Shop Wont Give Money Back - Please Help

doire_2

Hello,

Im not too sure where to put this post but here it goes anyway.

My father recently purchased a comfy chair for my grandfather who is in a care home as the chair the care home provided looked very uncomfortable.

The chair was purchased from a mobility shop for £750

When purchasing the chair the person who works in the mobility shop and my father went down to the care home to measure my grandfather to see which chair would best suit him.

The care home agreed to let my father buy the chair for my grandfather.

One day later the chair was purchased.

However now the care home are saying that the chair is not safe enough for my grandfather to sit it and wont allow it to be used.

My father called the shop but the person in the shop said he would not give my father a refund as he had purcahsed the chair.

Can the mobility shop do this? The chair was not even used!

Surely they have to take the chair back and give my father his money back? Do we have any rights?

Thanks for your help

Paul.

Mark7799

I don't see that the shop have done anything wrong here and they don't have to give you any money back unless the chair is faulty.

Why is it that the care home don't want your grandfather to use the chair? Is it that they think there's something wrong with the chair or does your grandfather have a condition that prevents him using it safely?

hollydays

This seems very strange.What medical conditions does he have,eg problems with balance?How old is he?

How are the chairs in the care home different,higher,lower? Did you Grandfather complain of being uncomfortable in them?

With the Sale Of Goods Act ,there are slightly different conditions for goods that have been made to special order.
If the chair is made to special order and you just change your mind,you could not legally demand a refund on it,even if the retailer usually allowed refunds if you changed your mind.

It seems unfair if the retailer has ordered it specially,then you expect him to take it back,because he may then be stuck with something he can't resell in a hurry,most small retailers can't afford to do this.

Under the sale of goods act,you are not entitled to a refund just because you have changed your mind,but you would be if the chair was "not fit for purpose"

You would need to ask the retailer why he thought the chair would be suitable for your father (Did he reseaerch his medical history?)
Were you aware of any medical conditions?So,it's possible you may need to discuss this with the care home owner or manager?
You could also try ringing round a few similar suppliers and pick their brains to see how they would ensure this didn't happen.Did you get an inexperienced retailer?
If this is about health and safety,I wonder if the care home were wrong to allow you the chair without checking it out first (I suspect this might be the answer),because of the liability to them.Perhaps you need to check out their policy on this and/or ask advice from health and safety.It may be the fault lies with the care home.

I would have thought someone experienced in this field should have asked the right questions,and probably ok d it with the care home-but it's hard to say without knowing evey little fact of exactly what was said.They may also have a disclaimer(which may or may not be legal)

doire_2

It wasn't speacial made and the chair was already in stock in the shop.

The care home said the chair should have wider sides on it.

My grandfather is 85.

The car home at first agreed to the chair then the next day decided against it as it would not be safe(the chair had been purchased by then)

hollydays

You would need to establish it's not fit for purpose,toget them to take it back.It is not good customer service how they have handled this,if what you ae saying is correct,and your Father spoke to them in a reasonable manner,because if he did demand his money back,he was probably wrong to..

hollydays

Do you mean higher arms,or its too narrow?
I think you should name the Company.

hollydays

.Maybe the care home is wrong.Then you will need to establish what makes the care homes expert on this,rather than the shop.Talking is the way forward.Also,establish what safety hazard are caused by the arms.You may have a case for asking the care home for the money,are you sure they didn't put it on hold while they checked with Management? If it was just a carer who said it was ok,I would say it was your responsibility to check with the right person-just some thoughts..

Did you pay by credit card?

doire_2

hollydays wrote: »

.Maybe the care home is wrong.Then you will need to establish what makes the care homes expert on this,rather than the shop.Talking is the way forward.Also,establish what safety hazard are caused by the arms

Did you pay by credit card?

Thanks for your time in this matter Hollydays :beer:

It was my father who carried out the purchase so im not 100% sure how he paid.

The crux of the mattter is the care home are against the chair as its not wide enough therefore not safe enough to hold him.

The company is a local mobility shop here in Northern Ireland. Not sure of the name to be honest.

My father just asked me to ask the people on this forum if they knew the rights of the consumer in such matters

hollydays

I am not 100% sure if N.I. law is different,But I don't think it is.
You could also have a look at fira- https://www.fira.co.uk
The furniture ombudsman
,but I think establishing why the care home have the expertise to "condemn it" is the first step.
I only asked about the credit card,because if the retailer was unlawfully refusing a refund (i don't think this is the case),the bank could do a charge back,under consumer credit legislation.

doire_2

hollydays wrote: »

I am not 100% sure if N.I. law is different,But I don't think it is.
You could also have a look at fira- www.fira.co.uk
The furniture ombudsman
,but I think establishing why the care home have the expertise to "condemn it" is the first step.
I only asked about the credit card,because if the retailer was unlawfully refusing a refund (i don't think this is the case),the bank could do a charge back,under consumer credit legislation.

Thanks for your help hollydays.

I will pass the info onto my father

username2003

The care home is a bit of a red herring. Its all about the shop

You have bought an item effectively off the shelf. The Sale of Goods act applies. The chair is unused and you dont want it. You have the right at the very least to get a credit note for the shop. From memory if its within 28 days cant you get your money back? There is a line in the old act which I cant remmeber but i used once several years ago - it lays it out very striaght.

You could be nice about - sound disappointed on the phone that they are being so unreasonable, possibly mentioning how they are effectively defrauding an 85yr old very vunerable person.

I would have thought they would realise without you saying it explicity it wouldnt sound too good in the papers