Advice needed - is this a manufacturing "defect"

[Mjward]

I've made all the built in furniture in the house, from wardrobes to cabinets and a whole library. But I buy freestanding items, one of which was a pair of bedside tables for my son. They weren't cheap at £160 each but seemed from what I could tell to be quality and sold as:

Crafted using 100% solid oak, the Bedside Table features a natural finish that highlights the depth of the grain. Every item is crafted using 100% solid oak and rattan, with no veneer, MDF or chipboard used.

On arrival I must admit they didn't look too dissimilar to veneered furniture, but given above just had to assume I was wrong and it was indeed solid oak. Anyway, fast forward about 8 months later and I've noticed the top surface is becoming very rough in places and on closer inspection, strands of oak are lifting/separating and creating edges that I now assume form gaps between the varnish so that any spilt drink/liquid could damage the table.

If this was a table I had built myself, I would sand the top back and reapply multiple coats of varnish and kick myself for not doing it right the first time. But because I've bought it from a large furniture company, I feel the obligation wasn't on me to make good something that shouldn't be occurring within the first 12 months of a product's life. So I contacted the company and have been advised I now need to pay for a report to prove this is a manufacturing defect. Before I do I just wanted to sanity check with you professionals, is this something you'd consider a defect? I am loathe for fork out on this report they request only for them to say it falls under wear and tear or similar

If an issue is then reported to us after 6 months but within the 1-year warranty from your delivery date **13/05/2024**, and appears to not conclusively be a manufacturing issue, the burden of proof then falls upon yourself as the customer. As you are now 8 months into your manufacturing warranty the burden of proof falls on yourself to prove the issues you have with your table are a manufacturing issue. You would do this by contacting a technician that is cover by the Furniture Ombudsman to obtain your own independent inspection from a nationally recognised company such as Guardsman or Emmiera. If the technician agrees that there is a manufacturing issue, we will ask for a copy of the report and will have no hesitation in reimbursing the cost of this report back to you and resolving the issue.

 

[Jacob]

It was rubbish furniture to start with https://www.oakfurnituresuperstore.co.uk/products/oak-rattan-bedside-table
I guess you will have a struggle to get your money back.
Their refunds terms sound distinctly illegal, they obviously expect complaints! https://www.oakfurnituresuperstore.co.uk/returns-refunds
Maybe small claims court?
Or if it's OK otherwise, just bite the bullet and sand varnish it yourself. See if you can give them a bad review somewhere.

 

[Lons]

Oak can be prone to this but I certainly wouldn't accept it as being wear and tear as ther doesn't appear to be any other damage. I seriously question the terms stated as the burdon of proof falls on you and I'd push very hard agaist that also. IMO (from the photos only of course) is that the tables aren't of merchantable quality and in fact are hazardous tto children especially who could be cut or get splinters from the lifted wood and I'd want then ideally replaced or repaired and if not then a full refund.

Who is the company? Did you buy on line or from a retail depot? In either case you should be pushing very hard and shouldn't be expected to fork out for a report, they should inspect it and it's their job to claim it isn't a fault in which case you can counter claim.

If it were me I'd ring them again and if no joy I'd write a letter of complaint and email it direct to the CEO / MD and maybe a copy to customer services. You can usually find a CEO address by googling CEO email and checking on the sites that come uo, here's just one. https://www.ceoemail.com/

Maybe take advice from trading standards.

EDIT

What Chailatte said. Citizens advice not trading standards ( ). I forgot to say. Make sure every contact with the company is in writing and keep copies. Any 'phone conversations keep a transcript and getnames if you can.

 

[Lons]

It was rubbish furniture to start with https://www.oakfurnituresuperstore.co.uk/products/oak-rattan-bedside-table
I guess you will have a struggle to get your money back.
Their refunds terms sound distinctly illegal, they obviously expect complaints! https://www.oakfurnituresuperstore.co.uk/returns-refunds
Maybe small claims court?
Or if it's OK otherwise, just bite the bullet and sand varnish it yourself. See if you can give them a bad review somewhere.

How do you know it was that company?
I'd draw a similar conclusion and strongly suspect it was but the OP hasn't said where he bought it from.

 

[ChaiLatte]

You best port of call would be Citizen's Advice (not Trading Standards). Send them the same text you have written in your final paragraph and ask them how it sits in relation to the consumer protection laws that exist.

Write to the company and ask for a specific reference in statute for their statement "the burden of proof falls on yourself". That will include the name of the legislation, the date it was enacted and the section and paragraph from the document (if they reply 'Consumer Protection Act', that is not an acceptable answer).

