If you've bought any furniture, including floor-coverings, beds, carpets or lounge suites, it must be:
You can read more about your rights in the section Introduction to your legal rights.
Note that different rules apply depending on whether you bought the item before or after 1 October 2015.
If you've bought furniture that is faulty before you've used it, you should be entitled to a full or partial refund. This won't be the case, however, if you had a reasonable opportunity to examine the furniture when buying and the fault was so obvious that you should have noticed it.
Whether you're entitled to a full refund depends on whether you've 'accepted' the furniture.
The Sale of Goods Act states that you have a 'reasonable time' to examine goods after purchase before they're regarded as being 'accepted' by you. It doesn't specifically state how long a 'reasonable time' is; it depends on factors such as how often you use the item, the type of fault (e.g. whether it's obvious or not) and whether you've continued to use the item despite knowing it has a fault.
If you've accepted the furniture, you may be entitled to a repair or replacement. The seller is entitled to refuse either of these if the cost of doing so would be excessive in comparison to the alternative. Whatever solution is agreed, it shouldn't result in undue inconvenience to you.
If you've only had the furniture a few weeks, you may be entitled to a refund (assuming that you did not have a reasonable opportunity to examine it when buying and the fault was not so obvious that you should have noticed it). A refund can only be considered if you haven't accepted the furniture (see above).
Alternatively, you may request the furniture to be repaired or replaced. If the fault is only minor and can easily be put right, it's reasonable to accept a repair. This repair should be completed to a satisfactory standard at no additional cost to you. If the repair isn't carried out to a satisfactory standard, you're entitled to seek a refund.
In the first 6 months from the date of purchase, when you return the furniture to request a repair or replacement, you don't have to prove that it was faulty at the time of sale. There is an assumption that it was faulty unless the seller can prove otherwise. If you opt for a refund rather than a repair or replacement, the onus will be on you to prove that it was faulty at the time of sale.
If you've had the furniture longer than a few weeks or have had a reasonable opportunity to check it, you may still be entitled to a repair or replacement, but this will depend on the circumstances. A repair should be carried out within a reasonable period of time and without causing you significant inconvenience. Any repair should restore goods to a satisfactory condition.
If the furniture can't be replaced or repaired economically, you're entitled to a refund. The seller may make a reduction from the price you paid to allow for the use you've had from the furniture.
When you buy furniture that is faulty, you will be entitled to a full refund so long as no more than 30 days have passed starting on the first day after all the below have happened:
You won't be entitled to this refund if you had a reasonable opportunity to examine the furniture when buying it and the fault was so obvious that you should have noticed it or if the seller informed you of the fault before you bought it. It also won't be available if the only issue is that the goods were not installed correctly.
If you request the seller to repair or replace the furniture within the 30-day period, then the 30-day time limit will be paused. Once this has been done, you will then have the remainder of the 30-day period or 7 days (depending on which one is longer) to check if the repair or replacement has been successful and decide whether to accept or reject it.
It'll be up to you to prove that there is something wrong with the furniture if the seller doesn't accept this.
A refund must be given within 14 days of the seller agreeing that you are entitled to it.
If you don't want a refund or aren't entitled to one you can request the furniture be repaired or replaced without being charged for it if it won't cause you significant inconvenience.
The seller is entitled to refuse to carry out either of these options if the cost of doing so would be excessive in comparison to the alternative or if it would be impractical.
An item should be repaired or replaced within a reasonable time. A repair should be completed to a satisfactory standard and a replacement should be of satisfactory quality.
In the first 6 months from the date of purchase, when you return the furniture to request a repair, replacement or refund, you don't have to prove that it was faulty at the time of sale. There is an assumption that the furniture was faulty unless the seller is able to prove otherwise.
You'll be entitled to reject the furniture and ask for a price reduction or refund if any of the below apply:
You'll be entitled to a price reduction or you can reject the furniture, depending on whether you choose to keep it. If you choose to keep it, you can claim a reduction in price, which must be an amount appropriate to your circumstances and could be the whole price.
If you reject the furniture then you should get a full or partial refund. This will depend on whether the seller will take any use of the item into account.
If you're out of pocket in any other way, you may be entitled to compensation over and above the price of the furniture.
For more information, see Introduction to your legal rights.
If you determine that there is a problem with the furniture you've bought, do the following:
Check if the seller is a member of the Furniture Ombudsman, the independent standards body for furniture and floor coverings (including kitchens and bathrooms). If the seller is a member, the Furniture Ombudsman can provide a dispute resolution service and can inspect the furniture on-site.
Members must follow a code of practice and, in the event of an unresolved dispute, must accept the ruling of the Furniture Ombudsman.
If the seller isn't a member of the Furniture Ombudsman, the Furniture Ombudsman can still arrange an independent inspection of the furniture, but can't intervene any further to help you with any claim.
You can bring a claim in the courts, but this should be a last resort if all other options don't produce the result you're looking for. You should speak to a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau.