M&S Furniture delivery

glennmoffat

I have bought some bedroom furniture from M&S which is due to be delivered in just over a week. I have received an email from M&S stating that when the furniture is delivered the delivery team will be able to put it in the room of choice but will not be able to unpack or assemble the furniture due to current circumstances. They have given me the option of rescheduling the delivery after lockdown restrictions have been eased and are suggesting a delivery after 1st March. This is understandable under the circumstances but, we have removed all existing furniture in preparation for the delivery and have redecorated the room so need the furniture quite quickly. If the current delivery date is kept and furniture is delivered do I have any rights? The furniture is quite expensive and I could have bought flat pack furniture from elsewhere for much less but did not want to assemble the furniture. In addition, if I damage the furniture during unpacking or assembly do I have any rights because I have paid and contracted them to do this?

williamgriffin

glennmoffat said:

I have bought some bedroom furniture from M&S which is due to be delivered in just over a week. I have received an email from M&S stating that when the furniture is delivered the delivery team will be able to put it in the room of choice but will not be able to unpack or assemble the furniture due to current circumstances. They have given me the option of rescheduling the delivery after lockdown restrictions have been eased and are suggesting a delivery after 1st March. This is understandable under the circumstances but, we have removed all existing furniture in preparation for the delivery and have redecorated the room so need the furniture quite quickly. If the current delivery date is kept and furniture is delivered do I have any rights? The furniture is quite expensive and I could have bought flat pack furniture from elsewhere for much less but did not want to assemble the furniture. In addition, if I damage the furniture during unpacking or assembly do I have any rights because I have paid and contracted them to do this?

Any damage you cause is down to you, you can't expect M&S to be responsible for your carelessness.

MattMattMattUK

glennmoffat said:

If the current delivery date is kept and furniture is delivered do I have any rights?

You would have the right to a refund on the assembly fee if you have paid one. You also have the right to assemble the furniture yourself. You may also have the option to cancel the order, depending on your contract.

glennmoffat said:

In addition, if I damage the furniture during unpacking or assembly do I have any rights because I have paid and contracted them to do this?

No.

They have said that they can not assemble the furniture due to current circumstances, something which would be regarded as totally reasonable. They have given you the option of to wait until the government lifts restrictions and circumstances improve and they will assemble the furniture for you, or to have the furniture now and assemble the furniture yourself. I would suspect that you also have the right under your contract to a refund to any assembly fee. What exactly do you wan them to do?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Looks like assembly is something they offer as standard (no extra charge).

Are trades people not allowed to work during lockdown? Don't really see any difference between a carpenter and someone putting furniture together.

Options are have a later delivery, take the furniture and assemble yourself or pay someone to put it together and try to claim the cost back from M&S. 

You've purchased a product coupled with a service so I'm not sure exactly where your consumer rights lie with this aspect. 

isplumm

quick question - what assembly do you need to do - we bought furniture from M&S before and normally there isn't much to do - maybe put handles on etc - is it just unpacking & getting rid of the rubbish?

JGB1955

We had a dining room table and chairs, side table and sideboard delivered by M&S in June/July.  When we ordered we were made aware of the delivery terms and conditions - I would assume that you agreed those terms too?  The extent of assembly required was putting the legs on the table - everything else was pre-assembled.  The grandchildren have had hours of fun making dens out of the huge boxes that the furniture arrived in.

MattMattMattUK

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Are trades people not allowed to work during lockdown? Don't really see any difference between a carpenter and someone putting furniture together.

The are allowed to, but as much of the information from government falls under "guidance" rather than legislation it is open to interpretation by individuals (people and companies). They may have conducted risk assessments and decided that under current circumstances it is not reasonable or safe to spend an extended period of time in people's homes whilst assembling furniture. Whilst that is not a position I would take myself, it can be deemed to be reasonable.

glennmoffat

We will have to take delivery on the date next week as we have no furniture in the room and the contents of the room are filling up 2 further rooms of the house. I will unpack and do whatever assembly may be needed (not sure what this is at this stage, may only be putting handles on, I don't actually have a problem with doing this as I have assembled plenty of flatpack furniture in the past and don't expect to have any problems). I am just seeing if I have any rights in case of problems and the fact that I have not received the service that I have paid for.

JGB1955

What items have your ordered?

MattMattMattUK

glennmoffat said:

I am just seeing if I have any rights in case of problems and the fact that I have not received the service that I have paid for.

Can you confirm if you have actually paid for the service? Did you pay a fee for assembly, or was it an integral part of the product delivery? Interestingly I can not find a single product on the M&S website that is currently not self-assembly. 

glennmoffat

Wardrobe , chest of drawers and desk