Help! Faulty Ikea Lamp, no proof of purchase

grrrl

My boyfriend and I bought a lamp from Ikea on 8th November last year from the Milton Keynes branch along with about £100 worth of other bits and pieces. We live in Oxford so it's a fair old trek for us to get there and back.

We unpacked the lamp straight away, chucked out the receipt and packaging and sat back and admired it. The lamp worked perfectly.

A few weeks later, every now and again, the lamp would turn off, then turn back on again by itself. It did this intermittantly, then just stopped working altogether. This was just before Christmas and we had two sets of parents to stay, plus exams for me and the general hectic-ness of a busy holiday period.

The lamp was packed up and stashed in the junk room along with everything else that needed to be cleared out of the living room to make way for a full family Christmas! We've been meaning to take it back for ages, but because it's such a long journey, we didn't get around to it until this weekend. Today it took us an hour and a half to get to Ikea, where we were told we couldn't replace the lamp because we didn't have proof of purchase. I was annoyed, to say the least, and argued it out with the women at customer services, but they wouldn't change it.

They got the electrics guy to test the lamp and he said the diagnostics were working perfectly. The woman behind the till suggested that one of the bulbs had gone, but when the guy tested it, apparently they all came on.

Having been turned away from the customer services desk having been assured that they couldn't plug it in for us there to see why it wasn't working perfectly, we found a plug in the display area, plugged the lamp in, then watched all of the bulbs turn on, then flicker and go out.

Basically we travelled for two and a half hours to be told that we have to like it and lump it. Can you understand why I'm annoyed?

The lamp doesn't work and is, from my point of view, clearly faulty. I don't have proof of purchase but I did buy the lamp from Ikea. Ideally, I would like to exchange the lamp for one that works.

What can I do? What are my rights?

picture of lamp:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50066545

If anyone reading this can offer any help, I'd really appreciate it.

Please don't just tell me to keep my receipts for everything (like the woman behind the desk at customer services in Ikea), because I do for everything else, but this was a rare time when I didn't!

I've been going through a lot recently and am ashamed to say I walked round the corner and burst into tears. Surely there must be something I can do?

Brooker_Dave

grrrl wrote: »

I've been going through a lot recently and am ashamed to say I walked round the corner and burst into tears. Surely there must be something I can do?

Keep your reciepts and don't wait 6 months to take things back.

grrrl

Thanks, Dave.

By "going through a lot" I mean, my father died unexpectedly at the age of 55 in his sleep a couple of months ago.

Brooker_Dave

grrrl wrote: »

Thanks, Dave.

By "going through a lot" I mean, my father died unexpectedly at the age of 55 in his sleep.

I'm sorry your father died, but that really does not alter the fact that you threw away your reciept, and thus your warrenty.

shellsuit

I would have rang them to see if they could exchange or refund before making that kind of long trip.

If you haven't got proof of purchase, they won't know how long you have had the lamp for, so don't have to do anything for you.

SaraSeahorse

you don't need to have a receipt to prove purchase

shellsuit

SaraSeahorse wrote: »

you don't need to have a receipt to prove purchase

She won't be able to prove her purchase of the lamp without a receipt, as she said that she bought a number of other items, totalling around £100, so a card statement wouldn't be sufficient.

LittleVoice

Was the fault anything to do with the way you assembled it?

hollydays

shellsuit wrote: »

She won't be able to prove her purchase of the lamp without a receipt, as she said that she bought a number of other items, totalling around £100, so a card statement wouldn't be sufficient.

It depends on how the company feel about this.Not all companies are this pedantic (suspect Ikea could be)

Debt_Free_Chick

You've probably spent another £30 going back to the store and clearly it's winding you up.

Personally, I just stick it in the bin. Then move on with your life and resolve never to buy anything in Ikea again.

Sometimes, life really is too short - sod Ikea

grrrl

Yes, It was going to be a trip to Ikea, a "meal" at the cafe and a shopping trip.

After the visit to customer services, we turned around and left without spending another penny.

Thanks for your help everyone. I won't be shopping at Ikea again.