Damaged Furniture, can this be fixed?

henrygregory

Hi there,
I received through today from a well known online retailer a second chest of drawers which has damage. Due to the size and weight, by the time the delivery men have left, it took me some time to unpackage all of the boxing and copious amounts of foam with sellotape. Not that it is an issue, as I immediately contacted the retailer with my evidence. Like last time, the product came exceptionally well packaged and this time, the damage can’t be from transit as some of it has happened on the inside of a secure piece of furniture with nothing that could have knocked or damaged it. 

The chest has a crack on the top right front corner - really annoying as quite visible but thankfully not too big:


Of the six drawers, three have damage on the inside. Not visible but I am worried that this might get worse in time:


Does anyone know if it is possible to repair this damage. The company has again offered to collect and refund, but to be honest I cannot keep this game of ordering and returning going. I need furniture, it has been months now. 
They have offered me 7.46% discount for the damage - not a lot, so I am going to go back and ask for more as I really like the chest but cannot accept it as it is. I really don’t want to have to return another item. The last one I returned was in appalling condition, this is not half as bad.

Any advice on if it is possible to repair would be greatly appreciated. The details online state that it is made from “Engineered wood, rubber wood”.
The wood is solid and quite heavy. 

Thanks in advance. 

flashg67

The splits could be repaired by dribbling/pushing some wood glue in the gaps then clamping together until dry (using some protection on the clamp jaws to avoid marking/denting the surface).The damaged corners could be filled with wood filler, sanded then painted - it looks like a white satin paint from your pics? Doable but depending on the costs of the furniture, I'd want a reasonable discount?

henrygregory

flashg67 said:

The splits could be repaired by dribbling/pushing some wood glue in the gaps then clamping together until dry (using some protection on the clamp jaws to avoid marking/denting the surface).The damaged corners could be filled with wood filler, sanded then painted - it looks like a white satin paint from your pics? Doable but depending on the costs of the furniture, I'd want a reasonable discount?

Thanks so much, that is really good to know. Last time, I sent the unit back no question
about it, I was really disappointed - it was a large console unit. Getting it back to them was an absolute nightmare as when the packaging was removed, it was impossible to get it all back on such a large and heavy piece of furniture, it was also very difficult to get the courier to come on a day when I could be there and not at work. 

I have been console unit-less since and that was in November. I really needed a chest of drawers too hence this wary (after my last experience) purchase. I made sure the delivery men put it in the room in question - which was very difficult due to a very tight staircase, and I immediately started to unpackage it, but it took a good 25 mins. Getting it back out is going to be an absolute nightmare, and I cannot keep sending things back and then waiting weeks and weeks for replacements. I haven’t got the energy or the free time off of work to keep doing this.

Their current discount is poor, so I am going to go back asking for at least 20% discount, particularly as this is now the second time they have sent me damaged goods. One drawer would have been bad enough, but three and the corner is not good. If they don’t offer me something sensible, I am going to go public on their name and leave them a bad Trustpilot review. 

I am getting to the point where I really wonder if it is less hassle to just buy IKEA stuff. It is cheap and nasty but never arrives damaged and you can always get spare parts. 

casper_gutman

That looks quite bad, and not that straightforward to make a repair look good. I wouldn't accept a 7.46% discount for that much damage. 

If they were going to replace the furniture AND give you a 10-15% discount by way of an apology, that might sound about right.

henrygregory

casper_gutman said:

That looks quite bad, and not that straightforward to make a repair look good. I wouldn't accept a 7.46% discount for that much damage. 

If they were going to replace the furniture AND give you a 10-15% discount by way of an apology, that might sound about right.

Thank you. Yes, it is far from ideal but thankfully, almost all of the damage is on the inside of the drawer at least. I have done some calculations and last they sent me damaged furniture, they offered me a 10.55% discount, so they are offering less this time, but the damage is far less than it was with the console table I ordered from them last time.

Good suggestion, I will go back to them and say that their compensation offer is not acceptable.
If they are willing to replace the item and offer me 15% discount, I will consider it. If not, I would be expecting 35%(?) discount to keep it? - Does that sound high enough? 

