To not want to pay these delivery costs?

[greeneggsandjam]

Hi

A couple of weeks ago I chose a piece of furniture in an Independent shop. Its an old piece that had been repainted. I loved it but had no transport so asked them to arrange delivery. All was fine but within a day or 2 the paint had started cracking in some areas. Fast forward to now and the paint is cracking and splitting all around the join part at the top. It really doesn't look nice and is very visible, I can see that it's just going to get worse. Anyway, I sent photos and the shop are happy to give me my money back. They want me to pay for delivery again for the item to go back to the shop (I can't take it back myself).

Am I being unreasonable in thinking they should really cover the return cost and refund the initial delivery cost I paid to get the item to me? I am not returning it because I decided it doesn't look nice or is the wrong size, I'm returning it because there is a fault with it. I will have lost out on £60 for something out of my control.

Perhaps it was a really boring question?

God no, they should cover the coat of return and refund the original delivery charge. It's defective.

No, its normal to pay return delivery cost if you don't want something. YABU and should just pay.

I think you will probably be lucky to get both sets of delivery fees refunded, but I think you should get at least one. With smaller items (say jeans with a rip from Marks) you do still end up going back into town with it yourself, paying for parking etc. But they should refund your purchase price plus delivery if what they delivered to you was shit!

Missey she does want it, it just isn't fit for purpose.

YANBU Op, the item is defective, you aren't being picky. Put your foot down.

Thanks all, I do really like it and would love to keep it, even if they offered to repaint it in a way that it wouldn't crack again but they just said it wasn't likely that a repaint would fix it and that all they could suggest was a refund. I have emailed to say I would like to arrange a redelivery but that I am a bit disappointed that I am now losing out on £60 through no fault of my own. I wonder what they will say. If it was a big chain store I would have thought that delivery would be refunded back to me and a free collection arranged but maybe I'm wrong.

If the item is defective you should get a full refund - that's delivery, return and cost of item. YANBU - stick to your guns and involve trading standards if necessary.

MissMistress is wrong on this one. Distance selling regs don't apply here, this is the Sale of Goods Act. Law changes again in October 2015 - Consumer Rights Act - read up on it so you know your rights.

Thanks muminhants. Is it still classed as defective if its paint cracking and splitting? I hate feeling like I'm going to make a song and dance about nothing.

Its basically like a chest of drawers and the top of it now has a visible inner rectangle (join, not sure how to describe it) which is cracking and peeling with paint and slowly continuing to do so. It still works, it just doesn't look nice, as if I had painted it myself but not done it properly perhaps. The rest of it still looks lovely though.

Brandysnapper - I have asked large stores to refund my parking costs if I have to return defective goods. Only done it where the defect was not bindingly obvious such as packaged goods or when the assistant forgot to remove the security tag. Often get a five pound voucher sonworth asking

Yabu.
The same happened to me - I bought a treadmill which was ultimately faulty. The shop offered a full refund including the delivery but they said I needed to cover the cost to return it. I was also outraged but I tweeted martin Lewis to verify that this was correct and he said yes. He knows what he's talking about!

I think a public shaming would be in order just as a warning to others.

Well, apparently I wasn't being unreasonable RealHousewife ! I called them today and the person said he had misunderstood and that yes, it does change things with regards to delivery. He had assumed that it was like that when I bought it (hmm). Anyway, the person who made the item will now be coming to collect it to either fix it or offer refund to include delivery so lets see what happens!

I am surprised then that in your case the delivery wasn't covered as it wasn't your fault that you had to return it.

Good that you have a resolution now. It sounds as though it may have been painted without an undercoat. I had decorators in recently and asked them to paint the wooden banister. They did, but all they did was slap a coat of gloss paint on it...no sanding... nothing. it's now peeling after 2/3 months! Idiots. If I'd known, I'd have just done it myself.

They did cover my return costs too OP but they didn't HAVE to (Martin Lewis MSE said so and I believe him ) It was a gesture of goodwill

Oh no, will you contact them again to have it painted properly this time? That's annoying.

Well, its very confusing to have one person say they don't have to cover delivery costs and then a Sale of Goods Act saying they do!

It's very confusing greeneggs.
But my understanding is that you're coreect that they must refund delivery costs but the expense to return an item falls to the consumer