Sofa

[RosieB86]

Hi all,

 

Have recently bought a sofa suite set. We bought it from a warehouse who sells to the big players in this world as we heard of them from word of mouth through family that had used them and the prices are half of that of DFS, SCS etc. We bought a 3 seater and a 4 seater sofa. We were quoted £700 for this, of which £100 was left as a deposit.

 

The sofas were subsequently delivered about 2 weeks later (6 days ago) after being made to order. When they were delivered they aren't what we ordered, they have actually given us a 2 and 3 seater rather than a 3 and 4 seater. Unfortunately I wasn't in at the time and my wife signed for them and accepted the delivery and paid the rest of the balance in cash despite the confusion.

 

Looking back I think we have messed up a little bit because we don't have an invoice for the order when we made it, the only thing we have from them is an invoice when it was delivered which states a 3 seater and a 2 seater sofa with a price on it, which my wife has subsequently signed on delivery to accept the goods.

 

I was sure we had ordered a 3 and 4 seater and rang the guy up on Monday and said look is there any way we can solve this, can we return the 2 seater and pay a bit extra for a 4 seater etc. He was very convincing and made me doubt we had ordered a 3 and a 4 seater. He said the price we paid was that of a 2 and 3 for sure. My sister who had sofas off them paid about £200 less for the same 2 and 3 seater as us in a different fabric, I queried this with them and was told the fabric we ordered in was much more expensive hence the difference in price. So I doubted myself and thought well theres not much we can do, we didn't have an invoice apart from the delivery one, they won't accept a return or exchange and say the only thing we can do is buy a 4 seater off them for £400.

 

Now here is the twist, I was looking through my glovebox today and I found the quote they gave us - for a 4 seater and a 3 seater, clearly written in their handwriting a 4 and 3 seater in the fabric we ordered, style we ordered for £700. So they are fobbing us off, they've made a mistake with the order and don't want to correct it and are pinning it on us.

 

So now I'm pretty mad. But I don't know where I stand legally given that we don't have an actual invoice, apart from the receipt we received upon delivery which says a 3 and 2 seater. I have this quote in their handwriting for the 3 and 4 seater though so it is them who made the mistake and are now covering it up. What rights do I have if any in this situation? Am I within my rights to demand a full refund within a certain period of time? What other options do I have? I am yet to ring them back to tell them I have their original quote so know they are bull****ting me. I want to know what rights I have and where I stand legally...

 

What other options do you think I have or what could I do? Kind of wish I had just gone to a big company now!!! Maybe you get the service you pay for!

 

Many Thanks!!

[BankFodder]

I expect that the written quote will probably be enough to persuade a County Court judge – if it has to go that far.

 

Of course I suppose that they will say that they quoted you for one thing and then you change your mind and ordered something else. If they do say that then I think you need to ask them for their notes of the conversation, when the conversation happened and with whom the conversation did happen. Warn them that if that is their position, that the person who alleges that conversation will be required to attend court and to give that testimony under oath.

 

On the basis of what you say you have got a pretty good chance of success. If I were you I would write to them immediately and tell them exactly what has happened and include a copy of the quote.

 

Don't do anything on the telephone – or if you do make sure it is recorded. It's a shame that you didn't put in an order for a substantial piece of furniture like this and get some proper record of what was ordered. Hopefully you won't do this again.

 

Tell them that you want the items which have been delivered in error taken away and the correct furniture delivered within 14 days. Tell them that if there is any problem about delivering the correct furniture – maybe because it has got to be made that you are prepared to work with them on this but you will want a written confirmation of it all. Tell them that in the absence of this that you will begin a small claim in the County Court at the end a 14 days.

 

Don't make this threat if you're not prepared to carry it out. Spend the 14 days reading around this forum finding about how to bring small claims and also open an account with MoneyClaim, the online court service. Once you open an account you can start preparing your claim and have it already so that on day 15 if you haven't had from them what you've asked for then you can simply click and send it off. They will be served within 48 hours of that and then once they have got the court papers they will know that you're serious and they will either cooperate or they will provide a defence and you can see exactly what they're saying and go from there.

[rebel11]

Hi RosieB86

 

Welcome to CAG

 

First thing to do, is don't speak to them over the phone. All communication in writing. Keep the quote and invoice safe.

 

Call CAB, explain the situation, get a reference number from them. Then use the following template (amended), add the following:-

 

'CAB/Trading Standards Ref: XXXXXXXXXXXXX to the letter' send it Recorded Delivery.

 

Scroll down to the correct template, as Bankfodder says send a copy of the quote.

 

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/i-want-to-return-my-goods-what-are-my-rights

 

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nireland/consumer_ni/consumer_common_problems_with_products_e/consumer_goods_are_not_as_described_e/goods_dont_match_description.htm

 

You really should have paid by credit card, offers a lot of protection.

[RosieB86]

Ok thanks for the help. Could they be in trouble for not giving receipts on order and asking for payment in cash etc? Am I actually legally entitled to a full refund if nothing else within a certain time period?

[rebel11]

You can reject the goods, as they are 'not as described', but you need to do it as soon as possible, don't get drawn into wanting a different suite. They should have given you order documentation, but you should have asked for it, don't get distracted on that.

 

Ok thanks for the help. Could they be in trouble for not giving receipts on order and asking for payment in cash etc? Am I actually legally entitled to a full refund if nothing else within a certain time period?