DFS .. trying to get a refund over sending me the wrong colour feet

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Lipgloss24 said:

 They have been out to fit them he opened the bag and yet again the are the wrong colour feet 🤦🏽‍♀️ 

Well they've completely messed up here OP, you without doubt now have the right to reject, it's one repair/replacement attempt only and then you may exercise the final right to reject (full refund within 6 months). 

Did you get anywhere with the finance co and S75? 

Lipgloss24

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Lipgloss24 said:

 They have been out to fit them he opened the bag and yet again the are the wrong colour feet 🤦🏽‍♀️ 

Well they've completely messed up here OP, you without doubt now have the right to reject, it's one repair/replacement attempt only and then you may exercise the final right to reject (full refund within 6 months). 

Did you get anywhere with the finance co and S75? 

This was the last of them 🙃 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Lipgloss24 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Lipgloss24 said:

 They have been out to fit them he opened the bag and yet again the are the wrong colour feet 🤦🏽‍♀️ 

Well they've completely messed up here OP, you without doubt now have the right to reject, it's one repair/replacement attempt only and then you may exercise the final right to reject (full refund within 6 months). 

Did you get anywhere with the finance co and S75? 

This was the last of them 🙃 

Thanks OP, what a load of twaddle.

I'd go back to them and point out they have now attempted a repair which has failed as such you are entitled to reject.

I would point out, their understanding of the Consumer Rights Act is fundamentally flawed however that is now academic.

Also that you have no intention of using the Furniture Ombudsman but will instead be following a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman regarding the unfair treatment during your attempt to make a S75 claim and the misleading information given which likely amounts to a breach of the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations.

I would give the finance company 14 days to refund you and then send them a letter before action without any further contact with DFS. 

Jus to add, are they misleading you or have you followed their official complaints process:

https://www.v12retailfinance.com/complaints-process

by either emailing the complaints@ address or by letter in the post?

If not I'd fire off an email to the "complaints" address, my above is a bit ranty but can compose something a bit more level headed for you if needed  

Lipgloss24

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Lipgloss24 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Lipgloss24 said:

 They have been out to fit them he opened the bag and yet again the are the wrong colour feet 🤦🏽‍♀️ 

Well they've completely messed up here OP, you without doubt now have the right to reject, it's one repair/replacement attempt only and then you may exercise the final right to reject (full refund within 6 months). 

Did you get anywhere with the finance co and S75? 

This was the last of them 🙃 

Thanks OP, what a load of twaddle.

I'd go back to them and point out they have now attempted a repair which has failed as such you are entitled to reject.

I would point out, their understanding of the Consumer Rights Act is fundamentally flawed however that is now academic.

Also that you have no intention of using the Furniture Ombudsman but will instead be following a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman regarding the unfair treatment during your attempt to make a S75 claim and the misleading information given which likely amounts to a breach of the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations.

I would give the finance company 14 days to refund you and then send them a letter before action without any further contact with DFS. 

Jus to add, are they misleading you or have you followed their official complaints process:

https://www.v12retailfinance.com/complaints-process

by either emailing the complaints@ address or by letter in the post?

If not I'd fire off an email to the "complaints" address, my above is a bit ranty but can compose something a bit more level headed for you if needed  

Sent you a message :-) 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Below for OP to send to finance, please point out any of my mistakes.

@born_again Does OP has the right to solely chase V12 under S75 or am I misunderstanding anything? 

Dear V12 Finance

I am writing with regards to your email contact on the xxx, where you stated:

"You have the right to reject goods which are faulty or damaged" 

This is an over simplified statement, with regards to contracts for goods between a trader and a consumer the goods are required to conform to the implied terms of the contract as per Sections 9 thought 18 of the Consumer Rights Act which includes the goods matching the description as per Section 11.

As the feet are of the wrong colour this aspect does not match the description and thus the sofa does not conform to the contract. 

The terms and conditions on the DFS website are not of consequence as a trader may not contract out the implied terms of the Consumer Rights Act, they are inherent in the contract regardless of whether they are stated or not. 

You also state that DFS consider the feet to be a "component", this is a completely accurate, but highly irrevelavent, statement. An alternator is a component of a car engine, a motherboard is a component of a television, the word component merely means a piece of a larger whole and the Consumer Rights Act makes no reference or exemption to "components".

On xx DFS left a bag of sofa feet at my front door and on xx someone attended to swap them over, however yet again they were the incorrect feet and so the repair attempted failed.