No company can over-ride or reduce your rights as a consumer.

A second line of investigation could be if you bought the item with a credit card, involve the credit card company.

 

[Jacob]

How do you know it was that company?

Google @Mjward 's quotation. Could be another firm using the same text I suppose.

I'd draw a similar conclusion and strongly suspect it was but the OP hasn't said where he bought it from.

 

[ChaiLatte]

How do you know it was that company?

The first emboldened paragraph of the original post can be used as a search term. Try to find a different company that uses the exact phrase "the Bedside Table features a natural finish that highlights the depth of the grain". It is not impossible (the infinite monkeys argument) but highly unlikely.

 

[Eshmiel]

I've made all the built in furniture in the house, from wardrobes to cabinets and a whole library. But I buy freestanding items, one of which was a pair of bedside tables for my son. They weren't cheap at £160 each but seemed from what I could tell to be quality and sold as:

Crafted using 100% solid oak, the Bedside Table features a natural finish that highlights the depth of the grain. Every item is crafted using 100% solid oak and rattan, with no veneer, MDF or chipboard used.

On arrival I must admit they didn't look too dissimilar to veneered furniture, but given above just had to assume I was wrong and it was indeed solid oak. Anyway, fast forward about 8 months later and I've noticed the top surface is becoming very rough in places and on closer inspection, strands of oak are lifting/separating and creating edges that I now assume form gaps between the varnish so that any spilt drink/liquid could damage the table.

If this was a table I had built myself, I would sand the top back and reapply multiple coats of varnish and kick myself for not doing it right the first time. But because I've bought it from a large furniture company, I feel the obligation wasn't on me to make good something that shouldn't be occurring within the first 12 months of a product's life. So I contacted the company and have been advised I now need to pay for a report to prove this is a manufacturing defect. Before I do I just wanted to sanity check with you professionals, is this something you'd consider a defect? I am loathe for fork out on this report they request only for them to say it falls under wear and tear or similar

If an issue is then reported to us after 6 months but within the 1-year warranty from your delivery date **13/05/2024**, and appears to not conclusively be a manufacturing issue, the burden of proof then falls upon yourself as the customer. As you are now 8 months into your manufacturing warranty the burden of proof falls on yourself to prove the issues you have with your table are a manufacturing issue. You would do this by contacting a technician that is cover by the Furniture Ombudsman to obtain your own independent inspection from a nationally recognised company such as Guardsman or Emmiera. If the technician agrees that there is a manufacturing issue, we will ask for a copy of the report and will have no hesitation in reimbursing the cost of this report back to you and resolving the issue.


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Assuming it is solid oak and that it can be fixed in just an hour or two via sanding and refinishing ..... why bother throwing hours of your life and money away on what'll probably be a long drawn-out dispute with the manufacturers? Well, yes; I know; the principle of shoddy goods selling being confronted. But what's the most important outcome to you: commercial justice or tables fixed to be fit for purpose?

If you can make a post to a review website containing an unemotional and purely factual report of this particular purchase, that may do far more in the way of confronting shoddy goods selling than a private dispute with the manufacturer. You just have to be very careful not to get un-factual or to make unjustifiable criticisms.

 

[Mike Jordan]

“Cheap imported crap”sums up your purchase. Avoid any supplier with Village, Oak , Barn, or World, in its title

 

[HOJ]

That's a tough one to debate, I bet their small print caveat would be that it is a natural product material and natural flaws are to be excepted as part of that, not a defect.

Was there any mention, in the delivery/care instructions about applying further finishes, such as wax on a regular basis.

 

[squib]

Quick sand, refinish, job done and stress level equalised.
They weren't expensive....but we're solid timber.

 

[Bingy man]

I've made all the built in furniture in the house, from wardrobes to cabinets and a whole library. But I buy freestanding items, one of which was a pair of bedside tables for my son. They weren't cheap at £160 each but seemed from what I could tell to be quality and sold as:

Crafted using 100% solid oak, the Bedside Table features a natural finish that highlights the depth of the grain. Every item is crafted using 100% solid oak and rattan, with no veneer, MDF or chipboard used.

On arrival I must admit they didn't look too dissimilar to veneered furniture, but given above just had to assume I was wrong and it was indeed solid oak. Anyway, fast forward about 8 months later and I've noticed the top surface is becoming very rough in places and on closer inspection, strands of oak are lifting/separating and creating edges that I now assume form gaps between the varnish so that any spilt drink/liquid could damage the table.

