I bought a rug from modern rugs last week.

It arrived yesterday and while the pattern is the same, the colour of the rug is different.

I have looked at their returns policy and they say they will refund the money if we send the rug back within 2 weeks at our own expense.

It is a 116 x 170 rug and will be expensive to send back and as they sent a product that was not as advertised I do not feel I should have to pay the return costs.

Does anyone know what rights I may have buying something online that does not match the pictures in the online shop?

if the item isnt as stated, and there isnt a disclaimer saying that a substitute may be made, then they should refund. And should be at their expense as they made the mistake.

if the item isnt as stated, and there isnt a disclaimer saying that a substitute may be made, then they should refund. And should be at their expense as they made the mistake.

this is correct. However, are you sure that it's not a question of your monitor displaying colours rather differently?

I would suggest that you do a screenshot of the webpage and then also take a photograph of the rug. Compare the two photographs on your monitor and also you could post photographs here – although in PDF format and we can have a look for ourselves.

If the discrepancy is simply a question of monitor calibration then you certainly won't be able to return the rug because of any mis-description.

is it a slight change of colour or a massive one. Say you ordered dark grey and light grey came, or you ordered red and a green one came

Trying to upload a pdf here the top rug the the same image on the website and the bottom two are of my rug.

First attempt to load images failed am trying again now.

The first image is the rug as it appeared on the website and the second is the rug I was sent

. The colours of the two rugs are quite different.

rugs.pdf

rug shop.pdf

rug sent.pdf

Is this a handmade rug or machine made?

The rug was machine made with propylene, it cost about £80 so not an expensive rug! So I wouldn't think there is anyreason for it not to be the same.

Is this the company - https://www.modern-rugs.co.uk/type/traditional-rugs ?

Yes, I see that there are substantial discrepancies. I thought maybe that it was a handmade rug because one image shows that there are apparent flaws in the rug and the second photo – the one which presumably is the advertised photo shows that the rug is perfect.

On the basis of what I see in the photos, the issue is far more than a question of the colour. It is a question of substantial imperfections in the rug.

Frankly I thought that it was a handmade rug because with handmade nomadic rugs where the looms are packed up and then moved to the next grazing ground and then reassembled, they are never reassembled completely perfectly so that alignments in the weave and so forth can often be upset. Also if the weaver runs out of dye and then has to get more die or mix up more dye, the colours may not accurately match the ones that have been you so far. These idiosyncrasies actually add charm and value to the rug.

However, the flaws which appear in the photograph of the rug which you have been sent are really very serious.

I think you are quite justified in claiming that the rug you received does not match the description of the one you bought. In fact if it is a machinemade rug then presumably identical rugs are made very easily and it seems to me that you have probably been supplied with the rug which is not the one you contracted for. With handmade rugs this would not be possible because each one is unique

The problem is how to approach the seller. If you simply say that you refuse to send the rug back until they guarantee your costs then I can promise you that you will end up with the rug on your hands and you won't make any headway. I think the thing to do is to get rid of the rug as quickly as possible so that you minimise your losses. This means that you have to bite the bullet on the expenses of sending it back at the moment. Write to them immediately and tell them you are rejecting the rug and you want their instructions to return. Make sure that they have this letter in email form and also recorded delivery so there is no doubt.

Once you have returned the rug then you can set about recovering your costs – although I'm afraid that you may feel at the end that it's not worthwhile. However, if you wanted to bring a small claim on this then I would say that your chances of winning are much better than 95% and also they will probably put their hands up.

Companies like this often get very worried about the reputation and so in addition to naming and shaming them on this forum I would suggest that you go around the Internet and giving them reviews on various other websites. Let them know that this is what you are doing and you will probably find there will be more compliant. However, only do this once you have returned the rug to them and you have received at least your purchase price.

In the end you are entitled to be put back into the position that you would have been had the contract not been carried out and this means that you are entitled to all of your expenses including delivery to you and the cost of returning. However this will be a separate fight. For the moment, get rid of the rug. It really doesn't look very nice at all.

Are you in London?

Thank you for your reply BanlFodder, yes that is the correct company modern-rugs.co.uk. Thank you for the detailed information you have provided. I think you are correct, I do just need to send it back and get my refund. I have considered refusing to pay for the return delivery but I would be very worried that once the 14 day return period elapsed they would simply refuse any refund.

I will do as you say and return the item asap and try to recover my money including the delivery charge, I will read up on the small claims proccedure. Would involving trading standards be of any help I wonder?

Anyway thank you again for your help. Oh and no I am not in London at this time but living in Scotland.

Thank you for your reply BanlFodder, yes that is the correct company modern-rugs.co.uk. Thank you for the detailed information you have provided. I think you are correct, I do just need to send it back and get my refund. I have considered refusing to pay for the return delivery but I would be very worried that once the 14 day return period elapsed they would simply refuse any refund.

 

I will do as you say and return the item asap and try to recover my money including the delivery charge, I will read up on the small claims proccedure. Would involving trading standards be of any help I wonder?

 

Anyway thank you again for your help. Oh and no I am not in London at this time but living in Scotland.

Trading Standards will be next to useless. The only person you can depend on here is you...and us.

When was rug delivered?

By what method?

Read https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations

Thank you for that information Bankfodder, I will wait until I get my refund before looking for a new rug. I might be visiting London in the new year so would be able to drop into his shop then.

I have spoke to the shop this moring and they have agreed to send someone out to collect the rug which is great. I found the information I recieved on this site very useful for dealing with this issue so thank you to everyone who replied and especially to Bankfodder.

Thanks for the thanks. We are all a team here – the site team and also all the people who come here and offer advice to other people. So really it's a big thanks to everyone