Help and advice needed please

zoesarahuk

I bought 6 fence panels/trellis' online, described as 'sumptuous smooth planed finish'' and in the photographs they looked lovely.  When they arrived they looked rubbish - like rough sawn timber, but I had booked someone to paint them on the day they were delivered.  I thought they may look better after being painted.  They didn't, so I contacted the company I bought them off and also the manufacturer.  After 4 weeks of numerous emails, the company I bought them off said they would replace the faulty/damaged panels.  Today I sent an email accepting this.  Now the are saying they didn't realise it was all 6 x panels and won't replace them.  All the correspondence shows that it was obvious from the first email that it was all 6 x panels.  Do I have any rights with this? Or have I not because I got them painted? I have attached some photos of the fence panels I received and also one screenshot of what was advertised on the website I purchased them from.

I would be really grateful for any advice.

Thank you in advance.
 Zoe

turnitround

They would have gone straight back! Your big mistake, as you know, was letting someone paint them. I'm surprised the company have offered anything if they know they have been painted.

HillStreetBlues

Have to agree, they look terrible, rough edges  uneven spaces.
But not sure what can be done now they are painted as clearly you knew they were faulty on delivery.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Painting them doesn't affect your rights OP.

Can you link to the product in question (or name of website if you can't post links on the forum yet) and perhaps post some photos of the other side please? 

RefluentBeans

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Painting them doesn't affect your rights OP.

Can you link to the product in question (or name of website if you can't post links on the forum yet) and perhaps post some photos of the other side please? 

Can you point to the sections of the law that support this? I would’ve thought that the products were accepted knowing they were faulty? OP didn’t discover the fault after they’d been painted, they discovered them before and still continued to accept the item (by altering the item). 

As far as I know, as soon as you accept the product after the fault (by altering the item or by telling the company you accept the item) then the consumer has accepted the fault. If OP painted the item and whilst doing so saw a crack in the panel then l would argue it would be covered, but that’s not the case. 

I was looking at: https://www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds 

baser999

Looks as if someone’s just nailed together a job lot of old planks or off cuts. Sorry, can’t believe you even accepted them off the back of the truck, let alone went ahead and had them painted 😱

zoesarahuk

Hi
Thanks so much everyone.
I get the bit about getting it painted - I'm not usually so daft.  I really needed to get the fence up though, as my dog has been escaping through the current fence.  

The bit that I thought I had them on is their offer to replace the faulty panels, twice.  When I took them up on their offer they took it off the table saying they thought it was only one panel, even though I have 3 or 4 showing that is was all of them.

Can they offer something in writing and then change their mind when I accept? 

I'm not sure what to do.  I still haven't got a fence up for my dog, just 6 x scruffy, half painted panels in my kitchen. 

Thanks again x

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

RefluentBeans said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Painting them doesn't affect your rights OP.

Can you link to the product in question (or name of website if you can't post links on the forum yet) and perhaps post some photos of the other side please? 

Can you point to the sections of the law that support this? I would’ve thought that the products were accepted knowing they were faulty? OP didn’t discover the fault after they’d been painted, they discovered them before and still continued to accept the item (by altering the item). 

As far as I know, as soon as you accept the product after the fault (by altering the item or by telling the company you accept the item) then the consumer has accepted the fault. If OP painted the item and whilst doing so saw a crack in the panel then l would argue it would be covered, but that’s not the case. 

I was looking at: https://www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds 

Acceptance was a concept under the SOGA, it doesn't exist in the CRA. 

The gov page is wishy washy, despite their use of the "accepted" they state the trader still has to provide a remedy or repair/replace whilst ignoring the short term right to reject. 

The bit about newspaper leaves out the other half of the limit, the exception of subscription contracts for the supply of such publications. Unwrapped CDs, DVDs and computer software is incorrect, I could go on. 

Poorly worded "guidance" that shouldn't exist, ironically having a clause at the bottom saying it’s illegal to display any notice that deliberately misleads consumers or deceives them about their rights  
 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

zoesarahuk said:

Can they offer something in writing and then change their mind when I accept? 

Yes and no, it's not possible to force them to do something like replace the panels but of course if you have rights you have ways of enforcing those.

As they are refusing to repair/replace you have the right to reject for a full refund or a price reduction and keep the panels.

A link to, or name of, the site would be most useful, you are allowed to name the company  

zoesarahuk

Hi

Thanks, is there anything I can use in my next email to back me up?  They did offer me £20 but they look such a mess I'm not sure what I can do to make them look even half decent.  Plus on top of the cost of the panels plus paint plus the painter I'm going to have to pay someone to try and patch them up and then finish painting them   I would have been to do all the work myself but I'm quite ill and can't do it anymore. 🙄

Oh, almost forgot. The company I bought them from is Buy Sheds Direct.

Thanks Zoe 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Thanks Zoe 

They certainly dress it up as a luxury product on their website description.

Terms would suggest they don’t know much about consumer law.

Are you looking to return and get a full refund or seek some money back and keep the panels? 

Can draft an email for you tomorrow if you let us know which would be preferred?