Faulty Suite - Refund or Replace ?

Mimic02

Hi there.

We purchased a 3-piece suite from a local retailer about 5 months ago and paid the deposit via credit card, with the balance settled by Debit Card when the suite was delivered some 15 weeks later.

When the suite was delivered we immediately noticed a number of issues with it. These included misalignment of the seats on the sofa and excessive 'give' in the seats. We stopped using the suite immediately and contacted the retailer within 3 weeks of delivery and raised these issues with them. The retailer arranged for a service agent to visit our property to inspect the suite. Because of work commitments and the fact that the service rep could only attend on one day of the week, we could not arrange a suitable time for about five weeks.

When the service rep attended, he immediately confirmed that the reported issues were valid faults and said that he would report this back to the retailer. I was then contacted by the retailer who advised that since we reported the issue within 30 days of the original delivery date, they were happy to replace the entire suite.

The queries that I have are as follows:

(1) Do I have to accept a replacement, or can I demand a refund?

(2) The manufacturer will only replace the suite with one with identical specifications. We're concerned that any replacement item will possess the same design/construction flaws as the original suite. We have looked at other models in the range and on the face of it other models do not have the same issue. Can we demand that the replacement is a different model to the original (assuming that we were to pay any price difference) ?

Any replacement will not be delivered for a further 15 weeks.

Thanks in advance

shaun_from_Africa

As you reported the faults within 30 days (and these faults have been accepted as valid) then you have the legal right to reject the suite and get a full refund.
This is covered by section 22 (short term right of rejection) of the consumer rights act.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/22/enacted

societys_child

Can we demand that the replacement is a different model to the original (assuming that we were to pay any price difference) ?

Of course, you could try asking . . .