SCS - sofas won't fit when assured they would!

special_k83

Hi all,

I ordered sofas (one 2 seater, one 3 seater) from SCS all the way back in March. I live in a townhouse so with stairs that go around the corner and explained the situation to the salesman at SCS and he said "I live in the same sort of property and I could fit my even bigger sofas up with no problems". He even went as far as saying they were standard sofa size and would fit even if the arms had to be removed. I was assured that if they didn't fit, I could have the arms removed (at my cost) and I agreed and signed the paper work.

They tried to deliver this morning, tried for ages and could not even get the 2 seater up. They told me that if they couldn't get the 2 seater up, they can't get the 3 seater up even if I have the arms removed first.

I called SCS and was told by the manager that my only options are....

1) Re-order, forfeit 15% of original price and wait another 10 weeks for sofas

2) Order another 2 seater, return 3 seater, forfeit 15% of 3 seater price, pay to remove arms, wait 10 weeks for second sofa

Obviously I'm unhappy about the whole matter to say the least. We were assured they would fit that structure of house/stairs. All our other furniture fit with no problems. These sofas appear to be exceptionally large, the delivery drivers complained that they had struggled with all their deliveries that morning.

IN ADDITION, they damaged my banister while attempting to take the sofas up.

I cannot wait another 10 weeks and I want a refund so I can pick something up elsewhere.

What I want to know is, what are my chances of getting a refund? It's not as if I have just changed my mind - I do want the sofas, but obviously in the living room!

How do I go about getting a full refund and getting paid for the damage to my banister?

Thanks in advance

special_k83

Is there anything in the Goods of Sale Act I can use?

Rex_Mundi

I always understood that when you buy furniture, it is your own responsibility to make sure that it will fit (both in the room, and through any doorways on the way into the room). I normally take a tape measure with me to make sure I don't come across this sort of problem. No matter what the salesman told you about living in a similar property, it was still up to you to make sure the sofas would fit into your house.

I can't see you have any grounds for complaint against the company for the size of the sofas. You need to take it up with the shop about any damage to your banister caused by the delivery men.

PBA

If SCS definitely told you they would fit then you should be able to get a refund, but I can't see how they could have given you that guarantee without measuring up your house. Unfortunately if it turns out being your word against theirs you've almost certainly signed something saying that arranging access is your responsibility.

Rex_Mundi

PBA wrote: »

If SCS definitely told you they would fit then you should be able to get a refund, but I can't see how they could have given you that guarantee without measuring up your house. Unfortunately if it turns out being your word against theirs you've almost certainly signed something saying that arranging access is your responsibility.

The worst that could happen here is a claim in County Court (small claims). The customer has got no case if it went this far.................

Customer........The salesman told me he lived in a similar property, and the sofas would fit.

Company..........We have no record of this in writing. The customer came into our showroom, and ordered two sofas of their own selection.

Any judge/sensible person would go with the company if there was no proof of mis-selling.

I'm sorry to say, but you really should not take as gospel everything a salesman tells you (I'm sure that all he was thinking about was his commission, not whether the sofas actually fitted into your house).

special_k83

Thank you for your responses. I'm going in to the store personally tomorrow to see where we can go from here.