I think I've been an idiot...but I'm seething.

[TalentedMsRipley]

I ordered/paid for a sofa from an online shop. I realised a few days later that I couldn't actually afford it and asked for a refund. I was promised refund had been requested and would take 2 weeks. 3 weeks passed....and no money.
They promised money would be in my account soon.

I rang today and the girl said she actually just found out the other day that they don't do refunds. At all.
I feel I was misled, as in the mean time I borrowed money from my family to buy a slightly cheaper sofa, on the understanding that I was to receive a refund from this first company.

Any advice? It's a tiny company, run by one woman. Shes now ignoring my calls & emails.

You are legally entitled to a refund, please remind them of that very clearly.

There's a Furniture Ombudsman - call them and ask for advice - although I think that the store may need to opt in.

And if you bought it on a card do a charge back - but Im not totally sure what the process is.

Bottom line is yes you had the legal right to cancel - the question is just finding the right avenue to reinforce that.

For those questioning why the OP didn't pay by credit card, maybe consider that not everyone has that option available to them.

Do you actually have the sofa, OP? It's not clear. If you do not have the sofa and never delivered it, for them to hold onto your money is fraud and theft.

The sofa may have a 6-8 week lead time from purchase to delivery - if it's a small company, building to order, then that's quite possible, so it seems unlikely the OP would have had it yet.

Where is the sofa?

I think u have a cooling off period .

Threaten to go to small claims court

And yes , that she said she will give u a refund and now won’t do it will go down fabulously for you

The law is for internet sales a 2 week cooling off period - quote the law at her.

So you have two sofas?

I'd do the small claims court thing. I'm in a similar situ with a TV. I've paid for it but I'm wanting a refund I've been buggered about with delivery slots for 3 days -it's currently at a depo-, just found them selling it (MUCH) cheaper on a different selling platform, and I'm ££££ down and no TV, getting very peed off tbh! They have until Monday to get the money back into my account or I'm doing the claims thing too.

How annoying. Hope it gets sorted.

Contact financial ombudsman. They’ll get a hefty fine if they don’t refund you I imagine

Even if you used a debit card you can request a chargeback from your bank. We bought an expensive piece of garden furniture from an online site. A while later I realised the website was a bit dodgy and requested a refund. Retailer went radio silent so we requested a chargeback. Took a good several weeks but we got the money back eventually.

Sure there is something in law to ensure you get refund. What you may have to do is accept delivery of sofa and then reject it. You are definitely entitled to do this under consumer law when ordering from website. Others may have info on how to get refund immediately though. Do hope you manage to get is sorted out very soon.

If you dial 141 then the number it will show up as no number.

They're in breach of the distance selling regulations. I'd try social media if they have any - kick up a fuss. If they still don't pay you (and if you can't get the chargeback to your debit card), then you'll need to do a letter before claim and start a claim in the Court - you can do this via Money Claims Online. Have a look at the Which? website for further advice.

Good luck getting it sorted!

Fingers crossed this gets sorted soon x

Best you can do is threaten them with legal action. See what they respond with.

My dm got conned into buying a ridiculously expensive recliner. She didn't have a cc and paid by cheque, but told there was a cooling off period. Honestly the salesman must have dashed to the bank and paid tge cheque in as she couldn't stop it. We phoned, we emailed, every blooming day. Passed from pillar to post. Amazingly within a day of sending a registered letter stating she was taking them to small claims court she had a refund. Do it op.

You can't recover legal costs in the small claims court. Only the issuing fee.
But it's full of people acting in person without solicitors so you can do it yourself. The consumer law re the 14 days to cancel is very simple and it's an open and shut case

Entitled to a cooling off period providing the sofa wasn’t custom made for you, ie you chose a colour you wanted and they didn’t have it in stock so made it for you. Then the 14 day cooling off doesn’t apply. Which is how it should be tbh. If this company is a one man band, as implied by op, then it wouldn’t be fair for her to be lumbered with a sofa which may be in a colour which could be difficult to sell on.

The person you spoke to may not know the law or company policy so I'd call again and ask for a manager! Email them a demand for refund mentioning your legal rights.

If you don't get a response in a couple of days find their Social Media page... and ask them why they've not provided a refund.... It also wakes them up a bit (actually, quite a lot!) if you can directly email senior managers/directors. This could be down to someone not originally processing your refund.

Contact the furniture onbudsman. As soon as you do it and give them a detailed account of what happened, they will contact the company and believe me they will respond to you then.

I had a problem with DFS. I bought a sofa and 3 weeks later the buttons were falling off and there was a gaping hole in it. The leather was also damaged and there was uneven stitching. I complained to the local branch and they didnt resolve it so went to the furniture onbudsman.as soon as I did, the store manager called me! It still took nearly a year to resolve it but i would have got no where with out the onbudsman. Although our situation is different i think they could help you.