Mis-sold furniture - what are my rights?

aUser_2

Hi everyone, a long post but please offer me your opinion

I've been having a dispute with a furniture company and need some advice on my rights and a sanity check on whether I'm being reasonable!

I bought a wardrobe online for £800. I'd purposely looked for non flat-pack for a couple of reasons. The one I bought was described as being an oak wardrobe, manufactured in Europe that would be supplied in 2 parts. I assumed to be the top half and bottom half as this seems to be the norm amongst suppliers and I can't think of another way of supplying it as 2 parts (full wardrobe & 1 door, full wardrobe and 1 clothes rail etc are unlikely combinations IMHO).

The wardrobe arrived as 3 boxes- a drawer unit, without handles attached, and two extra boxes of flat-pack to construct the rest of the unit. It couldn't be constructed though as it had been manufactured incorrectly and the doors couldn't be attached.

I contacted the company to rectify the issue but they would not make a decision without consulting the factory in China.

I was now very annoyed. I pointed out to the man on the phone (who says he was the owner) that i had been mis-sold. The website described the item as being manufactured in Europe but he had told me it was made in a factory in China. Also the item should have been supplied as two pieces but was a flat pack of 8 large pieces and a box of fixings in 3 large boxes.

I said i was mis-sold but the guy wouldn't comment on it. I checked the website later and the points had been deleted!

Luckily I have a cached version of the page and screenshots showing the before and after of the cover up.



He has offered 10% (£80) refund in compensation or £50 and someone will come fit the doors. I feel this is disproportionate to the time i've invested trying to sot the problem and for his behaviour - he was so rude and condescending to my wife, she was sobbing inconsolably. Something he has no remorse for.

What advice can anyone offer? What should I do??

wealdroam

Hi, welcome to the forums.

You need to decide what you want to happen.

Is the seller in the UK?

When did you buy the thing?

When was it delivered to you?

How did you pay? If by card, was it a debit or credit card?

aUser_2

Thanks for the quick reply.

Id asked for 30% refund fo compensation. I'd have been happy with 20%. I would use it to pay a joiner i trust to put it together as well as compensation for the time and hassle.

The seller is in the UK. We ordered it in December and it was delivered 2-3 weeks ago - we raised the issue 2 weeks ago, just had an email today saying thats their final offer so take it or leave it basically.

We paid on credit card.

unholyangel

In a nutshell, theres no way to force them to give you more. If that is truly their final offer then your options would be to accept it or cancel the order altogether and get a full refund to buy something elsewhere.

shaun_from_Africa

There is nothing to stop you doing a S75 claim:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases

I've done two of these in the past, and one of the questions on the paperwork is something along the lines of "what resolution are you looking for".
There is no reason why you can't state that you would be happy with a 20% refund to cover the fact that the goods are Chinese made and not UK made as advertised and also to cover the unexpected cost of assembly.

If the credit card company are liable (which with the proof that you have would be hard for them to deny liability), a partial refund might be easier for them instead of a full refund and then having the wardrobe to collect and process.

visidigi

£800 for a flatpack wardrobe? the guy is having a laugh! The fact he's edited the webpage, bad idea.

Reject the order, not fit for purpose (not least because it can't be constructed).

If he's decided to be difficult, time for you to be so too. The law is on your side on this one (and he knows it...)

andycris3107

what was the website? It looks like the seller didn't have much knowledge of the product.

In any case you have the right to cancel under CCR or SOGA if the goods are not as described.

aUser_2

visidigi wrote: »

£800 for a flatpack wardrobe? the guy is having a laugh! The fact he's edited the webpage, bad idea.

Reject the order, not fit for purpose (not least because it can't be constructed).

If he's decided to be difficult, time for you to be so too. The law is on your side on this one (and he knows it...)

That's how i was looking at it but wasn't sure if i was being hopeful!

If I'm honest, I'd rather not send it back as I like the design and the size is perfect for us (strange size alcove..) . The 30% refund I'd asked for was based on the price of a Chinese flat-pack being around £300, this wardrobe being £800. 30% was a reasonable number in the middle in my eyes.

Yes very dodgy removing it from the website: We had been waiting around 10 days for him to give us a solution but when i mentioned the mis-truths on the site, they were gone within hours! Priorities of the owner.

Should a Section 75 be the best way to try and get a partial refund and keep the wardrobe? Should I use a different method? Am I being unreasonable asking for this??