasive' about the potential for damage that they would then charge us for if we used another courier.

I'm completely satisfied that we will ultimately get a refund inc. courier charges if necessary its just which way we have to go and how long it will take. Its such a shame Tiger wouldn't just accept the facts and deal with it. Now every time someone searches Tiger Sheds or Storemore they will probably stumble across this and the other poster's problems. Their customer service has been appalling.

I think from your advice that I will speak to the credit card co. again to confirm that the additional charges will be claimed as well and then take the risk and get it sent back (insured of course). It's so confusing!

If we completely ignored the DSR would Tiger still need to collect it/pay for return or would it usually be down to us?

Thanks again.

Charismac

Sorry Bris, your last post wasn't on my review tab!

The mis representation is between the box and the contents. So basically, as I understand it, we bought the shed and had 7 days to decide if we wanted it or not. Based on what was on the box we decided it was the product we wanted. On opening the product we essentially find something different hence the mis representation. That's how the legal advice line explained it to me??? In terms of the webiste they say it's easy to build and doesn't require power tools. So technically a mis-representation I suppose but from all the replies above it looks as though quality may be easier to pursue.

Thanks for your help.

Charismac

Just thought I'd do a final update in case it helps someone in the future.

Tiger Sheds stopped responding to any correspondence - they must have tel no,. recognition software as the final time I attempted to call they took over 8 mins of ringing to answer. We did quite a bit of back and forth with Barclaycard trying to get the information about how to proceed and then got completely stuck because when we emailed the questions they treated it as a complaint and wanted 40 days to respond! This was very frustrating at the time but the end result was a full refund and compensation.

The answers were:

1. We were not responsible for paying return charges. DSR regs did apply and as the product was not as described on the box, the charges were down to the supplier.

2. We were eventually advised by Barclaycard not to send it back as that would result in a separate claim for carriage charges and therefore complicate matters.

3. Photos aren't ideal but in some cases are the most appropriate evidence (as with ours) and are then acceptable.

4. Our S75 claim was upheld and resolved as above. However, Barclaycard felt it wasn't financially viable for them to pursue Tiger Sheds and have told use to dispose of the shed in whatever way we wish. Unfortunately this does mean that as far as Tiger Sheds/ Tigerbox are aware, their method of ignoring the customer and neglecting their statutory duties has paid off!

Good luck to anyone dealing with Tiger Sheds - you have been warned!

fortunefortune

To anyone reading this PRIOR to purchasing a Tiger Shed...


ZERO aftercare. They do not give a CR*P!!!! Cannot state this strongly enough. Damaged and low quality wood used to make their sheds. Read numerous reviews warning of these factors but stupidly thought I had done all my research and would be ok. DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID!!!