Rattan Furniture damaged by cover bought with set-what rights do we have?

ribenaberri

Hi,
I am just wondering whether anyone can offer any advice on a problem we have with some rattan furniture we bought ten months ago. Last year we decided to invest in an outdoor rattan daybed at a considerable cost- we thought as we weren’t going on holiday etc we would treat ourselves since we were spending all our time at home.  We were going to buy from a generic DIY store but decided to pay quite a lot more and buy from an online store that offered a 7 year guarantee on the frame and weave. We were advised to purchase a cover aswell and to use this when the set was not in use- it states on their site that using the cover will prolong the life of the set. However ten months later it appears that wherever the cover has been in contact with the sofa - all around the edges and particularly the corners- it had removed the colour to reveal a white plastic underneath- it should be a mixed grey weave. I have contacted the company to explain what has happened and that we are really disappointed as we paid a lot of our savings to buy something we thought would be an investment and last us a reasonable length of time- especially since it had the 7 year guarantee. They have come back to me and told me that this is classed as wear and tear and there is nothing they can do. They have even advised me to go to a DIY store and buy a pen to colour it in! I do not understand how they can advise customers to buy and use a cover which then damages the set in less than a year and then blame the consumer and ‘wear and tear’. Do I have any rights and if so what would you advise the next step to be? I was going to ask for their details to make a formal complaint and ask if they have any further information on what is covered by the guarantee and what they class as wear and tear however I feel I will not get anywhere. 
Any help or advice would be gratefully received as I feel we have just wasted a large amount of money on something that by the end of this year will just be white plastic all the way around the edges if we continue using the cover. 

Many thanks 😊

Aylesbury_Duck

How bad is it? If it can be 'coloured in', it doesn't sound too serious and might be something not to worry about.

If you want to do something through consumer rights, youll need to get someone to inspect it and give their verdict on whether it is fair wear, or a fault with the product.

MattMattMattUK

ribenaberri said:

Hi,
I am just wondering whether anyone can offer any advice on a problem we have with some rattan furniture we bought ten months ago. Last year we decided to invest in an outdoor rattan daybed at a considerable cost- we thought as we weren’t going on holiday etc we would treat ourselves since we were spending all our time at home.  We were going to buy from a generic DIY store but decided to pay quite a lot more and buy from an online store that offered a 7 year guarantee on the frame and weave. We were advised to purchase a cover aswell and to use this when the set was not in use- it states on their site that using the cover will prolong the life of the set. However ten months later it appears that wherever the cover has been in contact with the sofa - all around the edges and particularly the corners- it had removed the colour to reveal a white plastic underneath- it should be a mixed grey weave. I have contacted the company to explain what has happened and that we are really disappointed as we paid a lot of our savings to buy something we thought would be an investment and last us a reasonable length of time- especially since it had the 7 year guarantee. They have come back to me and told me that this is classed as wear and tear and there is nothing they can do. They have even advised me to go to a DIY store and buy a pen to colour it in! I do not understand how they can advise customers to buy and use a cover which then damages the set in less than a year and then blame the consumer and ‘wear and tear’. Do I have any rights and if so what would you advise the next step to be? I was going to ask for their details to make a formal complaint and ask if they have any further information on what is covered by the guarantee and what they class as wear and tear however I feel I will not get anywhere. 
Any help or advice would be gratefully received as I feel we have just wasted a large amount of money on something that by the end of this year will just be white plastic all the way around the edges if we continue using the cover. 

Many thanks 😊

Where has the furniture been stored, eg has the colour just rubbed off whilst the cover has been in contact with it, or has it spent the winter outside in the elements with the cover constantly rubbing as the wind pulls at it? Wear and tear is always a difficult one, personally I would say that if they were covered in a garage, but are still worn then that would indicated a lack of quality, where as if they were outside exposed and the wind had been moving the cover around then that would become more of a grey area (or worn white area). 

If you can post the link here to their guarantee as from what you have said it sounds like it would be listed on their website then that would be useful. 

pinkshoes

MattMattMattUK said:

Where has the furniture been stored, eg has the colour just rubbed off whilst the cover has been in contact with it, or has it spent the winter outside in the elements with the cover constantly rubbing as the wind pulls at it? Wear and tear is always a difficult one, personally I would say that if they were covered in a garage, but are still worn then that would indicated a lack of quality, where as if they were outside exposed and the wind had been moving the cover around then that would become more of a grey area (or worn white area). 

If you can post the link here to their guarantee as from what you have said it sounds like it would be listed on their website then that would be useful. 

Isn't that the whole point of a cover so it CAN stay out all year round?!?!?!

My parents leave theirs out all year with a cover on and it still looks good 4 years on. Very few people would have space to bring this sort of furniture inside for storage... 

Sounds to me like the cover is not fit for purpose if it causes the material to wear.

ribenaberri

Thankyou both for your responses.

MattMattMattUK said:

Where has the furniture been stored, eg has the colour just rubbed off whilst the cover has been in contact with it, or has it spent the winter outside in the elements with the cover constantly rubbing as the wind pulls at it? Wear and tear is always a difficult one, personally I would say that if they were covered in a garage, but are still worn then that would indicated a lack of quality, where as if they were outside exposed and the wind had been moving the cover around then that would become more of a grey area (or worn white area). 

If you can post the link here to their guarantee as from what you have said it sounds like it would be listed on their website then that would be useful.

We do leave the furniture outside and covered and as you say the movement from the weather on the cover has probably rubbed the colour off but as pinkshoes said:

Isn't that the whole point of a cover so it CAN stay out all year round?!?!?!

My parents leave theirs out all year with a cover on and it still looks good 4 years on. Very few people would have space to bring this sort of furniture inside for storage... 

Sounds to me like the cover is not fit for purpose if it causes the material to wear.

we bought the cover for that purpose and if we were going to store it in the garage we would not have needed a weather cover (as they are sold) to cover it. The cover should be designed to protect it in all weathers and not damage the furniture. It is described on their site as 'prolonging the life of the furniture'. So either the furniture is substandard or they shouldn't be selling the covers to protect them. 
This is a link to their guarantee but it is not very clear, they are just arguing wear and tear, but I do not understand how they can do this when the wear and tear has been caused by a product they advised us to buy and that is sold as something to make the item it is protecting last longer-if that is the case how can the same product cause wear and tear within 10 months!
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