SCS delivered faulty suite what are mmy rights

stressedbyscs

Just before Christmas we took delivery of a new leather corner suite from SCS. The suite was damaged but as the faults were not obvious and the delivery guys who must have been aware of them chose not to point them out so we signed for the suite. We then went on holiday and returned after new year to realsise that the suite was damaged in 2 places the corner unit doesn't clip together as the piece of wood holding the clips on is broken inside and the chaise end is missing a leg and fixings underneath causing the end to collapse. This is an extra leg in addition to the corners so we wern't to know a leg should be there. The suite then quickly developed a third fault where one of the cushions is collapsing. SCS sent an upholster to look at the suite (prior to the cushion collapsing as we hadn't been sitting on that section) he agreed it was faulty but told us our only option was a repair where he would remove the side of the sofa and replace the wood. We wern't happy with this but accepted it as it was our only option. The repair was not carried out despite several letters and phone calls to chase it up and eventualy I went to citizens advice who said I was entitled to a refund as under the sale of goods act the suite was not free from minor defects or fit for purpose. I have been pushing for a refund ever since and have logged many phone calls and letters to the store. SCS say we are holding things up by not accepting a repair which they say they are now ready to do however I have pointed out that they are not in a position to do a repair as the 3rd fault of the cushion sagging has not been inspected therefore although they tell me by removing yet more leather on another section and adding more filling the upholster would not have the relevant parts to do this as it wasn''t on his initial report. I have said I have no objection to the upholster returning to inspect this 3rd fault. SCS are now ignoring my letters and I don't know where I stand. I paid my money in good faith that I would receive a brand new suite in show room condition but this is not what we received. I would never have paid full price for a repaired suite as it would be a second but the store won't even entertain the idea of compensation. They have said we can reject the repair if we are not happy but when questioned admit that it's actualy their upholsterer who can reject the repair not us. It seems they want everything their own way. It's causing a great deal of stress any advice would be apreciated.
Have just noticed a forth fault developing where a patch of leather is peeling away from the stitching which will cause a hole over time if not dealt with. Anyone got any advice how to deal with this company?

judyb

Contact the AMU (Association of Master Upholsterers) on 029 207 78918 who will be able to give you advice on where you stand.

stressedbyscs

judyb wrote: »

Contact the AMU (Association of Master Upholsterers) on 029 207 78918 who will be able to give you advice on where you stand.

Hi thanks for the suggestion however when I rang them all they said they could do was an independent inspection report costing around £300 sadly it's money I haven't got. Any other ideas gratefully received as intend to take this down every avenue open to me.

villabadger

Hi,

I had a very similar problem. After giving them the opportunity of resolving the issues/faults, I gave up and sent a letter quoting the Sales Of Goods Act. This had the right effect - the Store Manager took us seriously and we had our money refunded. Another result was that they took their time in collecting their goods, which meant that we had free use of the damaged sofas for about 6 months.

Drop me a line if you still have a problem with them - I'll see if I can find a copy of my letter.

vetfred

Indeed, there comes a time (and it's been a long time by the sounds of it with them messing about) when you have to point out that you do have rights and that you will take the necessary legal action to enforce them if they continue to act in the way that they have done up to now.

stressedbyscs

villabadger wrote: »

Hi,

I had a very similar problem. After giving them the opportunity of resolving the issues/faults, I gave up and sent a letter quoting the Sales Of Goods Act. This had the right effect - the Store Manager took us seriously and we had our money refunded. Another result was that they took their time in collecting their goods, which meant that we had free use of the damaged sofas for about 6 months.

Drop me a line if you still have a problem with them - I'll see if I can find a copy of my letter.

Hi many thanks I quoted the s.o.g. act to them months ago after visiting the citizens advice this had no effect on the manner in which they were treating me. On the plus side I realised I had legal expenses on my house insurance and have now threatened to take them to court. I think I am finally getting somewhere with them although have not yet been offered the refund I would like - they have offered a replacement or reselection which is a huge change of direction for them as before this was all completely out of the question. To be honest if this had been offered months ago I would have been happy but now it's too little too late. I'm not sure where I stand regarding a refund but am getting my solicitor to request one. Expect I still have a battle ahead as they have to be the worst company I have ever dealt with but at least there is hope of a positive outcome now. I will post the end result as may help someone else having the same problem.

stressedbyscs

vetfred wrote: »

Indeed, there comes a time (and it's been a long time by the sounds of it with them messing about) when you have to point out that you do have rights and that you will take the necessary legal action to enforce them if they continue to act in the way that they have done up to now.

