Urgent. Please help. Sofa deliverd with unseen manufacturing fault. Consumer rights

System

I noticed the advice on returning the items.

The company terms require £250 per item therefore £500 returns for wrapping , return delivery, etc. They don't agree to my interpretations of the Acts, refuse to return and refund, therefore what other options do I have?

Can you advise further. Have I missed something regarding returns?

Thank you.

System

Thank you for your advice.

The company charges £250 per item = £500. They don't accept my interpretations of the Acts. They reply over and over - repair,replace refund. Therefore they will not accept the cost of the returns.

If I was sure of the result I am entitled to then I would return at a loss of £500 and shop else where.

The company are adamant that they will only repair.

Can you offer more advice in this area.

Thank you.

meer53

Unless you return the sofas any chargeback will simply be rejected by the retailer.

I think your request for a full refund for faulty goods is a bit over the top to be honest. You said there was a lot of movement in the sofa, yet in your first post you said it moved only an inch off the floor ? I would worry more if the whole sofa had lifted as that would indicate the sofa doesn't weigh very much.

Why don't you want a repair ? You said the sofas were beautiful when they were delivered, the company have responded to your messages (i laughed when you said they hadn't responded after one hour so you called them. You can't expect a company to be monitoring their emails by the minute really)

They seem to be offering to resolve these issues for you, it's up to you to decide what to do but surely once the minor problems are sorted you will have the sofas you ordered ?

wealdroam

Newlook wrote: »

I noticed the advise on returning the items.

The company terms require £250 per item therefore £500 returns for wrapping , return delivery, etc. They don't agree to my interpretations of the Acts, refuse to return and refund, therefore what other options do I have?

Can you advice further. Have I missed something regarding returns?

Thank you.

Why don't you arrange your own carrier?
You do not have to use the seller's services.

If you really want to force the seller to abide by the law, then you are going to have to take the matter to court.

The first part of that process is to send a letter before action.
The CAB has details of an LBA and other guidance.

Maybe an LBA will be enough to get the seller to do what you want, but if it isn't, then court is the next step on that route.

System

Thanks again,


When I grip one arm to slide the sofa out, say to clean underneath it, it lifts which I don't expect it to do. I would expect it to stay solid to the ground and slide out on my wooden floor. I hope this is clearer.

I have also just noticed the same interpretation is actually in the Technician's Report as he also stated " when the customer lifts the sofa..." When looking back I feel that I haven't made this clear enough. The technician did not touch or comment about the arm but watched me demonstrate the fault- emmm!

I would have accepted the repair and hoped for the best, however I am not sure what my rights are after accepting a repair. If it goes wrong afterwards. The sofa will not be in an unused condition, at the moment it's unused and covered until the situation is resolved.

I don't trust the company ie customer signed everything was OK, the fault re-appeared because the customer did this , that and the other, then totally refuse a replacement or refund - this is all to clear from my current personal experience. Therefore, I wont accept repairs to either sofa, minor or excessive. The report says three manufacturing faults in total for both sofas, excessive or minor I feel I have the right to explicitly reject the faulty goods.

System

Thanks again,

Can you advice further?

If I use my own courier then the company will have to sign for the goods. Will they do this/Can they refuse?

Will the delivery person bring them back unsigned?

Should I trust that the company won't damage the goods?

Will they even be there to receive the goods?

What would happen if yes to these questions?

I understand if you feel that I am over reacting. My actual reasoning is- if they are a good and honest company then everything will be OK in this area. However, if they are a rouge company then I should think the worst.

I have never had issues with faulty goods ever so it is a new area to me.

Although I did win an appeal against a Rouge Parking Company after following advise on this website-Yippee!

I value and thank every ones questions and advise.

frugal_mike

Newlook wrote: »

I would have accepted the repair and hoped for the best, however I am not sure what my rights are after accepting a repair. If it goes wrong afterwards. The sofa will not be in an unused condition, at the moment it's unused and covered until the situation is resolved.

Very basically the Sale of Goods Act has two phases, before acceptance and after acceptance. Acceptance is deemed to occurred either when the customer says they accept the goods, when the customer does something that is inconsistent with the sellers continued ownership of the goods, or after a reasonable amount of time passes without the customer indicating they do not accept the goods.

Before acceptance has occurred you have the right to reject goods that do not conform to contract for a full refund. After acceptance you lose this right and the company have the options of repair and replacement as well as a (possibly partial to account for usage) refund.

However the Sale of Goods Act explicitly says that accepting a repair does not constitute acceptance of goods, so it is entirely possible to accept a repair before acceptance and if it is not acceptable still reject the goods for a full refund.

sniggings

Newlook wrote: »

Thanks again,

Can you advice further?

If I use my own courier then the company will have to sign for the goods. Will they do this/Can they refuse?

Will the delivery person bring them back unsigned?

Should I trust that the company won't damage the goods?

Will they even be there to receive the goods?

What would happen if yes to these questions?

I understand if you feel that I am over reacting. My actual reasoning is- if they are a good and honest company then everything will be OK in this area. However, if they are a rouge company then I should think the worst.

I have never had issues with faulty goods ever so it is a new area to me.

Although I did win an appeal against a Rouge Parking Company after following advise on this website-Yippee!

I value and thank every ones questions and advise.

where did you get with your bank?

returning the goods is risky as they have already said no refund.

You could try but probably a lot easier to try for a refund from your bank, if that's not an option then small claims court.

How long was it after you received the goods that you first asked for a refund?

System

Hi all,

Unsuccessful with the Visa Debit Chargeback and Disputes.

Thank you all for your help and advice however in my opinion the Law regarding rejecting faulty goods is just a complete waste of time. The law is clear, reads well, is full of comfort and hope but that is about it. Worthless!

Visa Debit Chargeback and Disputes department just stated the obvious which is disheartening after a three week long wait. In my opinion they are worthless too regarding faulty rejected goods (within hours of delivery). Can’t comment on how they would be if the goods became faulty a few years later, etc, as I've never needed to use this route.

Today I received a letter from The Royal Bank of Scotland Chargebacks and Disputes -

“This department has no direct contact with individual retailers. In some instances, an investigation may be undertaken through Visa, but we are subject to their strict rules of enquiry and time constraints.

Whilst I sympathise with your predicament, the only line of enquiry available through Visa when goods are delivered faulty, is when the retailer are unwilling to resolve the matter. In this case the retailer appears to be willing to repair or replace the sofas, therefore the Bank is unable to arbitrate or sit in judgement.


Should the retailer refuse to repair or replace the faulty sofas, to enable further assistance we will require the goods to be returned to the retailer and proof of returns supplied.


I can only suggest you persue the retailer direct in an attempt to reach a satisfactory conclusion. You may also wish to seek independent legal advice from Trading Standards Office or Citizens Advice Bureau. “

In conclusion, I think people take a risk with goods they buy in Britain and it is just pot luck with quality be it material, electric or other. Therefore when I get my next sofa, which probably won't be long from now due to the quality of this one, I will definitely be doing more research however I won't be buying from The Chesterfield Company / Forest Sofa Ltd ( Newbury House Salford).

I might even buy from abroad as I have been informed that it will be better quality, or at least the same and a lot cheaper even after taking transportation into account, so an experienced friend has just informed me.

I won't be taking the offer of repair from the company as I know it will be one long stressful journey of call out, wait in, call out wait in .... Sorry to be so negative over something that's only materialistic but that’s how I feel, so I'll lick my wounds for now but will be fine in an hour or so.

Thank you again and good luck to all sofa buyers especially as it is the season to be buying sofas.