ASK AN EXPERT

With all your consumer queries

I RECENTLY ordered a coffee table from a furniture retailer as a gift for my parents’ anniversary, and when it arrived the item was damaged.

The finish also wasn’t the same as the one I had seen in store. Can you help?

WHEN you purchase goods from a trader, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that they should be of satisfactory quality.

This means that there should be no faults or damage and the goods should be durable.

The goods should also be the same as any sample or model that you were shown, match the seller’s description and be fit for any purpose that you made known to the trader.

For example, if you needed the furniture item for storage and it does not have the storage capacity highlighted at the point of sale, then you could argue that the piece of furniture is not fit for purpose.

If it has been 30 days or less since you bought the item, then you could be entitled to return them to the trader for a full refund – this is called your shortterm right to reject.

You may have to prove that the goods weren’t of satisfactory quality at the time of sale.

You should be refunded within 14 days of the goods being returned to the trader and this should be by the same method that you paid, so if you paid in cash then you should normally expect a cash refund.

If it has been more than 30 days, you can also ask the trader to repair the goods or provide you with a like-for-like replacement, and they should do this within a reasonable period of time and without causing you any significant inconvenience.

If it is not possible for the trader to repair or replace the goods then you can decide to keep them and ask for a discount or return them to the trader for a full refund.

If you ask the trader for a repair or replacement within the first six months of purchasing the goods, then it falls to the trader to prove they were not faulty when sold to you.

After this six-month period it falls to you as the customer to prove otherwise.

You are only required to give the trader one opportunity to repair or replace the goods.

If a repair by the trader fails or you discover that the replacement item is also faulty then you can decide whether to give the trader another opportunity to repair or replace the goods.

You can also return the goods for a refund – this is called your “final right to reject”.

It is important to note that if you have had the goods for more than six months then the trader may be entitled to offer only a partial refund to account for the use and wear and tear.

In this instance, you should be refunded within 14 days of the goods being returned to the trader and this should be by the same method that you paid.

If you haven’t already done so, then you should try to speak with the retailer about your problem to see if you can come to an agreement.

You can then follow this up with a more formal letter of complaint.

You should also give the trader a reasonable timescale to reply.