Faulty polytunnel - do I have to spend another day of my time dismantling it?

leafy211

I recently purchased online, a large 6x3m Outsunny polytunnel from mix.co.uk.  It took me a full day to construct the frame on my own.  Only to find at the very last stage (the door frame) one of the 50+ poles has had the screw hole put in the wrong place by the manufacturer.  I had to send two lots of photos and explanations to Mix.co.uk as they advised Aosom (who own the Outsunny brand) didnt understand the problem with my first set of pictures and explanation.  (You would laugh if i showed you as its soooo obvious).  Anyhows .. they have now accepted that the pole is faulty but say they dont have a replacement for the the one faulty pole so i have to dismantle the whole polytunnel, repack it in the original packing, and they will then collect it.  Then at some unknown future date they will send a replacement.  
I advised Mix.co.uk that this was unacceptable to me and that they would need to dismantle the polytunnel themselves if they arent able to provide the one replacement pole.
Mix advised that this isnt possible and the only option is for me to dismantle and pack the polytunnel myself before anything further can/will be done.
These exact same Outsunny polytunnels are still on sale on many many websites. 
I have already wasted a full day putting together the darn thing.  Surely I cant be forced to dismantle the whole thing (on my own that will be another day)?
Any guidance on my rights regarding this very large item would be hugely appreciated.
Many thanks in advance for your help
Louise

 

Keep_pedalling

Can’t you make your own screw holes in the right place? 

CliveOfIndia

I'm with the previous poster on this.  Sure, you can argue the toss over consumer rights and the supplier's obligations and what-not - but is it really worth the aggro?  I can't be too difficult to just drill a hole in the right place yourself, surely?

Olinda99

portable electric drill?

anyway the answer to your specific question is yes you would have dismantle it and send it back

ArbitraryRandom

Yes, unless the contract included installation, I'd think it's reasonable for the seller to expect you to dismantle the frame to 'make it available for collection'. 

You could suggest a partial discount - to cover the cost of you finding a local handyman with a drill and (if needed) some aluminium tube? 

leafy211

i did consider drilling a hole but the seller advised against it as any rights/guarantee would be immediately voided.  And as the new hole would be quite close to the wrongly drill hole, it would definitely weaken the pole.  Darn - it just doesnt feel fair as they could easily send a replacement part.  Will definitely not be buying from mix or outsunny ever again!

leafy211

i will though ask about a goodwill gesture etc 
thanks everyone for your input, its very much appreciated :-)

400ixl

I would just drill the hole if that was achievable.

Could they not deliver a replacement at the same time as collection and you just swap the pole over and they take the replacement back with the faulty pole?

Otherwise i believe you do have the responsibility for taking it down again and packing it up for collection.

leafy211

i will definitely ask whether the part swap might be possible as that would save oh so much hassle.  Fingers crossed! And thanks again!

Alderbank

leafy211 said:

...one of the 50+ poles has had the screw hole put in the wrong place...
These exact same Outsunny polytunnels are still on sale on many many websites.
 

I admire your honesty.

A buyer less scrupulous than you would simply buy another one, swap your faulty pole for one of the 50+ good ones and return the new package.

The structure looks extremely flimsy especially having regard to its huge flat sided surface area. I can well understand why the seller warns, 'NOTE: Not suitable for bad weather conditions'.
It might be a chore to dismantle it but you would have to get used to that when the weather forecast is 'windy'.

ArbitraryRandom

leafy211 said:

i will though ask about a goodwill gesture etc 
thanks everyone for your input, its very much appreciated :-)

Just to say, assuming this is a UK based company - this isn't a 'good will gesture' you're asking for. 

If you can't reasonably return (you can't spend a day dismantling), they can't reasonably collect (they also can't spend a day dismantling), and they can't repair/replace the faulty part, then you have the right to a price reduction: 



https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/9/enacted#section-19-3