Faulty Dangerous Gazebo-Consumer Rights?

MrsBSaver

Hi,

I bought a gazebo last August used it once and tried to use it again in April but it fell apart. Contacted my credit card company who claim that too much time has elapsed and the merchant is not obliged to provide the requested information. I have tried to contact the merchant and they are not responding to my emails nor picking up the phone. What are my consumer rights and what do I need to do next as I feel like have thrown £200 away! TIA

pinkshoes

Is it a UK merchant?

As it is over 6 months old then you will need to prove it was inherently faulty e.g. it has not failed due to incorrect storage.

MrsBSaver

Yes, it is a UK merchant. Due to the poor quality of the product it has developed a fault…could I contact trading standards?I have the broken structure, it is in such a state that it we could have been injured.

user1977

MrsBSaver said:

Yes, it is a UK merchant.

Are they still trading?

jon81uk

Your rights are a repair or replacement if it was a fault present at time of manufacture causing it to be faulty (not bad storage or reasonable wear through use etc).
If you are confident it is faulty (you may need an independant person to look at it and write a report) and the company isn't responding you can send a letter before action and then go to small claims.

TELLIT01

It may be difficult to prove that there is an inherent fault and that the OP didn't cause the damage either taking it down or reassembling it.  What has actually broken?

MrsBSaver

The pop out brackets no longer pops out and the so called steel frame is soo flimsy it’s ridiculous! I would like to see the supplier argue that this is a durable product, my child’s toy house is stronger than this!

MattMattMattUK

MrsBSaver said:

The pop out brackets no longer pops out and the so called steel frame is soo flimsy it’s ridiculous! I would like to see the supplier argue that this is a durable product, my child’s toy house is stronger than this!

If it is so badly built then one has to ask how you did not notice last August when you used it, rather than after it has been stored somewhere on your property for seven months? Surely flimsy steel would have been obvious on day one?

When you say "pop out bracket", do you mean these things, or some kind of lever/hinge mechanism that forms a triangle to make a corner rigid? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

OP there's no time limit for raising an issue but after 6 months it's no longer taken an issue is present and you may be required to show such.

The goods must conform under certain requirements one of which is durability with consideration for the price paid, an issue doesn't have to be noticeably present at the point of delivery, it can be a hidden, unknown or not considered and become apparent later.

MrsBSaver said:

Hi,

Contacted my credit card company who claim that too much time has elapsed and the merchant is not obliged to provide the requested information. 

What does this mean? What information has been requested and by who?

If your OP is correct and you paid by credit card you'll have S75 cover but might need to find someone who can take a look and confirm a fault/lack or durability as the card provider will probably request such.

Not really sure who would do that for a gazebo unfortunately. 

elsien

I’d leave the “dangerous” bit out of any complaint as well. You haven’t been injured, and just because it won’t go back together doesn’t make it dangerous. Exaggerating  the problem has a tendency to make companies roll their eyes and take you less seriously. 

photome

Who is the merchant. How did it break