Cost Plus Sofa - Refund or Replacment - Small Claims Court

LarryMac

Hi All,

My Mother purchased a 3 piece suite from Cost Plus Sofa for over 2 grand and within weeks it has had 3 major defects. (Tear in arm, faded in area, recliner stopped operating....)
After ringing their customer service (in far away India I gather) about 10 times and emailing around 5 with pictures of faults, (they even had an Technician from the North out twice), we just want well rid.
I also rang the store where the manager basically fobbed me off saying that their customer service is above him.
I asked numerous times for a replacement but now feck it, I just want my mothers money back for an inferior product.
I see the small claims court is for claims of up to €2000. It was a few hundred quid more than that but would take that amount now just to be rid.
Do I have to pay any more than the €18 Small Claims App Fee?
Note: If you are considering buying from Cost Plus, don't bother, there after sales/customer service is disgraceful.. Constant phone calls and emails with no end result..

Thanks

dudara

Write a registered letter to the store manager, and to HQ, outlining the issues, and the repeated efforts you have made to resolve the issue with them.

Give them XX working days to resolve the issue to your satisfaction, or else inform them that you will be initiating a claim in the Small Claims Court.

Sending this letter will provide you with a strong case if you end up going to the SCC.

wmpdd3

I think you have a good case, how long ago is it now since you bought the sofa?

I understand you took to the phones to customer service after 3 weeks.

Try put down with dates when everything happened, ie bought 1/1, called customer service 1/3 etc.

Have they offered you anything? Partial refund, repair anything?

In the letter I would write that you are rejecting the product as being defective and you have lost faith in the product and the company and want your money back.

LarryMac

wmpdd3 wrote: »

I think you have a good case, how long ago is it now since you bought the sofa?

I understand you took to the phones to customer service after 3 weeks.

Try put down with dates when everything happened, ie bought 1/1, called customer service 1/3 etc.

Have they offered you anything? Partial refund, repair anything?

In the letter I would write that you are rejecting the product as being defective and you have lost faith in the product and the company and want your money back.

Hi wppdd3

The sofa was purchased in September and paid for in cash. Tried for half hour to get some sort of discount for cash sale. Should have walked away then when they wouldn't budge.
Electric Recliner packed up end of September. Technician came out to check. Service Dept rang and said it would be last week in December before replacement part arrived. Still waiting... What a joke of a company!
Worn look appeared a few weeks after that and then after closely inspecting full suite, low and behold we find the tear.
Really disappointed that my mothers saving went into this piece of crap. I can handle things going faulty cause sh!t happens, but the total arrogance of the company is driving me mental!
Basically, we have your money now p!ss off!
Best thing for me to do now is now is bad mouth the company on every medium possible and hopefully others will give then a wide berth.
Thanks

dudara

LarryMac wrote: »

Best thing for me to do now is now is bad mouth the company on every medium possible and hopefully others will give then a wide berth.

The best thing for you to do now is hit them with a legal claim in the Small Claims Court. It will cost them in terms of solicitors' fees and the associated wage costs of internal people having to deal with the claim.

wmpdd3

Yeah, looks like you did you best to get a resolution from the company, but a wait that long for repair is not acceptable in my opinion.

Get writing that letter.

slimjimmc

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Yeah, looks like you did you best to get a resolution from the company, but a wait that long for repair is not acceptable in my opinion.

Get writing that letter.

Indeed. That letter is important since one of the criteria for the SCC even taking on your case is that you have exhausted the retailer's complaints process. This letter will act as the final step in that process and demonstrates you have been more than reasonable in your efforts to resolve the matter outside of court.

CPS: Lee

Hi Larry,

Please feel free to contact customer services and Ask for Lee i will happy to discuss this with you and see if I can help

Le_Dieux

Cost Plus Sofas: Lee wrote: »

Hi Larry,

Please feel free to contact customer services and Ask for Lee i will happy to discuss this with you and see if I can help

With all due respects Lee, this OP has tried on numerous occasions to contact You people.

Is this not what is wrong with customers service here. Have You ever thought of 'YOU make an effort to contact the customer'?

Also, the term 'The horse has already bolted' springs to mind here, as only after the OP has made their grievance public, are You making a comment.

dudara

Le_Dieux wrote: »

With all due respects Lee, this OP has tried on numerous occasions to contact You people.

