Broken chair—AIBU to take them to court

[biddybird]

In 2007 I bought a very expensive recliner chair that came with a 15 year manufacturer's warranty (expiring in 2022). This year, two the springs supporting the underside snapped. I contacted the company who told me they don't make those kind of springs any more and I should look on eBay to try to find some second-hand ones and get a local repairman to fix it. (!)

AIBU to expect that the manufacturer is responsible for doing this and not me?

The warranty states that "all frame parts and springs have a limited warranty against defects in material and workmanship for 15 years from date of delivery" and that "reasonable repair or replacement of defective limited warranty parts will be made within 90 days at no cost to you".

I'm sure what my consumer rights are here. Is it worth taking them to small claims court? (I'm in England.)

It depends, if you paid a couple of thousand for a chair with the hope that the chair would last 44 years like a similar one in the family, then you may want to utilise the 15 year guarantee!

My bog standard sofa has a 10 year guarantee - others had a 20 year guarantee

Don't waste money taking it to court but do embarrass them on social media and see if anything comes of it

After 13 years i'd be happy to have an excuse to buy something different.

My sofas are 12 years old and i'm bored with the sight of them.

are these real prices on Amazon?

£10,000 for an office chair? that’s nuts!

Actually there are three springs and one of them has broken in the past and was repaired under the warranty. They have never questioned my claiming repairs under the warranty (several have been required) before or made me prove the problem was due to a defect.

It would cost around £1300 to replace the chair with a new similar one from the same company, or £60 to file a claim with money claims online.

The springs are rusty so would that qualify as a "defect"?

The chair has only had normal use—no kids, jumping, etc.

The "Customer Service" Department are just ignoring my emails now.

I tried Social Media shaming but my post mysteriously didn't appear on their Facebook page.

I have obtained the CEO's name and address from Companies House so am wondering if I should write to him and if so, what to say.

The warranty definitely states that the springs are covered. I would never buy a chair from this company again even if they did offer me a discount!

The especially galling thing is that apart from the springs and mechanism the chair itself has always been fine. The leather almost looks brand-new even 13 years later. So because they can't provide a couple of springs, an otherwise perfectly good chair might have to be thrown away. So wasteful!

It's a warranty based on making good defective materials, it is not a guarantee based never wearing out.

Imagine buying a car tyre, after 20,000 miles you could not expect a warranty replacement for it being worn out through usage. On the other hand if there was a defect in the tyre which resulted it needing early replacement then you would expect a warranty claim.

Why are the springs rusty? That indicates moisture if some sort?

I’d agree with the others, this is a defect guarantee, not a wear and tear one. If you go to court you need to prove the springs were defective. They don’t need to prove anything, because you’re taking them to court.

From what you’ve posted it is unlikely you’re able to do this?

So because they can't provide a couple of springs, an otherwise perfectly good chair might have to be thrown away.

Definitely push for a repair.
Having said that, you would throw away the chair?

Springs come in all shapes and sizes. I find it hard to believe that the ones needed for this chair exist nowhere in the world.

Actually there are three springs and one of them has broken in the past and was repaired under the warranty. They have never questioned my claiming repairs under the warranty (several have been required) before or made me prove the problem was due to a defect.

In that case I would probably be pushing for a repair or the retailer to solve. If the retailer aren’t answering your calls/emails, I would ask a technician for a report/repair and advise the retailer in advance that’s what you are doing and that you will be forwarding the bill.

As long as you are aware of the risk that the retailer won’t cough up, on balance the cost of a repair is likely to be less than a new chair.

As a note of caution a lot of retailers and suppliers are struggling or have already ceased trading since 2007.

I wonder why they didn't replace all 3 springs at the time you had it repaired for one.
Is there a weight limit to the chair in the documentation, that might be superceded? I guess you would have checked that. Regarding rusty, I don't think that will go in your favour. Moisture in your home? Someone more knowledgeable on springs will know, but I'm surprised about the rust.

Many contributors seem to be mixing up the statutory rights that someone has under the Consumer Rights Act (2015) with any ADDITIONAL rights that the OP has as a consequence of having this warranty. The Consumer Rights Act imposes obligations on the retailer, the warranty is provided by and imposes obligations on the manufacturer (although could be the same entity in some cases).

It's the specific wording of that additional warranty document that will determine things like whether the OP has to prove a defect was present at time of manufactur. The warranty document may also specify who is responsible for carrying out the repair (e.g. sourcing parts).

