Harvey Norman Bed Damage(pictures)

magnethead

Hi There,
I bought a bed (see below) in harvey norman 10 days ago, My wife collected it and never noticed the tear in the side of the box. I took it out of our People carrier and placed it in my daughters bedroom, I didn't get around to having a look at assembling it until now (10 days later)

I called Harvey Norman who said there 'terms and conditions' state that Furniture damage must be reported within 3 days? Is that Legal? I thought you had 2 weeks to report ? I kinda understand it as I imagine most damage to furniture is probably done when it is new and people are getting used to it in a house.

But in my case the item is still in the box, and it is a very strong metal bed which must have being conpressed with serious force! I say compressed because there is no damage to the paint, maybe a forklift driver ran over it in the warehouse.

I asked for a replacement but they told me to head off with myself.
I wouldn't mind but the damage is at the top of the Bed post, you could ignore damage underneath it, but not where this is.

Thanks for any help you can provide

http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv152/magnethead123/Crap/IMG-20170705-WA0006_zpshudjilet.jpg



http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv152/magnethead123/Crap/IMG-20170705-WA0011_zps4dmnao5z.jpg

http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv152/magnethead123/Crap/IMG-20170705-WA0008_zps24lopw7t.jpg


http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv152/magnethead123/Crap/IMG-20170705-WA0010_zpsevlu0ehy.jpg

dudara

Contact the store and speak with a manager. If not joy, write a registered letter to the store and HQ, letting them know that unless this is sorted out within XX days, you will initiate Small Claims Court proceedings.

The 3 days thing has no legal basis, it must be just their own policy.

tedpan

The pics don't work.

vandriver

tedpan wrote: »

The pics don't work.

Photobucket now require you to pay 400 quid a year to hotlink pictures.

magnethead

Guys, Thanks very much for the advice, I will start that immediately. I have emailed the customer care dept a few days ago, but they never replied...I'll ring and make sure they reply for papertrail purposes (small claims)

Sorry about the pics, I'm going to have to move my account to another host(maybe dropbox)... that paid for crap only started recently

Graham

dudara wrote: »

The 3 days thing has no legal basis, it must be just their own policy.

In fairness to HN, this type of policy is fairly common.

Without putting a time limit in place, HN would effectively be insuring the goods against accidental damage indefinitely.

magnethead

Is there a standard broken item legal policy for 2 weeks? like you have 2 weeks to bring a defective item back to the shop/

Graham

magnethead wrote: »

Is there a standard broken item legal policy for 2 weeks? like you have 2 weeks to bring a defective item back to the shop/

Not if you damaged the item yourself.

The OP is going to have a tough time proving the item was damaged when he received it, particularly as the item was collected and has been in the OPs possession for 10 days.

dudara

Graham wrote: »

In fairness to HN, this type of policy is fairly common.

Without putting a time limit in place, HN would effectively be insuring the goods against accidental damage indefinitely.

The policy may be common, and very understandable, but it cannot negate or overwrite your consumer rights.

feargale

Graham wrote: »

Not if you damaged the item yourself.

The OP is going to have a tough time proving the item was damaged when he received it, particularly as the item was collected and has been in the OPs possession for 10 days.

They will probably assert that when it's gone it's gone.

Seriously OP go to the Small Claims Court. No costs will be awarded to you or against you. All you will lose is your time. And they knowing that they will lose time will probably try to settle before a hearing. In any event the court clerk dealing with it will as a matter of course try to engineer a settlement.

magnethead

Great Stuff, this will be a first for me so worth trying out just to see how it goes

lawred2

vandriver wrote: »

Photobucket now require you to pay 400 quid a year to hotlink pictures.

Seriously!?

Ahahaha

Proper jumped the shark

Graham

dudara wrote: »

The policy may be common, and very understandable, but it cannot negate or overwrite your consumer rights.

Agreed, just not sure how the OP is going to convince HN or the SSC the damage wasn't spotted/caused when the items were collected, loaded up, unloaded, taken into the house..........

I'm not at all suggesting the OP caused the damage, just not sure how is going to convince anyone he didn't.

If HN won't budge, SCC is probably the only option.

magnethead

ok, Feck Photobucket....Dropbox is my new home for Photo's until that starts charging too.

lawred2

How did you miss that?

magnethead

I know(just asked the wife again) ...A young lad carried it out for her, and put it straight into the back of our people carrier(seats were all flat), I came along that night and just picked it out and carried it into the room, I never noticed either, until I went to assemble it

I know if looks bad....THe Bar is very strong, and the damage is at the top of the bedpost, you could jump on the other side and it would not dent...there is no damage to the paintwork, so I'm guessing a forklift ran over it while it was in the warehouse...It's thick steel.

I don't know how they would expect me to do that kinda damage by bringing it into the house, you could pick this (very heavy box) up and whack it off the wall without making a dent in it like that...That's the only defence I can think of, is the quality of the piece and the amount of force it would take to do that??? Does that make an argument at all?

Fiery mutant

Speak to the manager of the store, they will probably look after you. It more likely customer assist are just following the protocol and haven't spoke with the manager involved. It's not the kind of damage you could get just by moving the item around in the box, and with the paint not being cracked, it's more likely it was damaged before the item was sprayed, as damaging like that after would more than likely have cracked the paint as well.

magnethead

ok, I hate threads that are not finished off, unfortunately I didn't get my day in court ;p maybe next time...
I decided to open the box and assemble after they fobbed me off, I sent in more pictures once assembled (see below) and the frame was skewed, the 'Customer Assist' manager eventually relented and decided to replace the bed so they offered the same bed as replacement, all turned out well.

Thanks very much for the great advice you guys gave!!
Moral of the story ?? Don't give up complaining! keep at them, they rely on you giving up easy....be a pain in the ass until you get service!

lesson for me, to carefully check 'Goods inwards'...building a house soon, I don't plan to learn that lesson again....check the minute you receive anything...best possible chance for getting the product sorted without pain..

God bless Dropbox, and screw photobucket

Diziet

Years ago, I returned a cooker that was delivered and not opened for 5 months as we were getting the house sorted, building work, etc. It was clearly damaged in the factory and the shop replaced it.
They did grumble about it 'not being acceptable' but it was clear the damage was not done in use (the protective plastic was still on) and they agreed very quickly.

The 'report within x days' is not relevant. If it is delivered broken, then it is up to the shop to fix it.