Is this not what is wrong with customers service here. Have You ever thought of 'YOU make an effort to contact the customer'?

To be fair to Lee, all he has here is an Internet username, who is posting on behalf of his mother. It could take a while to work out who that is. It's probably quicker if they do contact CS as Lee suggests.

CPS: Lee

Hi Le_Dieux,

I'm More than happy to contact "Larry" but as I'm sure you appreciate I am unable to do this with no customer name, order number, or store of Purchase

We have joined this forum such as this in an effort to improve customer service.

Please feel free to private message me with your details if you would like me to examine your case.

Lee

LarryMac

Cost Plus Sofas: Lee wrote: »

Hi Le_Dieux,

I'm More than happy to contact "Larry" but as I'm sure you appreciate I am unable to do this with no customer name, order number, or store of Purchase

We have joined this forum such as this in an effort to improve customer service.

Please feel free to private message me with your details if you would like me to examine your case.

Lee

Hi Lee,

I do have to agree with Le_Dieux on this one.

I will never ring that customer service number again.

The sofa was bought from your Long Mile Road branch. If your shop and Customer Service Dept keeps records of complaints it should be quite easy to locate my contact number. Also your rep called to the house twice.

I also spoke direct with the manager of the store who I think's name was Lee, so in fact this may be you...

Anyway, I will PM you my contact number

Le_Dieux

Cost Plus Sofas: Lee wrote: »

Hi Le_Dieux,

I'm More than happy to contact "Larry" but as I'm sure you appreciate I am unable to do this with no customer name, order number, or store of Purchase

We have joined this forum such as this in an effort to improve customer service.

Please feel free to private message me with your details if you would like me to examine your case.

Lee

With all due respect Lee ( and Dudara), based on the fact CPS sent out a man TWICE to look at the faults, surely there is a record in their system on just exactly what Larry's contact details are?

CPS: Lee

I do value your point's but unfortunately not always that easy with 23 stores to just locate
But I have the information required now thank you

astrofool

I would suggest to the OP that a bit of calm is probably required before heading down the legal route, as much fun as being angry at a retailer is, it's not going to get the issue resolved any quicker.

channelsurfer2

OP I wouldnt waste your time with them... I had a similiar experience with their so called insurance company that promised to repair a stain etc and sent the guy from the north out twice as well. they didnt receive his report and 9 months after that they sent out another company to investigate.

eventually they turned it down to due multiple issues ie the small print in the policy didnt cover more than once claim.

anyway i threatened to take them to the Insurance ombudsman in the uk and i cc'd a copy of the letter by registere post to the ombudsman outlining in detail every call, every mistake and every action that both Cost plus and the insurance company failed to take(its a uk based insurance policy that they dont tell you at the time).

lo and behold they reconsidered and approved the claim and then proceeded to nulify my policy and close it despite me paying a very expensive premium for it.

anyway i got my new sofa but wouldnt go near em again. buyer beware thats my personal experience of them.

miniireland

I am also having problems with these people going on 10 weeks thus far, they tell me their customer service department is in Dublin, but each and every individual on the phone seems to have an Indian accent, they wont disclose the address of where they are, they cant give names of managers in stores etc etc, very poor service indeed......

I will update accordingly.......

CPS: Lee

Hi There,
I am Firstly sorry that you are having a Issue that you have so far been unable to resolve.

If you would like to send me a Message with you details I will be more than happy to call you to try to resolve the issue

Regards

Cost Plus Sofas

kilkenny Cat

LarryMac wrote: »

Hi All,

My Mother purchased a 3 piece suite from Cost Plus Sofa for over 2 grand and within weeks it has had 3 major defects. (Tear in arm, faded in area, recliner stopped operating....)
After ringing their customer service (in far away India I gather) about 10 times and emailing around 5 with pictures of faults, (they even had an Technician from the North out twice), we just want well rid.
I also rang the store where the manager basically fobbed me off saying that their customer service is above him.
I asked numerous times for a replacement but now feck it, I just want my mothers money back for an inferior product.
I see the small claims court is for claims of up to €2000. It was a few hundred quid more than that but would take that amount now just to be rid.
Do I have to pay any more than the €18 Small Claims App Fee?
Note: If you are considering buying from Cost Plus, don't bother, there after sales/customer service is disgraceful.. Constant phone calls and emails with no end result..

