Conflicting advice on rejecting a sofa ?

dsr

New Member
Feb 21, 2011
5
0
0
We bought a sofa from Harveys that was delivered on Feb 4th which arrived with a broken recliner and a pen mark on the cushion. The driver told me someone would be out within the next 3 days to organise a replacement or refund ( they refused to take it away ). Two days later I receive a call from ecomaster who said they have to inspect the sofa before any decision could be made, but In the meantime we notice the other recliner is also damaged.

On the 17th Ecomaster come out and confirm the sofa requires two new recliner mechanism and a new cushion. They said a report would be sent to Harveys.

We were given no copies of any reports and like Harveys, we were asked to sign a blank mobile phone screen to say ecomasters had looked at the sofa.

I decided to reject the sofa under the SOGA and have sent letters to both Harveys head office and the store which supplied the sofa giving them 14 days to comply. I received a call today saying they will not refund under any circumstances and I have to accept a repair ( they pointed me to the what consumer website and quoted the following ):


The trader’s obligations
If the sofa which has been delivered is damaged, of poor quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, you have the right to reject it and claim a refund. However, where a repair is feasible, you must allow the trader the opportunity to do this in the first instance.



So do I have any rights for a refund under the SOGA or do I have to accept a repair has explained on Whatconsumers website ?

In addition, I cant use the sofa, so have it pushed against one wall while using my existing sofa. The carpet is getting ruined where the Harveys sofa is leaving imprints into the carpet and I have no room to move. I wanted to reject it upon delivery, but both the driver and Harveys customer services seem to have a stall out script which appears to have worked. For a sofa that turned up damaged and being only 2 weeks old upon my refund request, what options do I have ?
 

ALewis

Moderator
Nov 23, 2010
691
4
0
South Wales
Hi there,

that quote that they have provided only matters if you were planning to take them to court... for example: you get the sofa, and take them straight to court, where in the given example, you must give them the opportunity to sort it out first.

Under the SOGA, you are entitled to a refund / repair / replacement .. and it is down to YOU to decide which you wanted. All of which at the expense of the company. (Though some companies require you to pay postage back to them, and they refund this back to you..

In your instance, you can request ANY of the three options above, and it is NOT down to the company to decide, afterall, THEY have breached your statutory rights.

If they still refuse, you can get the aid of a letter from a solicitor to get it sorted for you. If damage to your carpet occurs, to the extent which would need replacing etc, then you could take the company to the small claims court and claim for damages due to their negligence of providing a dodgy sofa.

As you said about the delivery man - if you accept a delivery without inspecting prior to signing, sorry, he cant take it back. If however you were to inspect it, BEFORE it enters your property, and BEFORE you sign for it etc, then yes you could've refused the delivery.
But there won't be any problems anyway as they will arrange a collection at their cost.
 

dsr

New Member
Feb 21, 2011
5
0
0
If they still refuse, you can get the aid of a letter from a solicitor to get it sorted for you. .
Hi and thank you for the reply and information. It clarifys the situation for me.

Harveys have declined a refund ( message left on my answerphone ), but I will allow the 14 days to run its course and then file a claim online.

I cant afford solicitors letters ( I'm down over a £1000 already ! ), so will have to file the claim on my own.

I've heard of many similar case's with Harveys being the retailer and many go to court - I've also sent a 14 day letter to my Credit Card provider asking them for a refund under section 75 ( due to Harveys declining a refund ). I'm not sure if I can take both harveys and my CC provider to court under one claim ?
 

dsr

New Member
Feb 21, 2011
5
0
0
Hi there,

that quote that they have provided only matters if you were planning to take them to court... for example: you get the sofa, and take them straight to court, where in the given example, you must give them the opportunity to sort it out first.

.
I've just re-read this and it would appear Harveys are correct then ?

They claim they reserve the right to repair the goods in the first instance , and are insisting on doing this in the first instance.


If you take them to court under the SOGA for a refund then surely, you're not give them the opportunity to sort it out first.
 

LJ1

New Member
Jan 22, 2014
14
0
0
This is a shocking story. How did you get on after this? Was the issue resolved, and how? :) As I said in a previous post, I think that more should be done to try and enforce sofa and other furniture quality, I'm sure there must be a way to implement this!