Can mum get a refund?

manamaga

I'm posting this on behalf of my mum. She recently (in the last 4 months or so) purchased a new three piece suite, not from a large chain, but from a local private shop. The suite was not made especially for mum in that it required special dimensions or anything, it was an 'off the shelf" so to speak. Within a week of having the suite, the seat cushions were slipping down the back of the sofa after being sat on, and the seat cushion covers began to sag and become twisted. Mum is widowed and lives on her own so it's not like there is 'heavy traffic' of the suite. After weeks of phone calls and nagging, the shop finally had someone from the suppliers (a rep) to come and take a look. He agreed with mum that it wasn't right and said he would go to the shop and advise them of his findings. Weeks went by and mum heard nothing. So I went to the shop with mum to confront the manager. After some discussion he said that he would arrange for the cushions to be put right; Someone from the manufacturers would be in touch to arrange delivery of new foam to mums house, and then again to arrange for someone to visit to fit them. Credit to the manufacturers, they have been in touch with mum, but to arrange fitting of the new foam...............that has not yet been delivered! They have called on a number of occasions to to arrange fitting, and mum keeps telling them that they have not even delivered the foam yet. We are now about 4 months down the line and things have still not been put right.
Initially, mum wanted to go straight away and ask for a refund, but I said that she must at least give them an opportunity to put things right, and this is where my knowledge of consumer rights is not very strong. Just how long do you have to give them to put things right? I think over a month is time enough?? Are we now in a position to ask for a refund? Any advice would be very welcome as this is now upsetting mum and she has just lost all faith in the shop.

Many thanks in advance :-)

pinkshoes

I would WRITE to the shop giving them 28 days to sort the sofa out, otherwise she will he rejecting it as not fit for purpose and pursuing a full refund.

bris

If she paid by credit card she can start a S75 claim to push things along.

manamaga

Thanks for the replies. She paid by debit card. I think 28 days is over generous given that they've had four months so far. I've penned a letter for mum, what do you think?:
Dear Mr xxxxxx,
I am writing to you with regards to the above mentioned three piece suite I purchased from your shop on 1st July 2015 (delivered 19th August 2015). I have made a number of attempts to bring to your attention my dissatisfaction of the quality of my purchase. It has now been nearly four months since I first raised my concerns and the issue has still not been rectified. I might also bring to your attention that, all contact that I have had with either yourself, or a member of staff from your shop, has always been instigated by myself at my own cost. You visited my home to look at the suite and said that that there was nothing wrong with it. Following this, and after a representative from the manufacturers had visited my home to look at the suite, and I had shown you photos, you were in agreement with the representative that indeed the suite should not be sagging to the extent that it is. Following this, I still did not receive any communications from you or any of your staff and once again I had to make contact myself by visiting your shop with my son. On this day, you said that you would arrange for the manufacturer to rectify the issue and that they would deliver replacement foam / fillings and then they would contact me again to arrange for an upholsterer to come and fit the new filings. During the four weeks since I visited your shop, the manufacturer has contacted me twice to arrange to come and inspect the work that had been done however, the work has still not been done. Also during the last four weeks, I have again not had any contact from you, and considering that I purchased the suite from yourself (the retailer) and not the manufacturer, and legally according to the Sale and Supply of Goods Act, my contract is with you, the retailer, I find your lack of communication very disappointing.
I would like to say that under my rights as a consumer, I have given you, the retailer, an opportunity to rectify the issue with my purchase, and as you have failed to do this in a timely manner, I would now like to exercise my right to reject my purchase.
Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, goods should be of a satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. My rights have been breached because the item you sold me is faulty. I respectfully request that the suite be collected and a full refund issued within 14 working days of the date of this letter. I would also request your acknowledgement of receipt of this letter within 7 working days of the date of this letter, and that should you attempt to make contact with me, it be done in writing only.
Yours sincerely

bris

That's not going to work, they have the right to repair which they have said they will do.


It has been a while but you now need to write them as pinkshoes says and give them a deadline to put things right, only then would any claim have a chance.


P.s the post made my eyes bleed, break it into paragraphs or it won't get looked at.