Thanks

Hi Larry, I would love to know how you got on with your complaint as I am having the very same problem with them. I have tried bringing them to the small claims court, but they didnt respond at all. I even got a letter from the judge to say they had to pay up but I cant get any good of them. Looks like I will now have to go to a solicitor with it.
Best of luck with it, I hope you have better luck for your mother

LarryMac

kilkenny Cat wrote: »

Hi Larry, I would love to know how you got on with your complaint as I am having the very same problem with them. I have tried bringing them to the small claims court, but they didnt respond at all. I even got a letter from the judge to say they had to pay up but I cant get any good of them. Looks like I will now have to go to a solicitor with it.
Best of luck with it, I hope you have better luck for your mother

I have sent you a PM

wmpdd3

I even got a letter from the judge to say they had to pay up but I cant get any good of them.

What kind of a business operates like this?

sam34

oh lord I could write a book on this crowd!

I purchased a bed there sometime last year. there was hassle from start to finish, order placed incorrectly, over charging, no-show on the day delivery was scheduled, and a delay in refunding my money etc etc etc

i was fed up of making phonecalls that weren't returned, empty promises a
etc.

I wrote a letter of complaint to the manager of my local store and cc'd it to head office, but not one of them had the decency to reply or even acknowledge my complaint.

I will NEVER deal with them again

rainyrun

very glad i read this thread!! I am planning to buy a suite at the weekend and saw their ad in the local paper and was planning a trip there!! will avoid like the plague now.. Aftersales service is v important to me..

Procrastastudy

These guys are rip off merchants - bought a sofa and bed from them. Bed is okay but the sofa was a nightmare.

Basically its the same old sleezy used car sales man attitude with no back up. Avoid at all costs. Well no cost really go to Ikea and get the stuff cheaper with actual aftersales service

They'll go under eventually cowboys like this always do - I worked for a computer company with a very similar ethos.

acalmenvoy

Glad I saw this thread today, having been saving for six months to redo sitting room, wife has been in and out of this place four times in the last few weeks and was ready to drop €2400 on a suite she picked out, had to show her this thread because she didn't believe me.
She's upset now as she had her heart set, but knows we had a lucky escape.
At least we have the long weekend to find another one.
I'll be telling friends and family about these jokers.
Thanx op

Sponge Bob

If you ignore all customer care issues.
Ignore the Small Claims Court when it makes an order against you.
Hire low grade call centre operatives in India with no training ...ie just about able to answer phone.
Make a lot of money selling 'insurance' that will not pay out on allegedly insured events.

....then you will make a lot of money in Ireland.

Procrastastudy

Dont they send the baliffs round when you dont pay the SmCC?

I worked for a retailer that didn't pay a claim (more out of incompetance than anything else) and a very nice man turned up and explained he was going to cease goods unless we paid. TBF to him he was very good and said (after getting the CS director out of one of the endless meetings they sit in to do some work) he'd take a cheque.

kilkenny Cat

rainyrun wrote: »

very glad i read this thread!! I am planning to buy a suite at the weekend and saw their ad in the local paper and was planning a trip there!! will avoid like the plague now.. Aftersales service is v important to me..

DO NOT BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE, GIVE YOUR MONEY TO AN IRISH STORE!!!!!

wmpdd3

An irish store with good afteersales service obviously!

kilkenny Cat

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Dont they send the baliffs round when you dont pay the SmCC?

I worked for a retailer that didn't pay a claim (more out of incompetance than anything else) and a very nice man turned up and explained he was going to cease goods unless we paid. TBF to him he was very good and said (after getting the CS director out of one of the endless meetings they sit in to do some work) he'd take a cheque.

Hi, yes I was advised to send in the Sherif but you dont know where to send them to!!! They wont give out an address where they are and you cant actually get any sense out of them if you ring there customer service no. Thats if you even get to speak to someone. They are registered here in Mullingar under the companies registration office but that is only a warehouse.
Worse company I have ever dealt with.

kilkenny Cat

wmpdd3 wrote: »

An irish store with good afteersales service obviously!

Of course but I have to say at least they are easier to deal with. Most of the time anyway. Happy shopping:)