Section 75 - rules around damages..

MurphyK

Hello All, 

Hope you can help with some advice, new here so apologies if I break any rules! 

We had two sofas delivered from Sofa.com recently and they caused serious damage to a newly laid oak herringbone floor.. They dropped a sofa and dragged it. The delivery guys themselves were lovely, and even singed a statement confirming they had caused the damage. 

Fast forward three weeks (of chasing), I receive an email from one one of the directors stating ‘he didn’t know what he was singing and we do not accept responsibility.’ 

I’ve got two routes I’m thinking about, and hope you can shed some light on both.. 

1) The sofas were bought on finance, however, I paid an £800 deposit on MBNA credit card. I’ve seen some conversation around Section 75 covering this type of situation. But, I can’t see how, do I just send the credit card company the estimates for repair? Obviously we’re not trying to recover the cost of the sofas, so I’m just a tad confused by that process..

2) Small claims action, BUT we are in Scotland, and they are registered in England. Terms and conditions state legal laws are covered by England. I’m not sure if I’d log the case with English courts or not. 

Any help would be tremendously helpful. 

Thanks in advance,

Murph. 

 

  

born_again

If you want to go S75 (not sure they will go for it) you need to speak to them.

tacpot12

If you have home insurance, check to see if you have legal expenses cover. If you do, call the Legal Helpline, and ask for advice. You might need to prove that the delivery guys were negligent in some way, so try to think back exactly how they tried to bring the sofa in, and perhaps try to find some expert opinion on how sofas should be handled to avoid damage to the property and to the people trying to move them. If the guys hadn't had the right training, or didn't follow their training, I think this makes the  supplier negligent as they should be supervised enought to ensure that they always follow their training.  

bris

CC co has same rights as retailer so you first need to prove negligence. The CC co will also dispute liability because you took out finance so will tell you to claim from them. 

This will probably end in deadlock with you having to go to the ombudsman to sort out. 

MalMonroe

It's a different issue to the sofas though, so I'm not sure a Section 75 would work.

The sofas you paid the deposit for are fine and you like them.

The issue is that your flooring was damaged while the sofas were being delivered.

What I would do (and do please bear in mind that my opinions are strictly my own) before approaching any courts, is take photos of all the damage - which I assume you have done.

Then I would write a letter, not an email, to the director and/or manager of the company, outlining what happened and enclosing copies of the photos, together with a copy of the statement signed by the delivery guys - a most important document, in spite of what one of the directors says - and two or three estimates from flooring companies of the cost to put the flooring back to the exact same condition it was before the sofas were delivered.

I would send the letter by post and also send a copy as an attachment to that director by email. I'd not get involved in any other interactions with any directors or other employees of the company, other than to discuss their replacement of your damaged flooring. Just write down the facts and don't threaten any court action initially.

The sofa company MUST have their own insurance to cover cases such as this - I imagine it happens frequently when people are delivering heavy furniture to clients' homes.

You could also contact Citizens Advice to see what they think, they're very good.  https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

That link is for England but as the company is based there, it should be appropriate. 

[Deleted User]

As a consumer to business transaction, you can raise a claim in your jurisdiction or theirs (if different) - either is valid. Their terms and conditions are irreverent in this regard.

born_again

Deleted User said: Their terms and conditions are irreverent in this regard.

But will be in terms of a S75 when CC will look at breech of contract.

eddddy

I would present your case like this:

• S75 provides cover for breach of contract

• You used your credit card to part pay for a sofa (which is a product) and delivery (which is a service)

• The Consumer Rights Act 2015 adds an implied term to all consumer contracts that services must be carried out with reasonable care and skill**

• The delivery service wasn't carried out with reasonable care and skill (because it damaged your floor) - so that's a breach of contract

• A claim for breach of contract can include loss/damage resulting for that breach of contract (such as the cost of repairing your floor)

On that basis you should be able to make an s75 claim for the repairs to your floor.


It might be best not to mention 'Negligence' in your claim - as s75 only provides cover for Breach of Contract or Misrepresentation - not negligence.



** Here's the relevant clause in the Consumer Rights Act 2015:

49 Service to be performed with reasonable care and skill

(1) Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.

Link:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/49/enacted