Complicated returns issue with a damaged item 3 January at 12:38PM in Consumer rights 30 replies 1K views

tempsc

Hello all and a Happy New Year.

I have a complex situation I am trying to navigate through at the moment and would greatly value some assistance.

We have retained an advisor in the remodelling of our home. The advisors services included the option of them procuring items for us. An item of furniture was procured by them with us transferring funds to the service and they then made the purchase with that benefit of trade discount. The item was delivered but not unpacked as we had decorators in. On recently opening, we noticed the furniture had some damage. We reported the damage and advised we would be happy to just get a replacemnt door and we would replace it ourselves. The retailer responded advised that as the furniture had a 'weathered look' the damage I reported was not considered detracting from the furniture and the claim wouldn't be upheld. Late last year they did offer a replacement of the entire piece of funriture but only if we bore the cost of tranporting it back to them. I refused this and said that I fuly expected the furniture to be peferct and it wasn't, so wanted either a door as I had originally proposed or a replacemnt to be delivered at their cost and not mine. Today, they have simply refused to have anything further to do with this issue and consider the case as closed.

Some potentialy important aspects;

1. I have downloaded the websites of both the furtniture wholesaler and retailer. Neither of these describe the furniture of having a weathered appearance.
2. I have also informed the advisor that they should make a 'section 75 claim' (assuming they made a payment by credit card - this isn't yet confirmed by the advisor)
3. The terms of the retailer were that any damages should be reported within 24hrs from receipt. As mentioned above, we didn't unpack as the decorators were in at the time. The 24hrs terms weren't communicated to us by the advisor whom purchased the item on our behalf.

So. I apologise for the lengthy and complex post but I find myself in a difficult position and am not sure where to turn next.

Any assistance greatly appreciated.

 

Aylesbury_Duck

tempsc said:

Hello all and a Happy New Year.

I have a complex situation I am trying to navigate through at the moment and would greatly value some assistance.

We have retained an advisor in the remodelling of our home. The advisors services included the option of them procuring items for us. An item of furniture was procured by them with us transferring funds to the service and they then made the purchase with that benefit of trade discount. The item was delivered but not unpacked as we had decorators in. On recently opening, we noticed the furniture had some damage. We reported the damage and advised we would be happy to just get a replacemnt door and we would replace it ourselves. The retailer responded advised that as the furniture had a 'weathered look' the damage I reported was not considered detracting from the furniture and the claim wouldn't be upheld. Late last year they did offer a replacement of the entire piece of funriture but only if we bore the cost of tranporting it back to them. I refused this and said that I fuly expected the furniture to be peferct and it wasn't, so wanted either a door as I had originally proposed or a replacemnt to be delivered at their cost and not mine. Today, they have simply refused to have anything further to do with this issue and consider the case as closed.

Some potentialy important aspects;

1. I have downloaded the websites of both the furtniture wholesaler and retailer. Neither of these describe the furniture of having a weathered appearance.
2. I have also informed the advisor that they should make a 'section 75 claim' (assuming they made a payment by credit card - this isn't yet confirmed by the advisor)
3. The terms of the retailer were that any damages should be reported within 24hrs from receipt. As mentioned above, we didn't unpack as the decorators were in at the time. The 24hrs terms weren't communicated to us by the advisor whom purchased the item on our behalf.

So. I apologise for the lengthy and complex post but I find myself in a difficult position and am not sure where to turn next.

Any assistance greatly appreciated.

 

It sounds like you're in a position where you, personally, have no consumer rights here because a third party (a business) is the retailer's customer.  In theory, the retailer could cut off all communications with you and deal solely with their B2B customer, and that seems to be what they have done.

Your dispute is with your advisor.  It's his(?) problem to sort out.  He won't have section 75 rights because he's a business, so he will need to work with the retailer to organise a replacement or a refund under the terms of his business contract with them.

Manxman_in_exile

Who actually bought the item of furniture from the retailer?  Did you buy it from them or did your "adviser" buy it using their trade discount? 

Aylesbury_Duck

Manxman_in_exile said:

Who actually bought the item of furniture from the retailer?  Did you buy it from them or did your "adviser" buy it using their trade discount? 

I understand it to be that the advisor bought it, hence the OP has no consumer rights with the retailer.

tempsc

Hi all. Many thanks for the prompt responses. To clarify, the furniture was purchased by our advisor with their trade discount. We had no involvement in the purchase apart from transferring sufficient funds for the purchase to be made. Thank you.

Aylesbury_Duck

tempsc said:

Hi all. Many thanks for the prompt responses. To clarify, the furniture was purchased by our advisor with their trade discount. We had no involvement in the purchase apart from transferring sufficient funds for the purchase to be made. Thank you.