pinkshoes

manamaga wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. She paid by debit card. I think 28 days is over generous given that they've had four months so far. I've penned a letter for mum, what do you think?:
Dear Mr xxxxxx,
I am writing to you with regards to the above mentioned three piece suite I purchased from your shop on 1st July 2015 (delivered 19th August 2015). I have made a number of attempts to bring to your attention my dissatisfaction of the quality of my purchase. It has now been nearly four months since I first raised my concerns and the issue has still not been rectified. I might also bring to your attention that, all contact that I have had with either yourself, or a member of staff from your shop, has always been instigated by myself at my own cost. You visited my home to look at the suite and said that that there was nothing wrong with it. Following this, and after a representative from the manufacturers had visited my home to look at the suite, and I had shown you photos, you were in agreement with the representative that indeed the suite should not be sagging to the extent that it is. Following this, I still did not receive any communications from you or any of your staff and once again I had to make contact myself by visiting your shop with my son. On this day, you said that you would arrange for the manufacturer to rectify the issue and that they would deliver replacement foam / fillings and then they would contact me again to arrange for an upholsterer to come and fit the new filings. During the four weeks since I visited your shop, the manufacturer has contacted me twice to arrange to come and inspect the work that had been done however, the work has still not been done. Also during the last four weeks, I have again not had any contact from you, and considering that I purchased the suite from yourself (the retailer) and not the manufacturer, and legally according to the Sale and Supply of Goods Act, my contract is with you, the retailer, I find your lack of communication very disappointing.
I would like to say that under my rights as a consumer, I have given you, the retailer, an opportunity to rectify the issue with my purchase, and as you have failed to do this in a timely manner, I would now like to exercise my right to reject my purchase.
Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, goods should be of a satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. My rights have been breached because the item you sold me is faulty. I respectfully request that the suite be collected and a full refund issued within 14 working days of the date of this letter. I would also request your acknowledgement of receipt of this letter within 7 working days of the date of this letter, and that should you attempt to make contact with me, it be done in writing only.
Yours sincerely

Rather than writing it in one long paragraph, i would bullet point all the attempts at communication, what was agreed, and what happened.

I would perhaps offer either a full refund or a fix within 14 days.

Also, you need to state WHAT will happen if they do not do what you want within the time frame e.g. You will purchase another sofa and store that one at their expense, or will return it to them via van hire and bill them for it etc...

LadyDee

If it's a Visa debit card that your mum paid with then she has very smiliar rights to S75.

wealdroam

LadyDee wrote: »

If it's a Visa debit card that your mum paid with then she has very smiliar rights to S75.

Really? Are you sure?

Firstly, there is a time limit for claims on debit cards of 120 days from the date of sale.

Perhaps you should read MSE's Chargeback article.

manamaga

Thanks for all the advice, including letter construction. I just copied and pasted from google docs. I'll make a couple of minor adjustments and run with it for now. At least it puts the ball in their court for now and they will be obliged to respond one way or another.

McKneff

Recorded delivery ......

unholyangel

manamaga wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. She paid by debit card. I think 28 days is over generous given that they've had four months so far. I've penned a letter for mum, what do you think?:
Dear Mr xxxxxx,
I am writing to you with regards to the above mentioned three piece suite I purchased from your shop on 1st July 2015 (delivered 19th August 2015). I have made a number of attempts to bring to your attention my dissatisfaction of the quality of my purchase. It has now been nearly four months since I first raised my concerns and the issue has still not been rectified. I might also bring to your attention that, all contact that I have had with either yourself, or a member of staff from your shop, has always been instigated by myself at my own cost. You visited my home to look at the suite and said that that there was nothing wrong with it. Following this, and after a representative from the manufacturers had visited my home to look at the suite, and I had shown you photos, you were in agreement with the representative that indeed the suite should not be sagging to the extent that it is. Following this, I still did not receive any communications from you or any of your staff and once again I had to make contact myself by visiting your shop with my son. On this day, you said that you would arrange for the manufacturer to rectify the issue and that they would deliver replacement foam / fillings and then they would contact me again to arrange for an upholsterer to come and fit the new filings. During the four weeks since I visited your shop, the manufacturer has contacted me twice to arrange to come and inspect the work that had been done however, the work has still not been done. Also during the last four weeks, I have again not had any contact from you, and considering that I purchased the suite from yourself (the retailer) and not the manufacturer, and legally according to the Sale and Supply of Goods Act, my contract is with you, the retailer, I find your lack of communication very disappointing.
I would like to say that under my rights as a consumer, I have given you, the retailer, an opportunity to rectify the issue with my purchase, and as you have failed to do this in a timely manner, I would now like to exercise my right to reject my purchase.
Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, goods should be of a satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. My rights have been breached because the item you sold me is faulty. I respectfully request that the suite be collected and a full refund issued within 14 working days of the date of this letter. I would also request your acknowledgement of receipt of this letter within 7 working days of the date of this letter, and that should you attempt to make contact with me, it be done in writing only.
Yours sincerely

Sorry OP but this is a bit too long.

Dear Sir/Madam,

On x date I purchased x item for £xxxx. On x date I intimated to you that I was rejecting the goods under the Sale of Goods Act as they did not conform to contract

I agreed to allow you to attempt a repair but you have been unable to do this within a reasonable time and without causing significant inconvenience therefore I am requesting a full refund of monies paid.

---

Thats all you really need to put to describe the problem - if you want to go into detail, do it on a separate piece of paper so your actual complaint stays as simple as straightforward as possible.

If you intend to make this a letter before action (title the letter as such - "letter before action"), I believe the civil procedure rules now require you to include something along the lines of:

---

I am willing to consider Alternative Dispute Resolution as an alternative to court action.

If I do not receive a satisfactory resolution from you within 14 days, I intend to issue proceedings against you in the county courts without further notice at which time your liability for costs may also increase.

I refer you to the practice direction on pre-action protocol under the Civil Procedure Rules, particularly that the court may impose sanctions if you fail to comply with the practice direction.