As per Section 24 of the Consumer Rights Act the consumer may exercise the final right to reject after there has been one repair attempt but yet the goods still do not conform to the contract. 

I am now exercising the final right to reject the sofa and notifying you of such.

As per Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you shall accordingly be jointly and severally liable to the debtor in any claim against the supplier in respect of a misrepresentation or breach of contract.

I am therefore exercising my final right to reject with V12 Finance and your obligation is to provide myself with a full refund within 14 days of this email as per paragraph (15) of Section 20.

You mention I may raise my case to the Furniture Ombudsman however I have no intention of using their services, nor do I intend to discuss this matter further with DFS. 

I do however intend to raise this complaint to the Financial Ombudsman to voice my dissatisfaction with regards to the unfair manner in which you have treated me by misleading me about my rights under the Consumer Rights Act, an action which is a breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations as per Section 5 paragraph (4)(k), by stating I do not have the right to reject and attempting to imply the DFS terms and conditions override my rights afforded by the legislation. 

I also intent to use my right under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act to issue small claims proceedings solely against V12 Finance to recover the amount due, plus costs, if a refund is not issued as per the Consumer Rights Act. 

If you require the sofa to be "returned" to yourself please provide the address and I shall arrange such, please be aware that as per Section 20 paragraph (8) you are to bear any reasonable costs of return.

Lastly, as per the pre-action protocols expected by the court I shall send a letter before action before commencing the small claims process, please provide the contact address for this purpose. 

Given the unsatisfactory response to this matter thus far I request this complaint be passed to senior member of staff who is well versed in consumer law for review and look forward to receiving a comprehensive reply that acknowledges my rights and your obligations. 

Thank you in advance, 

Sincerely,

Okell

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Below for OP to send to finance, please point out any of my mistakes.

@born_again Does OP has the right to solely chase V12 under S75 or am I misunderstanding anything? ...

In answer to this ^^^^ question my understanding is that where a consumer has a claim for breach of contract against a supplier, then the consumer "... shall have a like claim against the creditor, who, with the supplier, shall accordingly be jointly and severally liable to the debtor."  s75(1)

To me this means that a consumer can sue either the creditior or the supplier individually, or the consumer can jointly sue both of them together.

Whether it makes much difference from a tactical point of view as to who the consumer decides to sue, I wouldn't like to say.

I don't know if the OP has actually exercised their final right to reject yet and has DFS refused to accept it?

[Edit:  so far as I'm aware the small claims/moneyclaim online process does allow a claimant to sue either one or two defendants - but I'm not 100% sure of that]

Okell

@the_lunatic_is_in_my_head: 

Just to add - having reviewed today's posts - I think if I were the OP I'd first contact DFS immediately and tell them that as their single attempt to repair permitted by the CRA has failed dismally, then I'm exercising my final right to reject the sofa for a full refund to be paid within 14* days.  Quoting s24(5)(a)  Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)

(And the OP needs to be emphasising that he is not asking to exercise this right, he IS exercising it with or without their agreememnt)

I'd be amazed if DFS have the gall and brassneck to try to argue they should have another attempt at rectifying this

I think I'd also still send your suggested letter to the creditor, but just tweak it slightly to say that if DFS do not accept the final rejection and do not pay a full refund, then I'll be taking the formal action against V12 outlined in your letter.  What do you think?

I know you're really annoyed by the tone and content of V12's message to the OP, but I think I'd want to fomally do a final rejection with DFS - giving them an opportunity to accept it - before moving onto V12.

If neither DFS nor V12 cough up I think I'd be sending LBAs to both of them before deciding which one (or both) to sue.

I think that's how I'd look at it.  Others may think differently...


*14 days is the maximum period.  I wonder if the OP should just say 7 days or even immediately?

Lipgloss24

Okell said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Below for OP to send to finance, please point out any of my mistakes.

@born_again Does OP has the right to solely chase V12 under S75 or am I misunderstanding anything? ...

In answer to this ^^^^ question my understanding is that where a consumer has a claim for breach of contract against a supplier, then the consumer "... shall have a like claim against the creditor, who, with the supplier, shall accordingly be jointly and severally liable to the debtor."  s75(1)

To me this means that a consumer can sue either the creditior or the supplier individually, or the consumer can jointly sue both of them together.

Whether it makes much difference from a tactical point of view as to who the consumer decides to sue, I wouldn't like to say.

I don't know if the OP has actually exercised their final right to reject yet and has DFS refused to accept it?

