Going to apologise now because its a long story but i want to put everything down so the facts are known.

I brought a corner suite consisting of a chaise lounge and two seater settee, it is brown Italian leather and chenille cushions, I also brought the matching footstool, it came to around £1400 in August 2006 I paid cash.

The cushions started to flatten out and become mis-shapen after a few months several months after that the chenille started to pull and on two cushions the chenille has completely worn away, then in July 2007 we heard a snap come from the chaise lounge section, we then contacted Cousins to request a repair advising them of all the problems.

They sent a technician to inspect the suite, who said it would be a high cost repair as the spring rail had collapsed due to a piece of chipboard snapping, he also said he would see what he could do about the cushions.

Cousins never got back to us so I rang them and they arranged for the chaise lounge to be picked up for repair, this was returned to us within two weeks and we thought the problem had been repaired as the technician said he was going to replace the chipboard which supports the spring rail, I did not inspect the repair as I assumed and trusted the technician had repaired it as decribed. I never heard anything regarding the cushions I was waiting for Cousins to contact me.

After two weeks me and my husband were watching TV and we both heard the chaise lounge snap again however the snap was much louder on this occasion and the lounge actually sunk and rested on the floor at its central point. We lifted up the chaise lounge to have a look and it had just basically snapped in half across both front and back pieces of chipboard, and on closer inspection the chipboard we thought had been replaced had been botched up by a piece of 1x2 timber nailed on it, my husband could have done that himself in 5 minutes (the cheeky beggars had not even closed up the underside of the suite, all it needed was stapling) so I rang Cousins again to tell them that the repair had failed and to also chase up the matter regarding the cushions, I was told that I could not have another repair as the suite was now over 12 months old and the cushions was normal wear and tear so these would not be replaced either.

I spoke to Consumer Direct who advised me to put a letter in writing outlining the SOGA and giving them 28 days to sort the matter out, I recieved a compliments slip from them stating someone would be contacting me to inspect the suite again, the same man who did the botched repair came out again and did another inspection. By this time I had had enough as I was the one who had to do all the chasing so now I told them I only wanted a replacement of a different suite as I had no faith in this product or for them to recind the contract. I had to yet again contact Cousins again, who said they were only willing to repair the suite again, so I told them I did not want a repair and to put this in writing to me, which they have not done.

I rang consumer direct up again who said I could now contact trading standards, so I rang Cousins again to chase my letter from them as I still had not recieved it, and I told them I need this letter as I was going to pass all correspondence onto trading standards, they said they would send another copy of this letter as it must have gone missing in the post, I waited another week and I rang them again to ask where my letter was and I was told that they were contacting the manufacturers of the suite and it may be possible for me to be invited into the showroom to pick another suite, I was told I would be called the next day, the next day came and went, this was a Friday, so I rang up Cousins customer services again on the following Monday, I was told that I could not have a new suite or a refund, I had already had a independant report done on the suite out of my own pocket the previous week, they requested to see a copy of this I forwarded this to them and they got it on the Thursday I rang them the next day on the Friday only to be told they were rejecting the report, they said they wanted to inspect the suite again and they were going to send the same technician again I told them no way and wanted someone else, so they appointed Servico. He has been out today (29th Jan 2008) to do the inspection he has said leave it a few days and then get back in touch with Cousins.

I have now sent them a Letter Before Action giving 14 days or else they are off to court when this deadline expires on the 12th Feb 2008, I have been polite with them, I have been more than patient with these people but believe now I'm being given the fob off and just told what I want to hear to bring any possible action to a crawl.

Anybody got any thoughts, wisdom, and what I should put in the N1 when I fill it in as I'm pretty much certain this matter will go to court.

Just "bumping" this one up for you.

No problem, just to let everyone know I sent off a SAR to Cousins yesterday (30th Jan) recorded delivery it arrived there today (31st Jan) so i'm hoping there will be a few worried people there especially now the LBA and SAR hit the doormat one day after one another. I've already started compiling the N1 ready for court just in case, i'll post on here for all to look and add comments to or offer guidance.

Received letter from Cousins today stating they will only repair the broken chaise lounge and not the cushions or their inserts. The information regarding the SAR request came back also, the inspection reports state the fault in the chaise lounge is a manufacturing fault, but states the cushions are normal wear and tear. So i'm filing in court tomorrow, as this is unacceptable for cushions to wear out this quickly under normal use in 11 months, i'm assuming the wear and tear fault comes down to the item not being fit for the purpose supplied and durability under the SOGA. Anyone got anything to add.

I received a letter from cousins stating they were only willing to repair the chaise lounge and that the cushions and interiors are down to wear and tear.

I have today filed my claim in court, they have had their chance, sod em, we will let the court decide.

I have now recieved the sealed forms from the court which I submitted last week, so no doubt the defendant has too. What next should i sit and wait or should I phone up Cousins asking if they wish now to settle out of court? One half of me is saying wait and see what unfolds the other half of me is saying they will fold under pressure phone them now.

Send the completed form off to them with a covering letter. This shows that you are not bluffing. Give about 3 days before submitting it to court - and if they do contact you to settle, make it know that you expect the fees to be paid back as well.

There's no need to send them the completed form, they will have received a copy. They will now have the option of accepting the claim in full, rejecting it partially or in full. On the 2 latter options, they will have to indicate to the courts that they wish to defend and then they will have a short period in time to send in their defence, and that's where it becomes interesting.

