refund from credit card for bed

olivia84

hi there,

my mum recently bought my sister a new bed (just the base, no mattress) from an online bed company. the price was £650. it was delivered to her house last tuesday.

my mum and sister 'built' the bed up (it was flat packed, however, the building consisted of 4 bolts that were already in the frame; you have to undo the bolts, attach the main part of the bed then put the bolts back in) this was done at night. the next day, in natural daylight, they could definately see a hint of green in the colour of the bed - the bed colour is 'oatmeal' and it certainly looks different to the photo on the website.

my mum phoned the bed company who said they could exchange the bed for another type for a £50 charge. my mum agreed to this and my sister chose a different bed.

they asked for confirmation email so my mum sent them one and naively put in the email 'after building the bed, and in natural daylight, we can see the colour is not what we expected' the bed company have now came back and said that because we built the bed, this means we have accepted it and they won't do anything now.

i called trading standards and they have raised a case for this, but i phoned the company yesterday to tell them this and give them the chance to exchange the bed. they are not budging. they asked me to send a photo of the bed which i did. (i can see the green tinge in this photo) the guy says he 'honestly' cannot see the problem but he will get onto the manufacturer about it.

i just know they are going to come back and say as far as they are concerned, the bed is oatmeal and that is that.

their get out clause is basically that we built the bed, so we accepted it.

is there anything my mum can do?? in the flesh, the bed really is a greeny colour! she paid with her credit card. is she able to claim the credit card company for this, no questions asked, and they will fight for a refund. I say this because I really do think this company will just come right back and say they are not going to do anything.

She is more than prepared to pay the £50 for and exchange but they are not even prepared to do this.

Sorry this is long winded, hoping someone can help.

Thanks

olivia x

ThumbRemote

Colour is very subjective. There are a couple of possibilities here: either they sent the wrong bed colour, or what they call oatmeal is, in fact, a slightly greeny colour. Was the colour pictured online anywhere first, or was she going from description only?

Things are complicated by the fact the bed is now assembled. This is pretty much her having accepted the bed in the given colour.

If it came to a court case, she would have to prove both that the colour provided isn't within the acceptable range either as pictured or commonly understood to be oatmeal. She would also have to justify that assembling the bed wasn't acceptance, which may be harder.

It's almost certainly going to be cheaper and easier to just get some sort of valance sheet to go over it.

OlliesDad

She is still within timescale to reject the item under DSR. Does the website mention anything regarding return postage? If not, they must cover the cost.

olivia84

ah thanks for your reply ThumbRemote. yea, i can see why this would be very objective and a matter of opinion. the whole of the sides of the bed and the headboard is the oatmeal/green colour so even covering with a valance wouldn't hide it!

i was just wondering how easy it would be to claim back from the credit card company?? i mean, the bed is completely re-salable, there was never a mattress bought so the hygiene issue wouldn't be there. if my mum claims back from the credit card company, do they just refund the money without asking any questions (like a direct debit indemnity) is she even able to do this? do they then try to claim back from the bed company? does my mum just send the bed back?

i feel really sorry for her as it really is a hideous colour!

x

olivia84

thanks olliesdad, the website has no info whatsoever regarding returns policy. there is an orders & returns link, but nothing on it when you go to it.

x

wealdroam

olivia84 wrote: »

thanks olliesdad, the website has no info whatsoever regarding returns policy. there is an orders & returns link, but nothing on it when you go to it.

x

What is the website?

Maybe the returns info was on the order confirmation email, or perhaps on the delivery note?

The point here is that if they have not stated that you are responsible for return costs, then under DSRs they must cover that cost as well as refunding all monies paid.

Under DSRs you have seven working days, starting with the day after delivery, to cancel the order for any reason whatsoever, or even no reason at all.

olivia84

thanks wealdroam, the website is home furnishings 4 you (hf4you . com)

x

wealdroam

olivia84 wrote: »

thanks wealdroam, the website is home furnishings 4 you (hf4you . com)

x

I'll assume you mean https://www.hf4you.co.uk

Their T&Cs do list their returns policy... para 6.

Their term 6.3 looks interesting:

3. If a customer wishes to cancel after receiving goods, for reasons of change of mind, incorrect goods ordered, wrong size, wrong colour choice, donot fit for any reason, then there is a £49 collection fee and £29 re-delivery fee of correct item.

More than you thought.

However, it doesn't matter what is on their website, if they have not informed you in a durable manner then they cannot charge you for returning the bed under DSRs.
'Durable' means by letter, delivery note, email etc... not website.

You have an unconditional right to a refund of all monies paid.

You need to get your cancellation to them asap... in writing... email is ok.

frugal_mike

One thing I always wonder is how do you prove the correct information was/wasn't delivered? Has this ever been tested? I mean they could claim there was a delivery note, which would make it the customers word against theirs.