Refund rights for a "bespoke order"

Zirconia

My 83 year old brother was recently persuaded to spend almost £4000 on a riser recliner. on Aug 4th. which was delivered on Aug 15th.The demonstrator came to his house  on Aug 4th with one chair and after taking his weight.height persuaded him to order the same model.When it arrived my brother found the chair uncomfortable and too narrow in the seat.When I contacted the firm they said that as it was "bespoke"  so they will not refund the order.When I explained that he is not sitting in it because it is not comfortable, they refused to consider a refund.

The chair was not made to his bodily  measurements because they did not take them, only his height/weight, so how can it be "bespoke"? He is in poor health and cannot afford to waste such a large amount of money.What can be done if anything?

Grumpy_chap

I imagine the extent of personalisation amounts to selecting from a small number of spring choices (strength of spring).

What do the Ts&C's say about returning the chair?

bris

It s not bespoke if its a stock order, it would have to be made to his measurements but I assume it was juat a stock model, so they are in the wrong

RefluentBeans

Have you got the name of the company? Would be useful to check their product line. I think there’s a lot of misconceptions about the customisation aspect. To clarify the customisation only affects your right to cancel - and is from the consumer contracts regs. Your rights for a working, as described product are still in tact from the consumer rights act. 

Could you also talk through the process of ordering it - as not all contracts come with that 14 day right to cancel. So if you could just talk us through what you believed happened (did the seller come round to the house exclusively, did your brother go to the sellers workshop/show room/how was the order placed/paid for etc).

Zirconia

Two members of the family were there with him and arranged the visit by the company.One chair was brought as an example and his weight and height were recorded and then a riser reclner delivered 10 days later (Aug 15th).He paid by bank card. He now claims that the chair is not comfortable and too narrow.Their reaction is that it is bespoke and that he knew this and therefore cannot be returned for refund.However they have agreed to come next week to look at the chair and talk to him. A different member so fthe family will be with him this time.I assume they will try to persuade him to keep it.But what are his rights if he finds it unsatsfactory?

RefluentBeans

Zirconia said:

Two members of the family were there with him and arranged the visit by the company.One chair was brought as an example and his weight and height were recorded and then a riser reclner delivered 10 days later (Aug 15th).He paid by bank card. He now claims that the chair is not comfortable and too narrow.Their reaction is that it is bespoke and that he knew this and therefore cannot be returned for refund.However they have agreed to come next week to look at the chair and talk to him. A different member so fthe family will be with him this time.I assume they will try to persuade him to keep it.But what are his rights if he finds it unsatsfactory?

Who was the company? 

(I'm going to use you as it is easier than writing your brother every time)

I think it depends on how 'bespoke' the item was. If the chair is a stock item (i.e. it was in the warehouse, in a box, and ready to go), then that is clearly not bespoke. The other end is if they built the chair to order (i.e. you picked the fabric, the style of wood, the springs, the fillings, etc.) then that item would be bespoke to you. I think the reality of it is that is in the middle, in the grey area. Whilst the chair itself in design (i.e. the fabric, the cushions, the frame, and the springs) may all be stock components, if they assemble it to your specifications, then it is likely bespoke, whilst if it's just tightening the springs to get the desired effect, it probably wouldn't be bespoke. It depends on how much impact you had on the product - for example, did you try multiple different seats, talk about stiffness, etc.? 

It does sound like some personalisation went on, and thus that may make it bespoke. Thus, the order may be exempt from the 14-day right to cancel. If that is the case, you then need to look at how it was advertised to see if you can go for a faulty as not as-described argument. 

Alderbank

Just to add that if they claim it is exempt from the 14 day right to cancel the seller must make that very clear at the time of purchase.

These powered recliners seem to have adjustments for how high it rises, how high the footrest goes, the angle of the neck rest, etc. but these are all user adjustable and are in no way bespoke. I would be astounded if the company could make a genuinely bespoke piece of furniture in the ten days between ordering and delivery. Ten weeks would be going some.
Some makers produce models in a fixed number of widths small, medium, large etc. so the chair your brother has might be a different width to the demo but again not bespoke.

Okell

[The following is based on this contract satisfying the requirements for an off-premises contract under the Regulations]


Has he - or anyone else on his behalf - clearly told the seller that he is exercising his right to cancel the contract under s29 of The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)? 

It's telling the seller clearly that he is cancelling that's important.  The fact he finds it uncomfortable and can't sit in it is irrelevant.

If nobody has done that yet, it needs to be done immediately if the chair was delivered on 15 August.  (The cancellation window is only definitely open for 14 days after delivery of the goods.  But see ** below)

As others have said, it is almost certainly the case that the chair is not excluded from the right to cancel, and that the seller is simply wrong to claim this.  The seller needs to be corrected on this point.  The chair would only be exempt from the right to cancel if it was either personalised or built to your brother's "specifications".  Simply measuring his height and weight would not satisfy this exception to the right to cancel.  The legislation says nothing about "bespoke" goods being exempt.  They have to be either personalised or made to the consumer's own specifications to be exempt form cancellation


**  The window for cancellation is only open for 14 days after delivery of the goods, but this can be extended by up to a year if the seller does not provide the consumer with the information referred to in s31 of the Regulations linked to above.  Has the seller provided that information?

pinkshoes

Alderbank said:

Just to add that if they claim it is exempt from the 14 day right to cancel the seller must make that very clear at the time of purchase.

These powered recliners seem to have adjustments for how high it rises, how high the footrest goes, the angle of the neck rest, etc. but these are all user adjustable and are in no way bespoke. I would be astounded if the company could make a genuinely bespoke piece of furniture in the ten days between ordering and delivery. Ten weeks would be going some.
Some makers produce models in a fixed number of widths small, medium, large etc. so the chair your brother has might be a different width to the demo but again not bespoke.

This^^^

There is NO WAY you can make a custom bespoke chair from scratch in such a short time period. 4th August was a Friday, so that's only 6 working days until it was delivered. 

As mentioned by @okell he immediately needs to put the cancellation in writing and wanting to return it for a full refund as it is not what he ordered. 

If they didn't mention it not being refundable, he has even longer to cancel the order, but to be safe do it ASAP, regardless of them visiting next week.