If this was a table I had built myself, I would sand the top back and reapply multiple coats of varnish and kick myself for not doing it right the first time. But because I've bought it from a large furniture company, I feel the obligation wasn't on me to make good something that shouldn't be occurring within the first 12 months of a product's life. So I contacted the company and have been advised I now need to pay for a report to prove this is a manufacturing defect. Before I do I just wanted to sanity check with you professionals, is this something you'd consider a defect? I am loathe for fork out on this report they request only for them to say it falls under wear and tear or similar

If an issue is then reported to us after 6 months but within the 1-year warranty from your delivery date **13/05/2024**, and appears to not conclusively be a manufacturing issue, the burden of proof then falls upon yourself as the customer. As you are now 8 months into your manufacturing warranty the burden of proof falls on yourself to prove the issues you have with your table are a manufacturing issue. You would do this by contacting a technician that is cover by the Furniture Ombudsman to obtain your own independent inspection from a nationally recognised company such as Guardsman or Emmiera. If the technician agrees that there is a manufacturing issue, we will ask for a copy of the report and will have no hesitation in reimbursing the cost of this report back to you and resolving the issue.


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i understand this from a principle but the terms of claiming under your warranty seem to be heavily biased towards the seller . Citizens advice won’t cost you anything but as above the cost of the report , waiting for them to likely wriggle out of it or blame it on yourself is imo not worth the time , effort and cost . Are the units actually solid oak as advertised or something else. Is there any other damage anywhere on the units that could boost your claim . The fact the b o p is on you stinks and on top of that they are telling you where to get the report from tells me your claim has already been decided and could cost you a lot more than the £320 you have spent so far ..

 

[meccarroll]

If anyone saw the shake in a shop they would not buy the table and I think anyone seeing it as part of an inspection process would see it as a defect.

It does look like a surface shake rather than a through shake but in any event a shake is considered a defect in the wood.

If you know anyone with City & Guilds in woodwork ask them to write a report for you and send it off to the company involved stating what you expect them to do to put matters right and give them a minimum of two weeks to reply with their remedy. State that if your request has not been met in full by xx xx xxxx you will take the matter to a small claims court for adjudication and add the cost to your claim.

Normally sucess using the above does involve issuing court papers before the other side backs down.

I would add that the above process does involve a substantial amount of time and effort on your part and you are not guaranteed a win even if you hold all of the best cards in court.

As you are a skilled woodworker, even though it goes against the grain, it might be a lot quicker and easier to do the fix yourself.

EDIT: Sometimes companies will get their solicitor involved who then make a counter claim stating that you have to pay for the involvment of the solicitors time. It's a scare tactic which can be common in insurance claims. It can get complicated and you could end up doing a mass of reading and letter writing. Good luck.

 

[toolsntat]

You may have a kick back here as this is not so much a MANUFACTURING fault but a MATERIALS fault and as such may be a different angle of approach ?
How much of this problem exists?
cheers
Andy

 

[toolsntat]

Point of order being this is NOT 100% SOLID Oak as it is flaking away from itself.

 

[niall Y]

I very much doubt that I could make an item like this for anything approaching £160, bearing in mind the retailer is also adding their bit on as well. Part of making, is the careful selection of material. That aspect seems to have been overlooked, no doubt to keep production costs as low as possible.

If you have the skill It is best to refinish the top yourself. You might well have to resort to getting some glue under that feathering as it is probably more than skin deep. Worst case scenario is that you might well have to remake the tops in their entirety.

In all fairness, you gave them an opportunity to respond to your complaint, and put things right. But bearing in mind their response, it is going to be a uphill struggle to get them to do so. Best I think, to chalk this one down to experience.

 

[Spectric]

Point of order being this is NOT 100% SOLID Oak as it is flaking away from itself.

If that can be proved then they are at fault as there advert states

The Oak Rattan Collection features stunning designs crafted from durable 100% solid oak

 

[ChaiLatte]

If that can be proved then they are at fault....

Five minutes work with a 2" hole saw would confirm or deny the claim. Kind of a woodworking form of Russian roulette.

 

[toolsntat]

If that can be proved then they are at fault as there advert states

The Oak Rattan Collection features stunning designs crafted from durable 100% solid oak

To clarify what I meant .
Durable ?, no as it is flaking away.
Solid as in no man made layers ?, yes but there is a fault in the makeup of the material making it not a solid.
Be interesting to know if it is a solid finish or something requiring maintenance like wax?
Cheers, Andy

 

[Spectric]

Five minutes work with a 2" hole saw would confirm or deny the claim.

Maybe they get away with their claims because they don't think anyone would do that to prove otherwise, yes it is a gamble.