Many thanks legal action seems to be working - luckily I have cover under my house insurance - it also seems to be the only way to get a response out of SCS.

villabadger

Hi,

I'm pleased to hear that it's now going your way.

One thing that I missed out was that they offered us a replacement or re-selection first. So, they invited us back to the store and 'pampered' us. We went with no intention of making another choice but I thought it might help if we played their game. We couldn't find anything else (surprise, surprise!) and asked for a full refund instead.

Mind you, if they didn't see sense at that point, we were ready to stand outside the store to tell new customers what they actually might be buying - damaged goods and extremely poor customer service!

Good luck - again!

stressedbyscs

villabadger wrote: »

Hi,

I'm pleased to hear that it's now going your way.

One thing that I missed out was that they offered us a replacement or re-selection first. So, they invited us back to the store and 'pampered' us. We went with no intention of making another choice but I thought it might help if we played their game. We couldn't find anything else (surprise, surprise!) and asked for a full refund instead.

Mind you, if they didn't see sense at that point, we were ready to stand outside the store to tell new customers what they actually might be buying - damaged goods and extremely poor customer service!

Good luck - again!

Thanks for that - did they argue at all about giving you a refund rather than reselection as I'm trying not to go back to the store as it's a 200mile round trip at least. I'm also not sure how this works if we pick something cheaper do they refund the difference and likewise I guess they hope it's more money so we can pay the difference (like we really want to let them have more of our hard earned cash!)I'm getting my solicitor to reply asking for a refund so may take some time to get a reply. I'll let you know how I get on.

villabadger

Hi,

Assuming that you did choose another, cheaper suite, I would expect them to refund any difference in cost.

I wonder whether the distance from the store is causing you bigger problems? People are usually braver (more resistant) if they know that you are unlikely to turn up at the store to cause a fuss. As I said previously, because we played their game I believe things were much more amicable so it was easier to talk about refunds without the confrontation. After all, if there was an alternative suite that we liked in the store then surely we would have purchased that one in the first place!

In our case, we did let the upholster examine the problems - he said that things were easily rectified but he would have to replace some of the leather panels. To me, this was a clear breach of the SOG's act as there would be a strong possiblity that the new panels wouldn't match the original suite - hardly the quality of brand new goods. Thereby being not fit for purpose.

Have you tried going further up the food change with your complaint....area manager, regional manager, director etc? The local store managers will more than likely more concerned with their sales figures. However, the senior managers should be more concerned with the reputation of their business, aside from kicking their minions every now and again.

Good luck.

stressedbyscs

villabadger wrote: »

Hi,

Assuming that you did choose another, cheaper suite, I would expect them to refund any difference in cost.

I wonder whether the distance from the store is causing you bigger problems? People are usually braver (more resistant) if they know that you are unlikely to turn up at the store to cause a fuss. As I said previously, because we played their game I believe things were much more amicable so it was easier to talk about refunds without the confrontation. After all, if there was an alternative suite that we liked in the store then surely we would have purchased that one in the first place!

In our case, we did let the upholster examine the problems - he said that things were easily rectified but he would have to replace some of the leather panels. To me, this was a clear breach of the SOG's act as there would be a strong possiblity that the new panels wouldn't match the original suite - hardly the quality of brand new goods. Thereby being not fit for purpose.

Have you tried going further up the food change with your complaint....area manager, regional manager, director etc? The local store managers will more than likely more concerned with their sales figures. However, the senior managers should be more concerned with the reputation of their business, aside from kicking their minions every now and again.

Good luck.

Hi many thanks again for taking the trouble to reply to this. My solicitor has now sent a really strong letter to SCS head office with a copy to the store manager who I have been dealing with. She has requested a full refund and stated legal reasons why they should provide this. Also she has put in a claim for damages as very early on I told SCS in writing that the suite in its condition was damaging our floor (which it has) and also a claim for stress and lack of enjoyment. To be honest I would be relieved to get a refund just to have an end to things but will let you know how things turn out. I expect it will be a week or so before we have a reply. I think you are probably right if we were able to visit the store we would probably have got things moving quicker but having trawlled the internet there seem to be heaps of other people in the same predicament with SCS and I think they have very poor customer services. I have kept the lines of communication open and polite a t all times with SCS however they have treat us with utter contempt and lied outright to us over the phone. If I hadn't realised I had legal expenses on my house insurance they would have won with me as they leave you no option than to pay for legal fees or independent upholsters which often would be more than the suite is worth and I guess a lot of people give up. Thanks agin