I need some advice on my rights regarding a faulty piece of furniture forming part of an internet order of three leather Chesterfield items purchased from Thomas Lloyd Mail Order Ltd. The purchase was made on my credit card
The order confirmation came through by post as expected and I was duly contacted to advise me that my furniture would be delivered on the evening of Tuesday March 5. The furniture was delivered and appeared to be fine in artificial light however next morning ( 6 March)when looking carefully at one of the sofas I noticed a problem with the stitching in one place on the arm of the sofa and telephoned the company immediately to report the flaw and ask what they were going to do about it. I was advised that I had to put my complaint in writing either by post or email.
I photographed the area of damage and tried unsuccessfully to send the pictures with an email complaint on that evening but their system refused to accept the email as the photograph attachments were evidently too bulky, so after speaking again to their customer service dept the following morning (7 March 2013) I sent a first class letter which included copies of the photographs, a description of the flaws in the sofa and in that letter I stated quite clearly that I needed them to ".....collect and replace the faulty sofa as soon as possible as I consider it to be defective and am rejecting it on that basis..." The following morning their customer service team telephoned me acknowledging receipt of my letter and said that a letter was on its way explaining what was going to happen, when they could arrange to collect the faulty item etc. I have now received a letter dated 8th March which says that they intend dealing with the issue under the terms of their 2 year manufacturing guarantee and that the plan is to collect the faulty item after which they will "..inspect and undertake any remedial action as required...." There is no mention of a replacement, nor any compensation for the inconvenience of them taking it away for an unspecified period.
My point is this - my letter to Thomas Lloyd made it clear that one of the sofas supplied was less than perfect when it was delivered not that a fault had developed after I had started using it so I fail to understand how that can be a guarantee issue. Also I clearly stated in my letter that I was rejecting the faulty sofa and why, yet they seem to be saying that the plan is to take it away, look at it at their leisure, undertake "any remedial action required" and return it when it suits them leaving me with no sofa in the meantime. I expected to be offered a replacement which I assumed would be exchanged for the faulty sofa especially as this company prides itself in its advertising about offering a full 21 day from date of delivery money back guarantee if you are unsatisfied with the furntiure for any reason and I do not see why they are simply offering to take the faulty item away and fix it. The company's letter apologies for the fact that I have needed to contact them about the problem so presumably the photo evidence I have supplied was enough for them to accept that it was not perfect when it was supplied to me so I am really not comfortable with being inconvenienced by being deprived of the use of a sofa because they delivered an imperfect item which needs remedial work. This is even more frustrating as I have bought from them twice before and was very pleased with their service.
The question is can I insist on a replacement? If so, is it not reasonable to expect to keep the faulty one to sit on until the replacement is made and delivered? If I am not entitled to insist on a replacement, and I therefore decide to insist on a refund under their 21 day satisfaction or refund terms, can I simply return part of the order ie the damaged piece as I am very happy with the other pieces and naturally disposed of the furniture it was replacing beofre the delivery was due.
The order confirmation came through by post as expected and I was duly contacted to advise me that my furniture would be delivered on the evening of Tuesday March 5. The furniture was delivered and appeared to be fine in artificial light however next morning ( 6 March)when looking carefully at one of the sofas I noticed a problem with the stitching in one place on the arm of the sofa and telephoned the company immediately to report the flaw and ask what they were going to do about it. I was advised that I had to put my complaint in writing either by post or email.
I photographed the area of damage and tried unsuccessfully to send the pictures with an email complaint on that evening but their system refused to accept the email as the photograph attachments were evidently too bulky, so after speaking again to their customer service dept the following morning (7 March 2013) I sent a first class letter which included copies of the photographs, a description of the flaws in the sofa and in that letter I stated quite clearly that I needed them to ".....collect and replace the faulty sofa as soon as possible as I consider it to be defective and am rejecting it on that basis..." The following morning their customer service team telephoned me acknowledging receipt of my letter and said that a letter was on its way explaining what was going to happen, when they could arrange to collect the faulty item etc. I have now received a letter dated 8th March which says that they intend dealing with the issue under the terms of their 2 year manufacturing guarantee and that the plan is to collect the faulty item after which they will "..inspect and undertake any remedial action as required...." There is no mention of a replacement, nor any compensation for the inconvenience of them taking it away for an unspecified period.
My point is this - my letter to Thomas Lloyd made it clear that one of the sofas supplied was less than perfect when it was delivered not that a fault had developed after I had started using it so I fail to understand how that can be a guarantee issue. Also I clearly stated in my letter that I was rejecting the faulty sofa and why, yet they seem to be saying that the plan is to take it away, look at it at their leisure, undertake "any remedial action required" and return it when it suits them leaving me with no sofa in the meantime. I expected to be offered a replacement which I assumed would be exchanged for the faulty sofa especially as this company prides itself in its advertising about offering a full 21 day from date of delivery money back guarantee if you are unsatisfied with the furntiure for any reason and I do not see why they are simply offering to take the faulty item away and fix it. The company's letter apologies for the fact that I have needed to contact them about the problem so presumably the photo evidence I have supplied was enough for them to accept that it was not perfect when it was supplied to me so I am really not comfortable with being inconvenienced by being deprived of the use of a sofa because they delivered an imperfect item which needs remedial work. This is even more frustrating as I have bought from them twice before and was very pleased with their service.
The question is can I insist on a replacement? If so, is it not reasonable to expect to keep the faulty one to sit on until the replacement is made and delivered? If I am not entitled to insist on a replacement, and I therefore decide to insist on a refund under their 21 day satisfaction or refund terms, can I simply return part of the order ie the damaged piece as I am very happy with the other pieces and naturally disposed of the furniture it was replacing beofre the delivery was due.