Thanks again for your post

Bendy_House

Can you FIX it?
YES YOU CAN!
Can you make it look ok?
ER, I DUNNO - CAN YOU?

Repairing the damage is straight-forward, but touching it up afterwards to disguise this repair will be the issue. In essence, what colour/finish does it have, and can you replicate it?

Bendy_House

Yes, surely at LEAST 20% discount?!

The drawers don't look like wood of any normal type; I wonder if by 'engineered' they actually mean MDF, 'cos that's what it looks like - a pressed wood fibre that has 'burst' open when bashed.
Easy to fix, tho', as Flash says; get PVA squished right in to EVERY crack - just keep brushing it in repeatedly until you are happy it's gone right in. A wee trick is to keep squeezing the repair together after wiping in PVA, and this will force it in further each time. Fill, squeeze, fill, squeeze.
Then protect the visible surfaces and clamp them to the original thickness. Wipe away excess PVA with a damp cloth.
A light sanding should prepare it for painting, tho' a smear of wood filler might be needed first if the damage is below original surface level.
Sand.
Getting the new finish to match could/will be the tricky part. Is it PURE white, for instance, or a soft/warm/antique white?

theoretica

Realistically, what could the company sell that piece of furniture for, with the damage detailed? Less than 92.5% of the new price, I bet.  Much less.  Why should you pay more for it than the market value as is?

Rosa_Damascena

I wouldn't accept it in its current state. You can get better for less on the second hand market.

henrygregory

Thank you everyone for your posts and help on this.
Maybe I have been a bit too kind to the company in taking the attitude I could keep it and try and repair it. I just know how much hassle it was sending the last damaged item back.

I have drafted the following email back to them, how does this sound?

Thanks for you reply, but I am afraid your offer falls well below my expectation. As explained in my initial message, this is now the second problem order I have had with your company in the space of seven months. As with my previous order, the product again seems to have significant damage - could this be an issue with your warehouse? Either way, this is not acceptable and has cost me a day of waiting for the delivery again. I am self employed and cannot afford to keep taking days off to wait for a delivery.

The product in it’s current condition (as detailed in my photos) is not worth the price it is being sold for. If your company were to take it back, you will not be able to sell this on for 10% of the retail price, so offering me £25 off of what I paid, is nowhere near enough. This is just 7.46% of the total value paid for this product. 

Replacement is an option however, I would be expecting an additional 15% refund on the purchase price by way of an apology from your company. Also, this would mean another day off of work for me whilst I wait for your delivery men to come once again. 

As I already explained, returning the item is going to be very difficult as the delivery men had a very, very difficult time getting it up my stairs. We would need additional people to get this back out now it has no packaging and would damage my walls and ceiling. I really can’t see how this would be easily possible with just two people without damage happening. If there is a way around this, then this would be an option, but as I have already lost a day of my time, I would be expecting compensation for this in addition to a replacement piece of furniture. 

I look forward to your reply.

Does that sound ok? Thanks again everyone 

Bendy_House

I think it may be too long, too detailed, and you don't know what they could expect to sell it on for. Also, there is no obligation on them to compensate you for 'waiting' time, and things like that. Finally, you have thrown away the packaging even after noting the damage? I'm afraid you'll be (rightfully) expected to protect the unit to its original standard for return. (You'll need to be prepared to do this if they say "No - return it!")

I think all that matters is what it's worth to you vs them.

Perhaps something like:

"Thanks for your reply, but I am afraid your offer falls well below my reasonable expectations. This is the second issue I have had with your company with badly-damaged goods, with all the resulting disappointment and time wasted in having to resolve the matter.

As you can see, the damage is quite extensive and to a number of panels, so it can surely only be sold on for roughly half of its retail price at best? There would also be the return and redelivery carriage costs for you to bear. On the other hand, it will require a lot of effort on my part to try and effect a decent repair, but as this would save me time waiting for collection and redelivery (I am self-employed, so this equals lost earnings), it is something I am prepared to consider, given a suitable level of compensation.

I would be prepared to accept a discount of £x."