the sofa my daughter purchased won't go up the stairs can i get my money back?

Question

My daughters sofa won't go up the stairs of her purpose built ex council flat. The salesman said it would. The shop refuse to give back the full purchase price. They stated that their sales people never guarantee that their goods will go up stairs.
However when asking about another sofa we were told that this one would as the sofa came apart. When we double checked with the manager the following day he stated that this sofa didn't come apart. It appears the sales people lie to get a sale.

Answer 1

Your responsibilty to check that it will go through doors, round corners, up stairs etc, but if they are trying it on just to get the sale, try Trading Standards with your complaint!!

Answer 2

Yes, most sales people will lie to get a sale, whether it be a car, a sofa, whatever. In my experience in purchasing furniture or major appliances, you can return them right away or call before they are delivered and tell the store you don't want it anymore, but most places will charge you a "restocking" fee of about 30-40%. It's a rip off, but they have the right to do that.

About 2 years ago I bought a new bedroom suit for my daughter. She has a very small bedroom and while I was in the furniture store the sales lady swore up one side and down the other that the bed frame would fit in her room with room to spare, she even had a tape measure and did measurements for me. Lo and behold when it was delivered, it was waaaaay too big for my daughters room, it left her with very little moving-around space. After the bed was set up and realized that I should have purchased the smaller one I called the furniture store (a large well-known chain) to ask about exchanging. I was told that they would be happy to exchange it for me, at a 40% restocking fee. Which meant that I would be paying a lot more to return the big bed and purchase the little bed, than be just keeping the big bed. So, my daughter has a huge bed in her room and not much else.

Answer 3

contrary to popular beleif, high street retailers are under no obligation to give you a refund, even if the item is faulty.
It is not the vendors responsibility to check that the sofa goes up the stairs, it is your responsibility as the buyer to measure it etc. You have made a purchase in error.
If the sales people did lie to get a sale, you can only learn from that that sales people cannot be trusted and you should always check yourself.

Theonly thing you can do, if you really want to push it is contact trading standards.

Answer 4

Difficult one this, but it's usually a balance between the retailer providing customer service, and the amount of size checking done by the customer before going into the shop.
For a small extra charge, the door frames, or window frames may possibly be removed and replaced to accommodate the sofa.
Perhaps the best solution is to negotiate a swop with another suitable sofa at the shop. If the retailer is solid in refusal, then mention trading standards department. This tends to get things moving in your favour.

Answer 5

As the sofa is unused, I would have thought that it was in the shop's best interest to take it back and give you a refund. In the same way you cannot prove that the salesman said that it would fit, the shop cannot prove that the salesman did not say those words. Try to reason with the shop, keeping as calm as possible. If they still do not budge, ask for their head office address and name of their managing director and take it to the top. Make sure you take all the names of the people in the shop to refer to individually. If you take all this information from them, they may decide that the easy option is to give you a refund.

Answer 6

I would say you have good grounds to reject the sofa and ask for your money back, because you asked if it came apart to fit your home. According to you the sales staff said yes. This comes under the sales of goods act " goods being fit for the purpose ". At the time of purchase you made the staff aware of the stair problem.
The Trading Standards will help along with CAB. You could always join Which legal services for £9.95 a quarter.

Answer 7

The top manager or owner of the store, or if it's a chain the manager of the division, should be the one you go to. The last thing a store wants is an angry, dissatisfied customer for the price of one returned sofa (if it's still in good condition). Keep going up the ladder until you get someone who is in charge of the others and they will let you exchange it or give you store credit. Lower-down people love to say "no" and you won't get anywhere with them. I learned this doing customer service. Go to the top.

Answer 8

You definitely should have done some measurements, or had someone with more experience moving something give you a hand determining whether it was feasible or not.

If they told you that it could be disassembled for moving - and it cannot, then they are to blame.

Regardless, I would walk in, and explain that they are going to refund 100% of the purchase price. (Though I'm a 6'3" 225# guy, and rarely have to ask twice). Maybe take the biggest scariest guy you know with you. It's amazing how much more congenial people become when they are a bit scared.

Answer 9

i sub contract to a local (Leeds west Yorkshire)window company and we go to houses and take out window glass units or even the whole window frame to let them get furniture into the house then we re fit the window. if the sofa was very expensive you could try this option. try your local double glazing company they will charge you (about £150.00 to £200.00). but at least your daughter gets to keep the sofa she chose.
good luck

Answer 10

I'm sorry but I think they'll say that it was your responsibility to ensure that the furniture would go up the stairs. I know when we bought our sofas from Furniture Village that was their policy.