E.g. the warranty might exclude damage caused by things like "any misuse or unauthorised alterations". In which case the onus would likely be on the manufacturer to prove that "misuse or unauthorised alterations" had occurred (not the other way around).

I think 13 years for £1300 is not bad value tbh. Personally I’d be pleased it lasted that long.

@bobbiester CRA doesn’t apply here as it was purchased pre-implementation. It’s SOGA.

To claim under either you have 6 years from the delivery date to litigate. That’s timebarred by a good 7 years now.

Neither acts have ever implemented a burden on manufacturer or seller to repair wear and tear.

Post-6 months the onus is one the consumer to prove defect. Defect not damage is what triggers this warranty not guarantee.

OP I’d write to the CEO explaining everything you’ve stated here. Your enforcement options are limited due to the passage of time but it won’t harm trying to speak with someone more helpful in the company.

@biddybird

The especially galling thing is that apart from the springs and mechanism the chair itself has always been fine. The leather almost looks brand-new even 13 years later. So because they can't provide a couple of springs, an otherwise perfectly good chair might have to be thrown away. So wasteful!

Why should they have to keep the same springs and mechanism just in case someone doesn’t want to buy a new chair 13 years later?

When you buy a product and it lasts a long time you should expect that any parts that may need replacing could well not be manufactured anymore. You take that risk.

@emilyfrost

Of course you would be unreasonable to take them to court over a 13 year old chair.

@emilyfrost a 13 year old chair with a 15 YEAR warranty. That's not being unreasonable at all - that's just expecting what should happen anyway!

the warranty might exclude damage caused by things like "any misuse or unauthorised alterations". In which case the onus would likely be on the manufacturer to prove that "misuse or unauthorised alterations" had occurred (not the other way around

Well yes, but you’re missing a massive part here, and the key part, which is the damage could have occured due to wear and tear, it is not a case it’s either faulty or it’s misuse/unauthorised alterations. There is a massive area of wear and tear in between.

The manufacturer can just say it’s wear and tear and walk away. Whoever litigates has the onus of proof. The manufacturer isn’t going to take her to court, there is nothing for them to do so over, they have denied her claim, so for them it’s over.

If she then decides to pursue it, she then needs to prove it was faulty and they were liable under the warranty. She can’t do this. As they are the defendant, they don’t need to prove anything, she would need to take her case to court with the evidence it’s faulty. If she does this then the onus of proof is on them to defend that.

That’s why they are called claimants and defendants. She needs to claim it’s faulty, and provide evidence, they then defend against it.

She’s stuck because she actually doesn’t even know if it was faulty never mind Provide evidence.

Your answer is erroneous because it assumes if it’s not misuse, then they are liable, this is not the case, if it’s wear and tear, she’s liable, not them.

Thanks all for the further input. The chair does have a weight limit, which has definitely not been exceeded.

My home isn't particularly moist so I don't think that would account for the springs rusting.

The retailer went out of business a few years ago so I have to deal directly with the manufacturer.

I have just discovered that there is a group of consumers trying to start a class action against this company due to a different issue with their furniture that is supposed to be covered by warranty.

I've decided life's too short for all that court malarkey, even if I am in the right.

So… I think I'm going to buy some replacement springs somewhere else (as Lolaloves pointed out, they must be available somewhere) and forward the company the bill (without expecting repayment), then write to the CEO and tell him how crap his company is.

Was there drinks spilt on it op? I can’t think of another way they’d be rusty. Moisture must have got in for it to occur. And the rust would have been spotted at the initial repair. So some sort of fluid has got trapped in there since then which has caused the rust snd the subsequent breakage of the springs.

Bluntness no drinks have been spilt on it. The springs are on the underside of the chair and are exposed to the air. The one spring that has been replaced previously (there are three in total) is coated in black paint/plastic, whereas the two older ones are 'raw' metal and rusted, so I suspect the spring design was improved at some point to counteract the rust problem.

But op metal only rusts if exposed to moisture. A normal home environment does not have enough moisture to do this. We all have a shit ton of metal stuff in our homes.

Unless,lIs your home where it sits very very cold? Or was the chair stored in an outbuilding that was unheated ? That’s the only other way it could happen, if the moisture in the air temp climbed in the morning and condensation was forming and the moisture rusted it. It would have to be hell of a cold though. Have you been storing it in a garage or something?