Faulty Chair

GW85

Hi everyone, this is my first post on these forums, I'm hoping someone can help me out with a problem I'm having.

Last October I purchased a motorised riser/recliner chair for my Grandma at a cost of around £800 - recently *something* has changed (I don't know exactly what) and the chair is extremely uncomfortable for my Grandma to sit in for any period of time. As she spends most of her time in the chair and had limited mobility, this is a major issue and is something that is beginning to cause her pain.

I contacted the seller and advised that there was an issue and asked if it was possible that the motorised massagers in the chair had slipped down and could be poking my Grandma in the back. The technician was quite brusque and said that this was more or less impossible. He was reluctant to send out an Engineer as he said that 99% of times he sends an engineer out the equipment is in the same condition that it was sold in. I advised that as the chair was still within the 12 month warranty period I wanted an Engineer to visit and inspect the chair, I'm not an engineer and was only guessing at what the problem might be.

The engineer turned up, checked the massaging pads hadn't slipped and then left, saying he would call back with his report. We heard nothing for a week and I had to chase them up, only to be told that there was nothing wrong with the pads and the chair was fine. The engineer was on-site for less than 20 minutes, he didn't even sit in the chair and only inspected the heat/massage pads to confirm they hadn't moved and took photos of the chair to prove there was no visible damage.
I argued that the fact that the chair was uncomfortable to sit in showed that the chair was not fine and asked what could be done.
I was advised to submit a written complaint detailing my concerns, which I duly did.

I received a reply approximately 30 minutes after sending in my complaint, advising that there was nothing wrong with the massaging pads in the chair, so in the traders opinion, the chair is fit for purpose and as such they will not be offering a refund/repair/replacement - they said that if I'm not happy with this then I can get an independent engineer to submit their own report and the company will "take this on board".
I'm reluctant to do do this as it's likely to cost me more money and I'm not confident that the company I purchased the chair from has any intention to acknowledge or act upon any report that I submit.

I'm wondering where to go from here in regards to the issue, I argued that any chair purchased should be usable for a reasonable period of time but the company refuses to take any further action.
I have done a little research via the Trading Standards Institute and Citizens Advice Bureau websites and I've followed their advice (Complaining in writing, advising what I would like done etc), but I'm not sure what to do next - there are a couple of options open including getting the 3rd party engineer report, with a view to taking things further and possibly going to court but I was wondering whether anyone here had been through a similar experience and could offer any advice? A friend mentioned that as I paid for the chair on a credit card, I could contact my credit card company and look into requesting a refund that way, but I want to make sure I do everything properly, so that if I do ultimately end up having to involve the courts, I can honestly say that I did everything I could to resolve the problem myself. (I'm sorry if this is a little rambling, but I'm trying to make sure I
mention everything.)

Thanks in advance for any help/advice offered!

marliepanda

Without a report I am afraid there is little more you can do. If it shows it is an inherent fault then they have to reimburse you the report money as well as sort out the chair.

A question though, have you sat in the chair? Can you feel the thing that is 'sticking' into your Grandma? You simply say 'something' has changed.

Is there a possibility this is a medical issue with your grandma which is new, perhaps a sore or some joint issue rather than an issue with the chair? Perhaps the something that has changed is something to see a doctor about as well, just to cover the bases.

hollydays

Have you googled the make of chair to see if there any simulate reports online?
Have you tried the chair yourself ?

GW85

Thanks for the replies guys! To answer your questions:

1) I haven't sat in the chair myself as yet, though I will be going through in the next couple of days to test things out for myself. I know that it's my Grandma and I'm obviously biased, but she really isn't one to complain for no reason, however I will test it out. She has been to see her GP who advised that there was nothing wrong with 'her' but that the chair was certainly not doing her any good at the moment.

2) I haven't done a google search on the chair, to be honest, I didn't think of that and I feel a bit silly now!

Since this is my first time dealing with something like this, does anyone have any advice on how I would go about getting an independent engineer to take a look? I was thinking about seeing if there is a local mobility company that could possibly send someone out to take a look.

Thanks again for the replies, I really appreciate them!

marliepanda

GW85 wrote: »

Since this is my first time dealing with something like this, does anyone have any advice on how I would go about getting an independent engineer to take a look? I was thinking about seeing if there is a local mobility company that could possibly send someone out to take a look.

That sounds like a good start. I would definitely try the chair out for yourself first and see if you can pinpoint where there may be an issue. I am assuming it is localised, aka, left hand side lower back rather than a general 'this is uncomfortable' type pain if you say something is 'digging in her' which should be fairly obvious to anyone sitting in it.

Its a bit concerning that their engineers havent found anything, but not impossible that theyve missed something.

GW85

I think you're right, I've just done a quick google search of the company and it seems like they have quite a poor reputation - I'm certainly not letting this lie though, the only concern to me is that the longer it takes to get resolved, the longer my Grandma has to sit in discomfort

I'll see what I can do to get an engineer out asap

hollydays

I'm concerned before you throw good money away on an engineers report you should do some more digging on the company .

Companies that sell mobility products are notorious for being run by fraudsters who prey on the elderly.

I would suggest you speak to consumer direct before you go any further.

hollydays

I mean trading standards , they may already know this company and may be able to give you more precise advice.