Ordered outdoor furniture 8 months ago and still not received the cover for them

Oofe

We ordered an outdoor furniture set (metal + cushions). The cover to protect them never arrived and each time I contacted them, they told me I'll have it by the end of the week.
That was over 8 months ago.
The outdoor cushions have been subject to the British weather and are now looking very worse for wear. 
 
What options do we have? We requested a refund or compensation and was only offered a refund for the missing cover. This furniture was about £2k 

eskbanker

Not sure you're entitled to anything more than the refund for the missing item - IMHO there'd be an expectation that you wouldn't leave cushions out in the open uncovered if that would (unsurprisingly) spoil them.

Grumpy_chap

Oofe said:

We ordered an outdoor furniture set (metal + cushions). The cover to protect them never arrived and each time I contacted them, they told me I'll have it by the end of the week.
That was over 8 months ago.
The outdoor cushions have been subject to the British weather and are now looking very worse for wear. 
 
What options do we have? We requested a refund or compensation and was only offered a refund for the missing cover. This furniture was about £2k 

You are probably entitled to a refund for the cost of the cover.  Or the supply of an alternative cover, but the refund would allow you to source a generic cover from anywhere of your choosing.

You are probably obligated to take reasonable precautions to prevent damage even without the cover - so put the cushions in a shed or similar rather than just leaving them out in the elements.

At best you might get a small token goodwill gesture, but there does not seem to be any reason why and I doubt any goodwill gesture would be of any significant value.

Oofe

ok thanks, we haven't actually got anywhere else to store them. I'll just wait for the covers.

Grumpy_chap

Would an interim solution (to prevent the cushions from further damage) be to use any tarpaulin to cover the furniture, or wrap in a decorators dustsheet (the disposable plastic type), or large dustbin sacks for the cushions?

I understand the annoyance on the proper covers not being available in good time, but a bit of innovation could prevent the cushions from deteriorating in the meantime.

born_again

TBH, even under a cover, these cushions need storing somewhere that is less exposed to the elements. 

Olinda99

the basic facts seem to be that you ordered some furniture plus a cover for £2,000 and the order is incomplete

you should therefore give them one last chance to complete the order and if not then tell them you wish to cancel the order and they can pick up their furniture

if they refuse then go to your card and tell them that you wish a S75 refund because the order has not been fulfilled (assuming you paid by credit card). if you didn't pay by credit card then you will have to resort to the small claims court and claim the full payment back on the basis that the order has not been fulfilled

GrubbyGirl_2

Olinda99 said:

the basic facts seem to be that you ordered some furniture plus a cover for £2,000 and the order is incomplete

you should therefore give them one last chance to complete the order and if not then tell them you wish to cancel the order and they can pick up their furniture

if they refuse then go to your card and tell them that you wish a S75 refund because the order has not been fulfilled (assuming you paid by credit card). if you didn't pay by credit card then you will have to resort to the small claims court and claim the full payment back on the basis that the order has not been fulfilled

I can't see how they will get a refund as they have not only used the item the cushions have been left out in all weathers and have deteriorated.  If they wanted a refund for an incomplete order they should not have used it.  Best they can hope for is the cover or a partial refund for the cover which is likely to be a fraction of the total cost.

PHK

born_again said:

TBH, even under a cover, these cushions need storing somewhere that is less exposed to the elements. 

This is very true. I've never seen outdoor furniture that said the cushions could be left out all-year round.

Generally, a cover is designed to put on to protect from light summer rain showers and cushions go indoors/shed/store when not in use. They still need to be cleaned as your indoor furniture would but perhaps more often.


 Many tables/sofas open to allow the cushions to be stored safely when cleaned and dried.  

ArbitraryRandom

Olinda99 said:

the basic facts seem to be that you ordered some furniture plus a cover for £2,000 and the order is incomplete

you should therefore give them one last chance to complete the order and if not then tell them you wish to cancel the order and they can pick up their furniture

if they refuse then go to your card and tell them that you wish a S75 refund because the order has not been fulfilled (assuming you paid by credit card). if you didn't pay by credit card then you will have to resort to the small claims court and claim the full payment back on the basis that the order has not been fulfilled

Assuming they're not counted as separate items (if they were sold as a set including cover) and assuming they paid by credit card directly vs a third party (PayPal etc). 

photome

You could /should have mitigated it by buying an alternative cover for £20 ish and then claiming for the cost of the cover, even with a cover the cushions should be removed.  If it is an alloy frame the rest of the furniture would come to no harm,

was the cover included with the set? Who is the retailer

I have my set uncovered all summer with cushions removed and covered all winter with cushions removed 

you should be able to find space somewhere to keep the cushions