Delivery time for bespoke furniture

seaside0

Hi - I am a newbie so if this has been covered elsewhere I apologise. I used my credit card to purchased a manual recliner chair for my 87 year old Mum over 12 weeks ago - the showroom staff were really nice and I decided to pick bespoke material to match her decor (she is in a care home). The salesman advised there was a time lag of between 10 and 12 weeks. As we had not heard anything I contacted them in the 10th week and the admin sales was defensive stating delivery times are approx and the 12th week was two weeks away she would chase sales and let me know. I rang again last Saturday end of 12th week and was told they would chase and let me know. I went into the shop yesterday and sales man really unhelpful, I asked where I could find their cancellation policy and was told that as my item was bespoke they could not be liable for delay - they still did not know how long it would take. I left the store very unhappy having ascertained I would have to wait until they contacted me which could be whenever. I have since had a phone call offering me a loan of a chair - not in the right fabric or exact style until my chair is delivered. What are my rights. There is no returns/cancellation policy on the receipt and I can only see a returns policy on their website for ordering online. Can anyone help?

Hintza

The loan of a chair sounds fair. Ask them to put a date on delivery, carte blanche to take as long as they want isn't right.

unholyangel

2.6.1 The law requires that goods should be delivered, and services carried out,
when agreed, or, if no date is fixed, within a reasonable time. A term which
allows the supplier to fail to meet this requirement upsets the balance of
the contract. This applies not just to terms which simply exclude all liability
for delay, but also to standard terms allowing unduly long periods for
delivery or completion of work, or excessive margins of delay after an
agreed date. The effect is the same – to allow the supplier to ignore the
convenience of customers, and even verbal commitments as to deadlines.

2.6.2 Such a term is particularly likely to be considered unfair since, if the
contract says nothing on the issue of timing, the obligation on the supplier
is only to be reasonably prompt in carrying out his side of the bargain. In
fact, the law is even more accommodating than this implies, since, if that
requirement is not met, the consumer has no immediate right to cancel. He
or she must set a deadline,* which allows the supplier a further reasonable
time, and can then take action only if that date is missed.

*This is in order to make 'time of the essence' for legal purposes – which will enable the consumer
to cancel the contract if the deadline is not adhered to and will not affect his right to sue for
damages in any event.

Basically you want to write to them, making time of the essence.

Theres more info on making time of the essence at the bottom of this page : http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/delivery-rights?_ga=1.217988374.1238335680.1400683792

InsideInsurance

12 weeks isnt uncommon for off the shelf furniture let alone anything that is "bespoke". Looking at Harveys, theirs are 15 weeks for many of their standard items.

Whilst you can write to them to make "time of the essence" you too have to be reasonable about it and cannot give them a deadline of tomorrow and then cancel freely.

It does however sound like they are fobbing you off rather than actually trying to find out what is happening. A complaint either done loudly in store or in writing to someone more senior will probably get a firmer answer