delivery damage - delay to report back to retailer

Ma034001

I ordered a bathroom cabinet (circa £450) it was delivered mid October and has been well stored in the garage, (period of nearly 6 weeks has past)
I went to fit it today in opening the box I discovered that both mirrored doors are smashed.
what are my rights with the supplier ? the outside of the box says I should have checked and reported any damage in 48 hours - due to the size of the box and other the bathroom refit process it wasn't checked.  Is it fair for me to request a replacement on grounds of reasonable time to inspect it or does "their" stipulation of report breakages within 48 hours stand true?
appreciate any pointers or help 
regards

Matt

Aylesbury_Duck

The 48 hours isn't enforceable but they might reasonably speculate it was damaged in your care at some point in the last six weeks.  No harm in working with them to see what they're willing to do,  but if they refuse to help, or you're not happy with anything they do propose, you might struggle to convince a small claims court.

Spank

I never understand why nobody hears the smashed glass when items like this are moved to where it's stored & I'm sure the company will say likewise.

Ectophile

The 48 hours is meaningless.  Legally, you have 30 days to reject faulty goods.

But it's rather more than 30 days since you received the mirrors.

Ma034001

Spank said:

I never understand why nobody hears the smashed glass when items like this are moved to where it's stored & I'm sure the company will say likewise.

point taken, but unfortunately the smashed mirror was well packaged against one  inch solid polystyrene, the cabinet was boxed and double boxed and is heavy so zero chance of hearing the broken glass plus the box has been in the same position since delivery

[Deleted User]

Its worth trying to get a replacement and i imagine you are not the first person to not look at something for some time while other parts of a refit were being done.  However, I have learned from this.., expensive cabinet with fragile parts to it, open the box on arrival to check condition and then pack it all up again.  

If the company won't help, I wonder if you can get the mirror panels replaced by a glazier, might be the cheapest option?

mattyprice4004

You'll likely get nowhere, as how do you prove you didn't do it in the 6 weeks you've had the parcel?
24 hours in the hands of a courier or 6 weeks with an unknown customer, I know which will look more like a likely source of damage to the company!