BHS - Sofa, No returns policy.

wealdroam

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

Thanks for the links, but I still think this would be a matter of interpretation. BHS clearly seem to interpret the legislation differently. From their website:

As a customer in the European Union you have the right to cancel your contract with us at any time between the date you placed your order until the expiry of 14 calendar days from the day after the date you received your order. This right does not apply to the following items: (1) items that have been sealed for hygiene reasons (e.g mattresses and divan sets) if they have been unwrapped; (2) self assembly products that have been partially or fully assembled; and (3) made to order items.

I think I would be more inclined to believe The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, i.e. a .gov website over BHS.
Particularly as the BIS example uses sofas and choosing different fabrics, etc.

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

This is all moot as far as OP is concerned as they didn't order online but they did order an item of furniture to their specification (they chose the colour and configuration) and BHS make a clear distinction between items that are part of their "standard range" (the 7 day express items) and their "made to order" range (everything else).

So I don't think its as clear-cut as you are making it out to be.

When one is talking about in store purchases, the store is free to impose what conditions they like - in this context anyway.

It is always wise when buying instore to start with the premise that nothing is returnable. That is the statutory position. If the store wishes to offer a returns deal for some products and not for others, they are perfectly entitled to do so.

TheCyclingProgrammer

martinsurrey wrote: »

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/429300/bis-13-1368-consumer-contracts-information-cancellation-and-additional-payments-regulations-guidance.pdf

page 20

"14. An item made up following a consumer order does not necessarily make it a bespoke item which is exempt from cancellation rights. An item, for example a sofa or computer, can be assembled following an order but the component
parts may be made up of parts offered from a standard range. So, for instance, a sofa where the consumer chooses a fabric and colour from a range on offer will not be bespoke for the purposes of these Regulations. However, if the consumer asks the trader to source a special finish and which is not in the range generally offered by the trader, that is likely to be a bespoke item.
"

Government guidance is not the law.

The link to the legislation was posted by the previous poster. Legislation is open to interpretation. One person may interpret the selection of various options as being made to specification, somebody else might not.

Ultimately though, if the retailer has chosen to interpret it as meaning that certain combinations of options are made to order and therefore (in their view) outside the scope of the statutory cancellation rights, then you're going to have to take them to court and hope the court agrees with your interpretation and not the retailers.

TheCyclingProgrammer

wealdroam wrote: »

I think I would be more inclined to believe The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, i.e. a .gov website over BHS.
Particularly as the BIS example uses sofas and choosing different fabrics, etc.

I wouldn't be so quick to believe a government department's interpretation of the law either. And if you're ordering from a retailer and their interpretation of the legislation differs from yours, then you're going to have a conflict that isn't going to be resolved easily.

I'm well aware that companies have T&Cs that don't comply with consumer law - I see it all the time - but this seems like a grey area to me and isn't a case of BHS wilfully getting it wrong but simply choosing to interpret it in a specific way.

Either way, I've sent a message to BHS via their Twitter account to see what they have to say about it.

Coming back to OP, because they ordered in-store then as I said earlier in this thread and others have re-iterated, they generally have far fewer rights. Unless OP can demonstrate that they were supplied with insufficient information when placing their order then I don't think they are going to get very far.

ManuelG

It's pretty standard for sofa companies to do this. Frankly the BHS returns look generous compared to SCS.

This is also why I only have a two seater... although it turned out three would have fit after all!

(Argos take returns btw, last time I looked)

TheCyclingProgrammer

Sofa.com also have a very generous returns policy, not that that helps OP much now. Their sofas are excellent too, we have two (Isla, 3 seat and love seat).

martinsurrey

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

I wouldn't be so quick to believe a government department's interpretation of the law either. And if you're ordering from a retailer and their interpretation of the legislation differs from yours, then you're going to have a conflict that isn't going to be resolved easily.

I'm well aware that companies have T&Cs that don't comply with consumer law - I see it all the time - but this seems like a grey area to me and isn't a case of BHS wilfully getting it wrong but simply choosing to interpret it in a specific way.

Either way, I've sent a message to BHS via their Twitter account to see what they have to say about it.

Coming back to OP, because they ordered in-store then as I said earlier in this thread and others have re-iterated, they generally have far fewer rights. Unless OP can demonstrate that they were supplied with insufficient information when placing their order then I don't think they are going to get very far.

how about trading standards?

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/tradingstandards/tradingstandards-business/ts-business-goods/tsguide-distance-sales.htm

"the supply of goods that are made to the customer's specification or are personalised - for example, a made to measure suit or pair of curtains, or a gift that has the recipient's name engraved on it. However, this exemption does not apply to items made to a customer's specification simply by combining stock items - such as a computer put together from stocked parts or a car ordered from a fixed menu of items"

you are right, it would be down to case law, but if I turn up with government and trading standards advice that I'm right (and maybe with trading standards sitting next to me), you're going to have to try hard to win.

Annie1960

You could try going on the BHS twitter site and complaining there. I have found in the past that some companies take a more lenient approach when complaints are made public (I had trouble with Virgin Media, but I think it's worth giving this a go with any large company).

macman

Following the OP's logic, if they bought a new car and found it wouldn't fit in the garage, then the dealer should offer a full refund? It seems to me a fairly basic precaution that when you go buying furniture, you take a tape measure with you.

Annie1960

I've just seen this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36123444

If you paid by credit card, you may get some of your money back via them.