OAP Orthapedic Chair - Uncomfortable, Supplier Will Not Fix / Replace / Refund

356speedster

I'm posting on behalf of my very frail 88yr old grandmother and looking for advice.


For the last 10'ish yrs, she's had electric lounge chairs that recline, have foot supports rests and then tip forwards to help her get in/out. Her last one broke in October and when other family members helping her said it couldn't be fixed, she went to a company she found in a magazine (70miles from her home) to buy a new one.


The company in question advertise bespoke chairs for the elderly, offering comfort and support. My gran ordered a chair in Oct, having had a home visit where a salesman "measured up" (which looks like nothing more than checking her height), which was then delivered 9th Dec. She paid the £2.5K price in 2 instalments by cheque (balance paid upon delivery).


Upon delivery, the chair was squeaky and 2 days later she initiated a complaint, over the phone. She made a number of calls in Dec complaining of it's noise, but more importantly it's lack of comfort & support (she maintains it makes her sore to sit in it).


The company have made one home visit where the removed stuffing from the backrest and have since said that they'll do nothing more as the squeaking will go away (2mths later, it hasn't as I witnessed today) and that there are no refunds on made to measure chairs.


My aunt has apparently got nowhere with them on the phone, so now it's my turn! I'm going to call with a polite but firm attitude insisting remedial action under the Consumer Rights Act, as the chair is not as described (i.e. uncomfortable & unsupportive) and not of satisfactory quality (squeaky mechanism). If I get no joy, I'll threaten with the Ombudsman.


Are there any thoughts / comments / recommendations further than this from the group that could help the case?

daytona0

I think that there may be an exclusion under the Sales of Goods Act (if bought around Oct when SOGA applied)e for items which are customised/made to order.... So that may be worth looking into first

bris

Exclusions don't matter when there is a SOGA issue but the big problem is, is there a SOGA issue.


Comfort is subjective and the squeaking would have to be really bad to be a real issue that would warrant rejecting the chair, even then they would still be allowed to put that right.


You can threaten the furniture ombudsman but they are toothless, some say even biased towards those who pay their bills, so that would leave threatening them with proper court action.

wealdroam

daytona0 wrote: »

I think that there may be an exclusion under the Sales of Goods Act (if bought around Oct when SOGA applied)...

The Consumer Rights Act came into effect on 1st October 2015.

The chair was ordered in October so The Consumer Rights Act applies.

356speedster

Thanks folks..... I agree comfort is subjective, but I was expecting that a specialised chair sold on it's comfort and health benefits, at a very high price (£2.5K) would have to deliver that promise in a way that doesn't apply to other furniture makers, e.g. DFS.


The company appears to be new, setup in 2014, but I can't see any other complaints online... I'm still searching.