Thanks.  That makes it very clear cut, then.  Your dispute is with your advisor, so get onto them to get a replacement item or a refund of what you paid them.  Don't bother chasing the retailer, you have no rights with them and I suspect that's why they've stopped communicating with you.

tempsc

Thank you Aylesbury_Duck. Can I just ask if there are any aspects that I should specifically refer to in my rejection of the goods (apart from the damage of course). I'm thinking of any consumer rights that I have. Am I at any risk through not opening the item immediately upon delivery? I should mention that when the item was first ordered I did advise that I couldn't take delivery as we had the decorators in and felt it had been ordered too early. I kept getting emals from the carrier advising that they wanted to deliver and so with the decorators agreement, I accepted but didn;t unpack to it would be safe and not get damaged with any paint. Just want to be water tight here as I can see a bit of a storm developing. Thanks again.

Aylesbury_Duck

tempsc said:

Thank you Aylesbury_Duck. Can I just ask if there are any aspects that I should specifically refer to in my rejection of the goods (apart from the damage of course). I'm thinking of any consumer rights that I have. Am I at any risk through not opening the item immediately upon delivery? I should mention that when the item was first ordered I did advise that I couldn't take delivery as we had the decorators in and felt it had been ordered too early. I kept getting emals from the carrier advising that they wanted to deliver and so with the decorators agreement, I accepted but didn;t unpack to it would be safe and not get damaged with any paint. Just want to be water tight here as I can see a bit of a storm developing. Thanks again.

As I see it, the retailer's terms about reporting damage within 24 hours are irrelevant to you because they apply to your advisor.

The rights you have reside with your advisor.  What does your contract with him state about supplied items?  At the end of the day, you were supplied a damaged item by your advisor, and you have a right to a replacement or a refund.  Presumably your advisor acknowledges that the item arrived damaged, so simply go back to him and ask for a refund or a replacement.  If he refuses, then it's a letter before action to him with the threat of small claims court.  It sounds like you transferred money directly to him (bank transfer?) so chargeback isn't an option here.

tempsc

Thanks. Yes. That was my interpreration too ref the 24hrs. I assume that the risk lies with the advisor to check the item even though it was delivered direct to me. They could have had it delivered to them for checking first I assume or them taking thr trouble to come to me to check once delivered. I just don't think they have thought these things through sufficiently.

Have double checked the advisors website today and they make no mention of any specific terms/conditions relating to their 'procurement service'. The only T's and C's I can see look like a copy and paste job, relating just to ifnroamtin they hold about me, GDPR, retention of data, cookies etc.

Yes, the funds were transferred by BACS to them but if they used a credit card for the ourchase, is that something they could pursue with Section 75?

I'm guesing there's a 'letter before action' template somewhere on MSE? Is there a link at all please?

Many thanks once again.

MattMattMattUK

tempsc said:

Thanks. Yes. That was my interpreration too ref the 24hrs. I assume that the risk lies with the advisor to check the item even though it was delivered direct to me. They could have had it delivered to them for checking first I assume or them taking thr trouble to come to me to check once delivered. I just don't think they have thought these things through sufficiently.

Have double checked the advisors website today and they make no mention of any specific terms/conditions relating to their 'procurement service'. The only T's and C's I can see look like a copy and paste job, relating just to ifnroamtin they hold about me, GDPR, retention of data, cookies etc.

Yes, the funds were transferred by BACS to them but if they used a credit card for the ourchase, is that something they could pursue with Section 75?

I'm guesing there's a 'letter before action' template somewhere on MSE? Is there a link at all please?

Many thanks once again.

They likely purchased as a business, not a consumer, so the 24 hours condition could be perfectly valid in a B2B transaction. They may well have other Terms and Conditions sent via email and available at point of order that are different.

Section 75 is Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, as it would appear that they bought as a business the Consumer Credit Act does not apply.

My advice would be that rather than sending your "advisor" a LBA the first action would be to speak with them, they may have a better relationship with the supplier which means that they might get greater flexibility or may well take the view that it is easier to pay for the cost of return transport to get a replacement item as it will be easier for them in the long run, especially if they have an ongoing business relationship with the retailer. 

DullGreyGuy

Your contract is with the "advisor" as that is the company you have purchased from... who their supplier is and their T&Cs are irrelevant to you. 

You paid by BACS and therefore no S75 protection, again what their rights are against the supplier is irrelevant to you but as a business transaction they wont have S75 and most likely their card isnt covered by the CCA if they arent a sole trader. 


Claim is against advisor, dont mention their supplier, dont get brushed off with what they say their supplier is telling them... they took on the liability by becoming the middleman