Dormeo UK Ltd. - In Administration - Taken Over by United T and C Limited

Duggerz

Hi Everyone,

On 29/1/2023 I ordered a new mattress from Dormeo. A month later it still had not been despatched. I called the company. Their rep told me that the items I ordered would be a further 4-6 weeks as Dormeo had been bought. I waited. The item was delivered on Friday 24th March. I tried it but couldn't get used to it and called them to return it. Their rep told me that they would not be accepting a return on it but advised me to charge back on my credit card and donate the mattress they had delivered to charity. Dormeo UK Ltd. had gone into administration, and the new owner of Dormeo had delivered my mattress as a "goodwill gesture", but in fact the rep admitted that the real reason was to "protect the Dormeo brand".

I contacted my bank, FIrst Direct and was connected with their Credit Card Disputes dept. The agent informed me that they would not be able to charge back unless the company had gone into administration. I confirmed at Companies House that was the case and called back. A different agent at First Direct told me they would not charge back as I had received the goods. I am currently out a decent sum of money and stuck with a mattress that doesn't meet my needs. I ordered from Dormeo because there was a 60 night sleep guarantee, and I used my credit card to protect against the company going into administration, non-delivery etc. and now I am thinking how I can get satisfaction in this situation.

I was promised an email from Dormeo that would explain everything that I could take to my bank First Direct, and that other customers have used this with success. Nothing has arrived to date, though it is Easter so I will wait longer. 

My view is that the goods I ordered with the 60 day guarantee were never delivered, but I received a gift from the new company which in my case is preventing me from receiving a refund. I did see that the amount I paid and the 60 day sleep guarantee were on the delivery note I received from the new Dormeo.

I plan to contact new Dormeo in writing and ask for an explanation of what I ordered, what I delivered and why they will not honour the return, even though I was in the 14 day distance selling timeline yesterday when I called. I hope to use that response to contact First Direct. If no success there I will contact the Financial Ombudsman and see what can be done there. 

Has anyone any similar experience or any advice for this?

Thanks
Ian

Manxman_in_exile

If you paid £100 or more and the guarantee forms part of the T&Cs of the contract, won't your card provider need to do a s75 claim rather than a chargeback?

(You say you paid by credit card and I think your bank is right that a chargeback would not apply in these circumstances)

Ditzy_Mitzy

Manxman_in_exile said:

If you paid £100 or more and the guarantee forms part of the T&Cs of the contract, won't your card provider need to do a s75 claim rather than a chargeback?

(You say you paid by credit card and I think your bank is right that a chargeback would not apply in these circumstances)

 I wouldn't have thought that S75 rights would apply here either, as the retailer - Dormeo in administration - haven't breached any sort of contract.  The OP has received the goods and there is nothing wrong with them, he merely doesn't like them.  Ordinarily a return based on change of mind would be fine under distance selling, but there is no longer any supplier to receive such a claim as they are in administration.  

Unfortunately, I feel that the OP is caught between a mattress and a soft place... 

Grumpy_chap

Duggerz said:

My view is that the goods I ordered with the 60 day guarantee were never delivered, but I received a gift from the new company which in my case is preventing me from receiving a refund. I did see that the amount I paid and the 60 day sleep guarantee were on the delivery note I received from the new Dormeo.

I plan to contact new Dormeo in writing and ask for an explanation of what I ordered, what I delivered and why they will not honour the return, even though I was in the 14 day distance selling timeline yesterday when I called.

There is a danger of over-thinking this and coming up with complex ideas that quite possibly only cause confusion and do not help the situation.

You need to decide whether the mattress received is the one ordered from Dormeo and, hence, the CCR may apply. 
OR, the mattress received was a gift (from new Dormeo), which obviously would not be covered by the CCR but you may be an involuntary bailee.

The creative thinking doesn't seem to help in this case.

tightauldgit

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

If you paid £100 or more and the guarantee forms part of the T&Cs of the contract, won't your card provider need to do a s75 claim rather than a chargeback?

(You say you paid by credit card and I think your bank is right that a chargeback would not apply in these circumstances)

 I wouldn't have thought that S75 rights would apply here either, as the retailer - Dormeo in administration - haven't breached any sort of contract.  The OP has received the goods and there is nothing wrong with them, he merely doesn't like them.  Ordinarily a return based on change of mind would be fine under distance selling, but there is no longer any supplier to receive such a claim as they are in administration.  

Unfortunately, I feel that the OP is caught between a mattress and a soft place... 

I'm kind of inclined to agree with you the only thing I'm thinking is if the goods WERE faulty then there still wouldn't be anyone to receive a claim and the bank would be having to sort it so does the fact that the goods aren't faulty matter when the OP would still have had a statutory right to return them?

If they were claiming on the 60 day guarantee then it would possibly be different but if they are exercising their statutory right to return within 14 days?  

Jenni_D

Dormeo are still advertising on TV (on Quest?) quite regularly, and they're still claiming the 60 day no quibble return guarantee. Presumably this is the "new" Dormeo that's advertising, so regardless of whether the OP got their mattress from Old or New then they should still be able to invoke the guarantee - as that formed part of the contract?

tightauldgit

Jenni_D said:

Dormeo are still advertising on TV (on Quest?) quite regularly, and they're still claiming the 60 day no quibble return guarantee. Presumably this is the "new" Dormeo that's advertising, so regardless of whether the OP got their mattress from Old or New then they should still be able to invoke the guarantee - as that formed part of the contract?

Depends what new Dormeo acquired from old Dormeo - assuming they purchased assets then the liabilities for the old guarantees and obligations under old contracts probably didn't transfer which I guess is why they are saying they fulfilled the old purchases as a goodwill gesture. 

To the extent that any contract exists it exists between the consumer and 'Old Dormeo' (In Admin) I imagine.

ETA: I also imagine that the money was paid to Old Dormeo and New Dormeo never received any of those funds, hence why they don't want to refund. 

user1977

Jenni_D said:

Dormeo are still advertising on TV (on Quest?) quite regularly, and they're still claiming the 60 day no quibble return guarantee. Presumably this is the "new" Dormeo that's advertising, so regardless of whether the OP got their mattress from Old or New then they should still be able to invoke the guarantee - as that formed part of the contract?

Invoke it against whom? They don't have a contract with the new company.

born_again

Dormeo UK was then placed into administration and was sold in a pre-pack deal on the same date to United T and C Limited for a total sum of £800,000. This included £417,500 for goodwill, £372,500 for stock and £10,000 for fixtures, fittings, IP, customer data and seller’s records.

“This sale is not part of a wider transaction and there are no options, buy-back agreements, deferred consideration or other conditions to the transaction,” administrators said. The total sum was paid in full on completion.

https://www.bigfurnituregroup.com/dormeo-uk-sold-for-800k-after-intense-period-of-negotiation/#:~:text=New owners UT+C (United,USA (Danville, Virginia).

 The new ownership confirmed it intends to fulfil the majority of pre-administration orders.

Alderbank

...so First Direct credit card should be vicariously liable for the failure of 'old' Dormeo UK to fulfil the contract?

Jenni_D

My comment was based on the "Chargeback against the old company if administration could be proven" ... IF that is a valid chargeback option then that could be invoked. If it was the new company that fulfilled the order then surely a contract is in place?

Plus if the OP paid by credit card (and the amount was £100+) then they have a claim under S75 against the CC company ... the 60 day guarantee formed part of the contract, and liability for ALL contract terms is shared by the CC company.