Faulty mattress replacement

Fairymagic

Approx 4 years ago I purchased a mattress from a UK company who were the UK suppliers of Canadian manufactured specialist mattresses. The Uk firm no longer exists.
The matttress has split in 2 places( It is a type of memory foam) so I contacted manufacturer as it has a 20 year warranty. They have agreed the fault and are willing to replace it but say I have to pay shipping from Canada and vat and duty at this end.
Shipping is £280 Vat approx £300 and duty somewhere near the same. A very expensive replacement.
My question is, should I have to pay all of this when the item is faulty.
They say it is in their warranty but all I have found is that should it be returned for repair I would have to pay return costs. I have asked Customs and excise and they have confirmed charges would have to be paid even though I paid Vat on the original one.
Any Help Please?

InsideInsurance

Why is their taxes to pay? Normally a repaired item wouldnt attract taxes for being brought back into the country if you can show you sending the faulty one out.

You are dealing with the manufacturer, another legal jurisdiction and the terms of their warranty. You'd have no statutory rights in the UK against the manufacturer and so need to review the terms of the policy. I guess there is a small chance that canadian consumer law may give the manufacturer some form of duty but given you are outside of Canada the chances are low.

How did you pay for it? If by credit card then possibly look at that as S75 would give you protection as you'd possibly have a claim against the UK merchant if they still existed

LilElvis

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Why is their taxes to pay? Normally a repaired item wouldnt attract taxes for being brought back into the country if you can show you sending the faulty one out.

You are dealing with the manufacturer, another legal jurisdiction and the terms of their warranty. You'd have no statutory rights in the UK against the manufacturer and so need to review the terms of the policy. I guess there is a small chance that canadian consumer law may give the manufacturer some form of duty but given you are outside of Canada the chances are low.

How did you pay for it? If by credit card then possibly look at that as S75 would give you protection as you'd possibly have a claim against the UK merchant if they still existed

The OP says that the manufacturer is offering to replace rather than repair.

InsideInsurance

LilElvis wrote: »

The OP says that the manufacturer is offering to replace rather than repair.

I thought that was the same, ie you export a faulty item and import a repaired/ replacement item under a warranty etc then the VAT/Duty is refunded upon your proving you exported the faulty one. I could be wrong as this isnt my area of expertise at all but am fairly sure this was the case

Fairymagic

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I thought that was the same, ie you export a faulty item and import a repaired/ replacement item under a warranty etc then the VAT/Duty is refunded upon your proving you exported the faulty one. I could be wrong as this isnt my area of expertise at all but am fairly sure this was the case

Yes I would be able to claim back duty/vat if it was returned to them but it would also be more expensive to send back to them than what I would save. I thought costs should be paid by manufacturer as it is their product that is at fault and needs to be replaced

InsideInsurance

Fairymagic wrote: »

Yes I would be able to claim back duty/vat if it was returned to them but it would also be more expensive to send back to them than what I would save. I thought costs should be paid by manufacturer as it is their product that is at fault and needs to be replaced

Not under UK law, SOGA would mean that returning it to the retailer the costs of doing so have to be covered but the retailer has gone bust/ closed from what you say.

Whilst for injury etc the manufacturer has obligations to the end customer for just general defective product they dont have statutory obligations. Any contractual ones are subject to the terms that they have set.

I reiterate the Q on how you paid for it.

Fairymagic

Sorry, I am pretty sure it would have been debit card or credit card but as I was very ill at the time Not sure would have to check on that

InsideInsurance

Fairymagic wrote: »

Sorry, I am pretty sure it would have been debit card or credit card but as I was very ill at the time Not sure would have to check on that

If its credit card then you can deal with the card issuer instead of the Canadian company as your SOGA rights apply to them as well as the merchant.

A debit card provides no additional protection

Fairymagic

Both cards are visa debit but will check up on that tomorro. Thanks for help