Does the full refund policy apply for furniture?

nijk

Hi all,

It has been a very long time since I posted on the forums, I usually read the email alerts. I'm fairly certain this is in the correct section, if it's not I do apologise and I am very sorry in advanced - and I will be very grateful if a member of the team can kindly advise where I need to re-post my query.

Recently having watched Martin's moneysaving TV show, if my memory serves correctly, Martin advised on our rights to refund - mentioning that we have 28 days to cancel any purchase online and 14 days if we purchase at a retail outlet - and reasons for asking for a refund could be that you have changed your mind, didn't like the product etc (again, I may be wrong, but that's what i'm sure I remember seeing on Martin's program)

My query is this - I have just made a purchase for a sofa - and when I asked in store, when phoning the retailer's helpline, they advised the refund policy does not apply when purchasing furniture - as the furniture (in my case 2 sofas - a 4 seater and a 3 seater) needs to be made at their factory - if a customer cancels, they will not get a refund.

I advised both in store and on the phone that I have not heard of such policy where customer's were not allowed a refund, (although I could see where they were coming from). I advised, and acknowledged that it was a different kind of purchase, that when I have purchased other items such as TV, Laptop and even tiles (kitchen, bathroom and roof), I have been able to refund with no issue - but they are firmly adamant that a customer cannot be eligible for any refund once their order for furniture has been processed - even it is the next day or week etc.

Although I understand their stance, is what they are advising correct? And do consumer's really have no rights for a refund? when it comes to purchasing furniture?

Sorry for the essay guys - but your opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Nij

hollydays

You bought it in a shop?
Did you sign any contract?
Was it custom made?
Why would you order and item then immediately cancel?

wealdroam

nijk wrote: »

Hi all,

It has been a very long time since I posted on the forums, I usually read the email alerts. I'm fairly certain this is in the correct section, if it's not I do apologise and I am very sorry in advanced - and I will be very grateful if a member of the team can kindly advise where I need to re-post my query.

Recently having watched Martin's moneysaving TV show, if my memory serves correctly, Martin advised on our rights to refund - mentioning that we have 28 days to cancel any purchase online and 14 days if we purchase at a retail outlet - and reasons for asking for a refund could be that you have changed your mind, didn't like the product etc (again, I may be wrong, but that's what i'm sure I remember seeing on Martin's program)

My query is this - I have just made a purchase for a sofa - and when I asked in store, when phoning the retailer's helpline, they advised the refund policy does not apply when purchasing furniture - as the furniture (in my case 2 sofas - a 4 seater and a 3 seater) needs to be made at their factory - if a customer cancels, they will not get a refund.

I advised both in store and on the phone that I have not heard of such policy where customer's were not allowed a refund, (although I could see where they were coming from). I advised, and acknowledged that it was a different kind of purchase, that when I have purchased other items such as TV, Laptop and even tiles (kitchen, bathroom and roof), I have been able to refund with no issue - but they are firmly adamant that a customer cannot be eligible for any refund once their order for furniture has been processed - even it is the next day or week etc.

Although I understand their stance, is what they are advising correct? And do consumer's really have no rights for a refund? when it comes to purchasing furniture?

Sorry for the essay guys - but your opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Nij

I didn't see that TV programme but either Martin Lewis is wrong or your memory isn't as good as it should be.

If you buy in a shop you have no statutory right to cancel a purchase for a change of mind reason.

Of course any shop is free to offer more than that, but in general I think it is fair to say that all sales in a shop should be considered as final unless otherwise advised at the time of the sale.

Who did you buy from?

Ripped-Off

If you went in store and ordered the furniture you typically sign a contract before they order the furniture for you. This is a legally binding document from the moment you sign, and there is no cooling off period. It's no different to any other consumer transaction done in store.

If you order on line, I suspect s13(c) of The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 would apply and you are not entitled to the refund that way either.

You may be able to cancel and pay damages (presuming you haven't yet paid), but you will likely have to bear any costs that the supplier has incurred up to the point of cancellation including its loss of profit on the cancelled item.

Obviously, defects should still be covered by the relevant statutes, SGA 1979 and CRA 2015.

nijk

Thanks for your reply Hollydays.

In response:

You bought it in a shop?

Yes - DFS.

Did you sign any contract?

Yes.

Was it custom made?

The 4 seater will be as that will need a seat to be manually fitted, but was then told all sofas (presumably in leather electric recliners?) need to be custom made - so Yes.

Why would you order and item then immediately cancel?

There is a sale which ends tomorrow - and they said they don't know if the price would further drop, or whether it would go back to it's original price - if it dropped, which I found very hard to believe. I would have considered cancelling and reordering to maximise any potential savings.

wealdroam

Ripped-Off wrote: »

If you went in store and ordered the furniture you typically sign a contract before they order the furniture for you. This is a legally binding document from the moment you sign, and there is no cooling off period. It's no different to any other consumer transaction done in store.

If you order on line, I suspect s13(c) of The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 would apply and you are not entitled to the refund that way either.

You may be able to cancel and pay damages, but you will likely have to bear any costs that the supplier has incurred up to the point of cancellation including it's loss of profit on the cancelled item.

Obviously, defects should still be covered by the relevant statutes, SGA 1979 and CRA 2015.

Oh dear.

For anyone reading this it is important to know that The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 were replaced in June 2014 by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013

nijk

wealdroam wrote: »

I didn't see that TV programme but either Martin Lewis is wrong or your memory isn't as good as it should be.

If you buy in a shop you have no statutory right to cancel a purchase for a change of mind reason.

Of course any shop is free to offer more than that, but in general I think it is fair to say that all sales in a shop should be considered as final unless otherwise advised at the time of the sale.

Who did you buy from?

Manny thanks for your reply and clarifying wealdroam

And yes, I believe it's my memory - cos I refuse to believe Martin is ever wrong lol :money:

I bought from DFS.

Ripped-Off

wealdroam wrote: »

Oh dear.

For anyone reading this it is important to know that The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 were replaced in June 2014 by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013

Indeed it has. It no longer applies to contracts after 13th June 2014.

Thank you for the update!

shaun_from_Africa

nijk wrote: »

And yes, I believe it's my memory - cos I refuse to believe Martin is ever wrong lol

If it was the ML money show on ITV a couple of weeks ago, I think I might know where the confusion might have come from.

On that show, he was talking about the right of cancellation for goods purchased and he did make mention of both 14 and 28 day periods but these were both for distance sales.
The 14 days from delivery is how long you have to inform the retailer of your wish to cancel and then you have a maximum of another 14 days to actually return the goods (so a maximum of 28 days from when you received the goods)

fred7777

nijk wrote: »

There is a sale which ends tomorrow - and they said they don't know if the price would further drop, or whether it would go back to it's original price - if it dropped, which I found very hard to believe. I would have considered cancelling and reordering to maximise any potential savings.

Perhaps the question should be then:

If I order a customer made piece of furniture then cancel it and try to reorder at a lower price does the shop have to accept my order?

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

BoP now interrupts for the hard of Listening.

OP, a watcher of the ogle box, one day forgot his hearing aids and as their tv was black and white, cheaper licence, it had no facility for subtitles. They misheard our Lord and Master, ML, exposing some cooling period when purchasing on line.

They then forgot their glasses, and went into local furniture shop, placed and order for some sofas. They were not happy bunnies. OP, immediately told furniture store of his rights, as interpreted by them, to said furniture store,beating cancellation.

It is not yet understood if the reason for cancellation is the fact sofas will not fit in their house!