Furniture purchase - cooling off period

iwishicouldwin

Hi
My son and his girlfriend have recently purchased two settees and a bed from a local furniture store. They had no intention of buying at the time - they were just looking and comparing prices. However, the salesperson was extremely pushy and convinced them to buy two settees (and he threw in a free bed!) At one point they were leaving the store and the salesperson got them back in by saying that this was a once if a lifetime deal which was only available on the day. After much more pressured sales techniques, they paid bought the furniture on two debit cards and left the store feeling uncomfortable with what they had just done. They reached the car park and decided that they had done the wrong thing and went back into the store to ask that there money be put back on their cards. The salesman refused and said that 'the money had already gone to Italy'! (they'd bought two Italian leather settees). They laughed and said that they didn't believe that and the salesperson has told them to come back on Monday (tomorrow) and he will 'see what he can do'. Could anyone please advise as to whether there is a cooling off period and whether, under the circumstances, they are entitled to their money back. Thanks for any advice.

George_Michael

Unless the store in question has an instore cancellation policy then there is no right to a refund.
Cooling off periods for goods only apply when sales are made at a distance and not for face to face transactions.

unholyangel

No cooling off period.

However they're wrong to tell them they can't cancel. Its a fallacy stated by many retailers. In truth, either party is free to terminate the contract as they so wish, but not without being liable for the losses incurred by the other party as a result of the breach. However, they do have a statutory duty to mitigate their losses.

It is possible to get your money back (minus perhaps a small admin fee) from these companies but it can take a lot of work as most retail staff are clueless when it comes to contract law.

Try having a google for "unfair contract terms guidance" and look for the PDF supplied by OFT. It details everything I've said above in there.

forgotmyname

They purchased in store so very little. Does the paperwork state any cooling off period?

If they have finance then that may have a cooling off period. But the goods they ordered will still need to be paid for by some other means.