My apologies. that'll teach me to read posts properly!:o

Oh! Startin on me, Bookie?!?!?! Well.... :p :p :p! x

Situation took an interesting turn yesterday, Cousins phoned me and said they had recieved the court summons and said they were now going to meet me half way and do a proper repair on the chaise lounge, replace the flattened inners and chenilie cushions. I told them to forget it as I had no confidence in their repairs service because of the bodge job they did last time, or the durability of the suite as it had gone faulty in such a short period of time. I said I won't settle for nothing less than a re-selection in store or recinded contract, I said if you can't agree on either of those two choices then court action will continue. Do you think it was wise in sticking to what I want.

Yes. Usually they will back down either as goodwill or if they have no case.

I was looking though the information Cousins sent me when I S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) them and it looked like one of the inspection reports was missing, I had 3 visits but only 2 reports. I spoke to Cousins Friday morning about this and they said they only sent two because that is all they had, asked them if they were sure as the inspectors completed paperwork for all 3 visits, and I insisted they have another look and find the missing report, and to their suprise they found it. Upon reading it when I collected a copy from their Head Office Friday afternoon it stated that the fabric from which the cushions were made is also faulty, so it looks like I have even more fuel to add to the fire, just seems a bit strange that they never sent me this information when it was requested, however now i'm in possession of this new evidence would it be worth amending my particulars of claim to include this info or wait until the hearing if it gets that far.

I today rang the court as I had not heard anything, the court has told me cousins have sent an acknowledgement to them saying they are going to defend, I was told they have until the 15th March to file their defence,

Any suggestions now please, I would be grateful,

Cheers

Nothing much, wait until you get their defence, when you do, post it here, and we'll see what you're up against.

In the meantime, search online through different search engines (google, ask.com, yahoo, etc...) for the company name + faulty/faults/problems (vary the terms for more choice) and see what comes up to start gathering evidence, whether there is a pattern of shoddy goods, that kind of things.

Quick update, Cousins had until the 15th March to file their defence, I rang up the court this morning to check and see if a defence had been filed and no defence had been filed, however the clerk at the court told me that Cousins called the court on Friday afternoon asking for extra time and the court said they would give them until 4:00pm on monday. I rang back at 3:30pm and still no defence so I went to the court and gave them the form for judgement to be entered, I asked the court what happens next and the clerk said the judge will look at the claim and make a decision and this will be sent to me for me to enforce it. Anyone know of any other likely scenarios at to what might happen next.

I called the court again this morning to get an update, the case is still yet to be seen by a judge, and a defence has still not been submitted. How long does it normally take for the case to be looked at by a judge? And what will happen once a judge finally gets to look at the case? Will it mean me having to attend court to see the judge, as there is new evidence to present to the judge for consideration.

I called the court yet again today and i was informed it was handed to the judge to be look at on April 2nd. There has still been no defence submitted, so should be some time next week I shall hear from the court. What will happen if the judge rules in our favour? can we expect payment by return? or will a certain amount of time need to pass by before the court enters judgement against the defendant and I get to send the bailiffs in.

A similar question has been put on another thread. I think th responses were of one CAGger saying they applied for bailiffs almost straight away, whilst someone else (I thik it was me) suggested waiting a bit. IMHO, I think a magistrate should only allow bailiffs if there is a reasonable chance of the company doing a runner or closing down. But I know not of these matters. I'm not sure if a definite response was given. I'll have a look a bit later.

All I want now is closure to this matter, Cousins have messed me about rotten and get what they deserve, the suite in question is so uncomfortable to sit on now I just want to go out and buy another one but I have no where to store the suite Cousins will want back upon a successfull outcome in court on my part.

Just wondering is it worth paying to have the suite put into storage so I can buy a new suite and claim back storage costs as part of the court case. Its something I am quite keen on doing if this is going to drag on for much longer but I don't want to seen as being unreasonable when claiming the cost back at court.

The only other option is to contact the store again out of court and ask them if they are prepared to back down and exchange the suite instore for a different suite which would solve both problems at the same time, but yet again the matter is now at court stage and don't want to appear like i'm going over the judges head just to twist the stores arm into getting what I want.

Its just so frustrating that this issue has been going on since before christmas, and in the real world if the judge decides next week it could be a minimum of 5 weeks before the matter is closed, and that is if the judge doesn't want a hearing which I think he will want I think I am looking at another 8 weeks personally.

I phoned the court today to get an update as still not heard anything, I was told by the court clerk that the judge wants a 30 minute hearing, and that the delay is with the court setting a date for the listing. So what happens now, do I just go along to the court on the date set and argue my case with the other party, or do I have to prepare a court bundle and go the whole hog any help would be most welcome.

BTW Cousins still have not submitted a defence does that automatically prevent them from attending the hearing or will this give them a chance to try and put things right a the very last moment? This is a little confusing as because no defence has been submitted by the other party I don't know what I will be up against until the day of the hearing

Had a order from the court land on the doormat today stating the hearing will be held on Wednesday 28th May 2008. Really need help on this as it looks like I need to start preparing paperwork for the hearing, a defence still has not been submitted by cousins so its difficult to see what I'm working with here a copy of the order is scanned below.

Any help on how to proceed would be welcomed.

Many thanks

Nicola

I am in the process of preparing the documents for the court and the other party any ideas as what should be included and the general layout. Any help would be most welcome.

Hi Nicola

Sorry for the late reply to your PM, sorry I cant give advice on what you asked

I suggest you look in the Debt forum, there are lots of experts there that know how to layout court papers and can advise on whats needed.

Good luck