Furniture return - who pays courier fees?

GolfBravo

I'm helping a friend of mine to return furniture bought online - the seller is not playing ball. Need advice.

A divan bed was purchased from homefurnishingsuk.co.uk. It was advertised as firm orthopaedic mattress. £220, I think, including free delivery. She paid for with a debit card, furniture arrived the next day.

And that's when the problem started:
- bed is of very poor quality, the castor wheels keep coming off (with their metal mounts, unable to secure them properly) = faulty item
- the mattress is nowhere near firm, it is in fact very very soft = not as described
- sent an email requesting a full refund (poor quality and not as described)
- no reply for 8 days
- checked their online T&C's and notice that they claim to charge £49 for returns (their cost of courier)
- rang their number today, and was told to use a different email address
- emailed the different email address, and got this reply

we are in fact authorised to charge for the collection of an unwanted item. However we usually do ask customers to return on their own carriage.

I am sorry to hear that you are not happy with your purchase. The wheels need to be pushed and locked into place to prevent them from falling out. If they are not locking into place it would indicate to me that you have a castor insert missing from your divan base.

In regards to the mattress, it is rated as a firm mattress and has specifications to match the orthopaedic qualities it is advertised as. However, these are used a guideline as firmness ratings can be perceived differently by each individual.

If you wish to return the item, this would be an unwanted item and therefore would need to be returned on your own carriage sufficiently packaged to our returns address:

Home Furnishings UK Distribution Centre

Please inform us which courier you plan to use and when the bed is expected back into us so we can notify the returns department. Please note that the goods will be inspected once returned before the refund is processed.

Really? Can they really charge a customer £49, or ask their customers to arrange for their own courier, to return a faulty item (and sold not as described)? They were told that the bed is faulty, and yet they claim that it is simply unwanted.

Having looked at their online reviews it appears that my friend will probably need to ask her bank for a chargeback sooner or later.

visidigi

Its faulty, they cannot charge.

Notify them you are returning under DSR's or the new equivalent.

is the email address you were given originally on their site? make sure you document now if it is as this is a proof that you contact them within the appropriate timelines.

You don't outline the purchase date so I can't clarify which act your sale is covered by...

GolfBravo

It was purchased only about 10 or 11 days ago.

daytona0

visidigi wrote: »

Its faulty, they cannot charge.

Notify them you are returning under DSR's or the new equivalent.

is the email address you were given originally on their site? make sure you document now if it is as this is a proof that you contact them within the appropriate timelines.

You don't outline the purchase date so I can't clarify which act your sale is covered by...

Hmm, I'm not really agreeing with this advice on this occasion...

1. A DSR/CCR return may still incur the charges especially if the seller has clearly indicated that a charge would apply on either the returns/deliivery page or their T's and C's

2. The seller has sent a perfectly legitimate email (when reading it as a third party with no access to the item) and the customer has seemingly ignored all of their points.

Something smells a bit fishy to be honest. I mean it might be worth quoting SOGA and CCR to see what happens but personally I wouldn't like the seller to be ignored when they send out well-written and plausible emails. At the end of the day they have "consumer" rights too

bod1467

If the goods are faulty and/or not as described then the Sale of Goods Act 1979 applies. Seller must provide a remedy (repair, replace, refund) and must bear ALL costs in providing that remedy, including returns costs (if they decide to replace or refund).

visidigi

daytona0 wrote: »

Hmm, I'm not really agreeing with this advice on this occasion...

1. A DSR/CCR return may still incur the charges especially if the seller has clearly indicated that a charge would apply on either the returns/deliivery page or their T's and C's

2. The seller has sent a perfectly legitimate email (when reading it as a third party with no access to the item) and the customer has seemingly ignored all of their points.

Something smells a bit fishy to be honest. I mean it might be worth quoting SOGA and CCR to see what happens but personally I wouldn't like the seller to be ignored when they send out well-written and plausible emails. At the end of the day they have "consumer" rights too

Hmm one word contradicts your post/opinion.

"faulty"

InsideInsurance

visidigi wrote: »

Its faulty, they cannot charge.

Notify them you are returning under DSR's or the new equivalent.

is the email address you were given originally on their site? make sure you document now if it is as this is a proof that you contact them within the appropriate timelines.

You don't outline the purchase date so I can't clarify which act your sale is covered by...

DSR is predominantly about unwanted goods
SOGA is about unfit/faulty goods

DSR allows them to charge for returns, SOGA doesnt.

The response from the retailer focuses on the goods being unwanted but the reply back has to be that the goods are being rejected under SOGA as they are faulty and as such costs are carried by the merchant.

I'd also focus on the caster issue rather than the mattress firmness which is very subjective. Has someone else checked to see if the caster do push in further to lock into place? Obviously if the item is returned and isnt faulty then you would be liable for the return costs and a redelivery fee if you wanted it back etc

Pinkypants

Sometimes castors do need a bit of a whack with a rubber mallet to get them in.

daytona0

visidigi wrote: »

Hmm one word contradicts your post/opinion.

"faulty"

Well it isn't an opinion, if you don't know the difference between a CCR return and a SOGA one then I would recommend reading up on them because with CCR they can legitimately charge a fee

Also, the customer has not addressed the two points covered by the retailer in their email. Much like you have ignored the points in mine and criticised my lack of blind faith regarding an item being "faulty" when I have never seen it and when I am listening primarily to one side of the argument.

stork_2

If it's clearly faulty (e.g. a castor insert is missing), then it should be a fairly straightforward SoGA claim -- reject the goods and claim refund/damages.

If the 'fault' is less clear, for example if a whack with a mallet will seat the castors correctly, or if you're arguing about the firmness of a mattress, then there is a choice. Either:

1. Seek to reject the goods under SoGA, but be prepared to prove that the goods are faulty.

2. Cancel under the CCR, and accept the £49 as the price of not having to prove that the goods are faulty.

Alternatively, if the castors are fixable (e.g. with mallet), see if you can negotiate a deal with the seller to swap just the mattress.