MDF furniture (mis)sold as Wood

Cpt_Kenrow

Hi.

To cut a long story short; bought some bathroom furniture which was described as "materials: Wood / Vitreous China" from a well known website turns out it is made of MDF.
Other similar products on their website are described as being made of "MDF / Vitreous China" which suggested to me this one was actually wood.

I have spoken to the company and their bottom line was MDF is wood.
Using this line of argument it could be papier mache?!

Whilst I can return it, it would be at my (considerable) expense if they do not accept the item was mis-described.
What do you think? Should I start drafting a letter...

Thanks,
Chris

cono1717

From Wikipedia:

Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is an engineered wood product made by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibres

So to me MDF is wood? Did they specify the type of wood anywhere?

DandelionPatrol

cono1717 wrote: »

From Wikipedia:

Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is an engineered wood product made by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibres

So to me MDF is wood? Did they specify the type of wood anywhere?

The trouble with accepting MDF is wood is that you deny yourself of the word wood describing wood as it is generally understood.

Fortunately, Wikipedia has no real standing here and I would say that the item is significantly not as described.

neilmcl

By the description of the furniture it sounds like a vanity unit with sink. If this is the case then you're actually probably better off that it's MDF. A 100% natural wood unit will likely suffer from water/moisture damage over time, MDF is definitely the sort of material you'd want in a bathroom.

Cpt_Kenrow

neilmcl wrote: »

A 100% natural wood unit will likely suffer from water/moisture damage over time, MDF is definitely the sort of material you'd want in a bathroom.

Thanks for the replies. I have MDF skirting in the bathroom for this reason but I wanted a wooden vanity unit mainly for aesthetic reasons (and I possibly repainting / altering).

I have so far found an answer from what I presume is a U.S. lawyer stating: "No MDF is not considered to be wood in any state and it should not be advertised or sold as wood".

However, it would be good to know where the best place to get a definitive answer here in the UK is.

For the record, return postage is looking like costing £75, which I really don't want to have to pay.

bris

Technically MDF is wood, well it's bit like sawdust compressed into sheets so it is wood and the UK don't have anything in the regulations to say it isn't.


A high percentage of kitchens and bathroom furniture are now made of MDF, even some high end designer ones and simply laminated over.


If your looking for a high gloss finish you will find it pretty difficult to get one that isn't made of MDF

unholyangel

MDF may be made of wood, as are a lot of things - like paper...but I wouldn't go describing a book as being made of "wood".

Nor would i expect to see MDF furniture material being listed as wood.

forgotmyname

neilmcl wrote: »

By the description of the furniture it sounds like a vanity unit with sink. If this is the case then you're actually probably better off that it's MDF. A 100% natural wood unit will likely suffer from water/moisture damage over time, MDF is definitely the sort of material you'd want in a bathroom.

MDF and water/moisture would be a big problem though. It will breakdown if it gets damp or wet.

Wood may shrink / expand more but it should stand upto damp better, but that will depend on the wood.

Dunk wood and MDF into a bucket of water and the MDF will suffer first.

Zandoni

forgotmyname wrote: »

Dunk wood and MDF into a bucket of water and the MDF will suffer first.

Depends on the type of MDF.

I don't really think MDF should be classified as wood, but they seem to get away with things like this all the time now.

MataNui

Pretty sure there is no UK legal (in consumer terms) definition of wood that would exclude mdf. That doesnt mean mdf is wood. It means it would be down to a judge to decide if you took them to court to recover the money.

Generally items are described as being wood to distinguish them from being made of composite materials like chipboard or mdf. The fact this particular item has been advertised as being 'wood' does suggest an intention to mislead.

Cpt_Kenrow

Thanks for the replies.

I have decided to send them a letter registered post quoting the Sale of Goods Act and pointing out that even if MDF were wood then the description should have included glue and formaldehyde!

Shall see what happens...