Roche Bobois disaster.

NickB:

Hello.

What should have been a a really exciting moment turned into a complete nightmare that took Roche Bobois a whole year to rectify.
We ordered a corner sofa, dining table and chairs. The sofa was wrong and had to be replaced. The dining table was broken and too had to be replace 3 times. On top of that, their delivery guys damaged our walls and scratched out new floor.
Their furniture cost us £22k. As an apology Roche Bobois have offered us £300 compensation. It's a laughable amount considering it took them a whole year to rectify. However, the've agreed to pay for the wall and floor damage. I know some might say what more do I want as they've agreed to make good on the damage. But, a whole year misery and only £300?.....

Bermonia

How much do YOU feel is reasonable... keep in mind D&I payments are usually not excessive, if you are unhappy you can check if they are covered by the Furniture Ombudsman and take your complaint there... otherwise your looking at small claims court, then the onus is on you to prove why you think you should be entitled to X amount in compo.

NickB:

Bermonia wrote: »

How much do YOU feel is reasonable... keep in mind D&I payments are usually not excessive, if you are unhappy you can check if they are covered by the Furniture Ombudsman and take your complaint there... otherwise your looking at small claims court, then the onus is on you to prove why you think you should be entitled to X amount in compo.

I would have thought 5% to 10% or even 15% would be reasonable as the delay was so extensive. The current offer which is just a joke is just over 1%.

Aylesbury_Duck

NickB: wrote: »

I would have thought 5% to 10% or even 15% would be reasonable as the delay was so extensive. The current offer which is just a joke is just over 1%.

I think your suggestions are unreasonable. I don't think applying it as a percentage is reasonable, either. The amount of hassle and inconvenience you have suffered would have been exactly the same had the same furniture cost twice or half as much. Compensation should be limited to your actual losses plus a sum as goodwill for your troubles. Judging from your own account your actual losses have been covered separately, so that leaves the goodwill/apology element. Why is £300 a joke? You seriously believe compensation of thousands of pounds is justifiable? That's funnier.

DoaM

As per post #5 ... what actual losses have you suffered that you can quantify as a monetary value? Did you (or another person) need to use up annual leave to aid the resolution of all the problems? If yes then that's a quantifiable loss.

A random figure as a percentage of the purchase price is nonsensical.

NickB:

LilElvis wrote: »

Multiple failed deliveries, pick-ups, waiting in while repairs are undertaken - someone has had to be in the home for all of these. If the person has had to take time off work why shouldn't they be compensated for it?

That's exactly my point. The amount of time I've spent entertaining their visit from engineers then area managers etc. Then one day it would be a collection and another day it would be a delivery.
I guess it comes down to quantifying my time which isn't difficult. Just need to work out a fair way of approaching it. I'd like to be prudent incase it ends up at county court.

NickB:

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

I think your suggestions are unreasonable. I don't think applying it as a percentage is reasonable, either. The amount of hassle and inconvenience you have suffered would have been exactly the same had the same furniture cost twice or half as much. Compensation should be limited to your actual losses plus a sum as goodwill for your troubles. Judging from your own account your actual losses have been covered separately, so that leaves the goodwill/apology element. Why is £300 a joke? You seriously believe compensation of thousands of pounds is justifiable? That's funnier.

Yes my expectations are somewhat proportionate to the amount. With the utmost of respect, wouldn't you have the same expectations?. I was thinking of quantifying the delay by taking the average lifespan of a leather sofa. Then calculating comp for the delay as a % of the lifespan.

eg: Say, average lifespan is 20yrs. 1yr of delays would = 5%

ssparks2003

NickB: wrote: »

Yes my expectations are somewhat proportionate to the amount. With the utmost of respect, wouldn't you have the same expectations?. I was thinking of quantifying the delay by taking the average lifespan of a leather sofa. Then calculating comp for the delay as a % of the lifespan.

eg: Say, average lifespan is 20yrs. 1yr of delays would = 5%

But since you haven't used it for the last year you will get another years use out of it, so you still have not lost out

Aylesbury_Duck

NickB: wrote: »

Yes my expectations are somewhat proportionate to the amount. With the utmost of respect, wouldn't you have the same expectations?. I was thinking of quantifying the delay by taking the average lifespan of a leather sofa. Then calculating comp for the delay as a % of the lifespan.

eg: Say, average lifespan is 20yrs. 1yr of delays would = 5%

With the utmost of respect, no. Don't get me wrong, I think it's right that they make a gesture and I think £300 is the right sort of magnitude, but to expect over £3,000 or even over £1,000 is ridiculous.

I don't understand your reasoning on the lifespan basis. The sofa's lifespan hasn't changed. The year's non-use will be bolted onto the end, giving it the same lifespan.

NickB:

Ticked thanks to all who've contributed. Unfortunately I'm a stubborn one by nature. Can't and won't accept £300. I bet you knew that already.

Best to all

NB

deethebee

Hi Nick, I'm sorry you haven't had much help with this. Personally I agree that £300 is a bit low considering the amount of stress you've likely been through. It can be hard to decide what a fair amount of compensation is and sometimes it's good to just try and negotiate with them. Usually the first amount they offer is just a starting point and not always the most they are prepared to offer. I was once given £300 by Robert Dyas because I bought a couple of faulty products (a caffetiere and a stovetop espresso maker) and the former actually ended up burning my wrist. I tried to return them in store and was refused, when I wrote to them all I asked for was a refund but they took their sweet time getting things sorted out and I told them I'd burned my wrist badly and that I was unhappy with how long it was taking to sort out a refund and they gave me £300 for the inconvenience. Similarly, I've been having ongoing problems with Wickes that has lasted around 6 months give or take. Upon serving them with court papers, they offered me £250 in compensation on top of £100 they already gave me previously. So if you compare those 2 scenarios with yours - your situation is a lot worse and would have caused you a lot more inconvenience, time and stress. So I do agree that £300 is a little low for what you have been through, considering your experience has been a lot worse than my ones.

I reckon negotiation is your best bet. If that doesn't work you could try small claims and then they may offer you a better settlement before it goes to court. You also have the option of mediation before a hearing where they can make an offer. So I do think you have a few options. Personally I think £50 a month for each month the issue dragged on is the minimum they should offer so £600 seems like a better offer (bearing in mind they are paying for the damage - otherwise I would suggest more) plus maybe more for any money lost for time off work etc. I think it's up to you to decide what you feel it's worth and if the company doesn't agree you can ask the court or a mediator to decide. Just be aware that ADR like The Ombudsman do not offer large amounts of compensation, but if you don't agree with the outcome you don't have to accept it and can still take court action.