[Edit:  so far as I'm aware the small claims/moneyclaim online process does allow a claimant to sue either one or two defendants - but I'm not 100% sure of that]

I have exercised my right to reject when they sent me the wrong colour but they argued that they ain’t accepting the sofa back as the feet are only a “component “ in the end I gave up and accepted someone to come and fit the feet . Only for them to send the wrong colour again I haven’t yet emailed the finance company or dfs about this as they only come to repair today so not sure what they will come back with after I tell them again my right to reject after 1 attempt of a failed repair .

PHK

Despite V12 not seemingly understanding the difference between furniture ombudsman and financial ombudsman, finance is a regulated activity under the regulated activities order and so a complaint can be brought to the Financial Ombudsman Service. 

The OP needs to be careful about making a claim in the small claims track as this will mean the FOS won’t look at the case. But the FOS is a free service so not using the FOS will mean the OP hasn’t mitigated their loss so might well not get the court fees if they win. (Plus in a case like this the court will push for the case to be settled by the mediation service)

OP, you need to give this some thought about which route you’ll go. We won’t be able to advise as there are lots of factors we can’t know e.g. would you qualify for help with the fees, your attitude to potentially attending a hearing etc

born_again

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Below for OP to send to finance, please point out any of my mistakes.

@born_again Does OP has the right to solely chase V12 under S75 or am I misunderstanding anything? 

Dear V12 Finance

I am writing with regards to your email contact on the xxx, where you stated:

"You have the right to reject goods which are faulty or damaged" 

This is an over simplified statement, with regards to contracts for goods between a trader and a consumer the goods are required to conform to the implied terms of the contract as per Sections 9 thought 18 of the Consumer Rights Act which includes the goods matching the description as per Section 11.

As the feet are of the wrong colour this aspect does not match the description and thus the sofa does not conform to the contract. 

The terms and conditions on the DFS website are not of consequence as a trader may not contract out the implied terms of the Consumer Rights Act, they are inherent in the contract regardless of whether they are stated or not. 

You also state that DFS consider the feet to be a "component", this is a completely accurate, but highly irrevelavent, statement. An alternator is a component of a car engine, a motherboard is a component of a television, the word component merely means a piece of a larger whole and the Consumer Rights Act makes no reference or exemption to "components".

On xx DFS left a bag of sofa feet at my front door and on xx someone attended to swap them over, however yet again they were the incorrect feet and so the repair attempted failed.

As per Section 24 of the Consumer Rights Act the consumer may exercise the final right to reject after there has been one repair attempt but yet the goods still do not conform to the contract. 

I am now exercising the final right to reject the sofa and notifying you of such.

As per Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you shall accordingly be jointly and severally liable to the debtor in any claim against the supplier in respect of a misrepresentation or breach of contract.

I am therefore exercising my final right to reject with V12 Finance and your obligation is to provide myself with a full refund within 14 days of this email as per paragraph (15) of Section 20.

You mention I may raise my case to the Furniture Ombudsman however I have no intention of using their services, nor do I intend to discuss this matter further with DFS. 

I do however intend to raise this complaint to the Financial Ombudsman to voice my dissatisfaction with regards to the unfair manner in which you have treated me by misleading me about my rights under the Consumer Rights Act, an action which is a breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations as per Section 5 paragraph (4)(k), by stating I do not have the right to reject and attempting to imply the DFS terms and conditions override my rights afforded by the legislation. 

I also intent to use my right under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act to issue small claims proceedings solely against V12 Finance to recover the amount due, plus costs, if a refund is not issued as per the Consumer Rights Act. 

If you require the sofa to be "returned" to yourself please provide the address and I shall arrange such, please be aware that as per Section 20 paragraph (8) you are to bear any reasonable costs of return.

Lastly, as per the pre-action protocols expected by the court I shall send a letter before action before commencing the small claims process, please provide the contact address for this purpose. 

Given the unsatisfactory response to this matter thus far I request this complaint be passed to senior member of staff who is well versed in consumer law for review and look forward to receiving a comprehensive reply that acknowledges my rights and your obligations. 

Thank you in advance, 

Sincerely,

The point of S75 is in negates the need (or should do) to go to court. As if finance co refuse, then you have the option of going to FOS (no cost to consumer)

TBH. This is a case where going back to store on a busy day & making the point that this is now a farce as they can not get a simple task of getting the right colour feet supplied.
Rejecting & returning is going to mean no sofa for as long as it takes to get a new one. So is something to factor into this whole farce.