I am writing about my niece’s awful experience with furniture retailer The Range.
I feel it has failed to show a shred of compassion towards her after she ordered a £140 fold-up bed on wheels so she could sleep next to her sick husband.
He has advanced Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia and sleeps in the living room downstairs.
He has a special bed provided by social services but she needed a foldaway bed for herself so she could put it away during the day.
One wheel couldn’t be attached so it was useless and she has been left sleeping on the floor for five weeks because The Range would not replace it. Please help.
M.C., West Midlands.
Useless: The Range has been reluctant to replace a foldaway bed which had a problem with one of its wheels
Sally Hamilton replies: I was very sorry to hear of your niece’s situation, which is upsetting for all the family.
You have been a doting aunt by stepping in to chase The Range because she was too tired and upset to deal with it herself.
The whole sorry saga began when your niece received the bed on October 14 and noticed one wheel couldn’t be attached to the frame due to a single missing part.
It looked as if it should be a simple case of The Range quickly sending a new part or a new bed.
The next day she contacted the retailer but was dismayed to be told it would take 40 days for the part to arrive from the bed-maker because it was based in Italy.
This was not acceptable due to the rapidly declining health of your niece’s husband. She – and then you – argued that this bed was not fit for purpose and should be replaced as soon as possible.
Some 18 emails had been exchanged before you intervened.
You made many more requests but, after getting nowhere, on November 26 asked for my help.
You explained that you spent your career in customer service and could not comprehend The Range’s dilatory response.
It made excuses about it being the third party provider in Italy that was causing the hold-up.
But, as you pointed out to the firm, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 it is the retailer a customer buys from that should deal with a defective purchase and then sort the issue directly with the supplier.
What vexed you most was being unable to speak to a human being. I expected better from such a big-name retailer and asked its public relations representatives to investigate.
Despite me emphasising the urgency of the case, I got little in the way of a proper response.
Meanwhile, the 40-day deadline for the replacement part to arrive came and went. Then in early December came the worst news: your niece’s dear husband had died.
The replacement bed was now redundant, and relatives took the offending faulty item to the local dump.
This tragic development made The Range’s slow response all the more galling. My frustration boiled over and I emailed the chief executive, complaining your case had been poorly handled. Finally, I got a response.
The Range’s spokesperson says: ‘We have attempted to resolve this matter directly with the third-party seller who we market this item on behalf of, but have been unable to obtain their support.
‘Nothing matters more than our customers and we are now working directly with the customer to resolve this issue. We sincerely apologise for any distress this situation has caused.’
Two months after the delivery of the faulty bed, the retailer refunded your niece and offered a voucher of £50. When I told the firm this was measly, it increased this to £100.
By contrast, I would like to share an excellent example of top-class customer service from a furniture company.
In October, I ordered a handcrafted hall bench from Scottish maker Anta. It was meant to take four weeks to be made and delivered but got delayed.
When I mentioned on the phone (to an actual human) that the item was required for Christmas, they pulled out all the stops.
To my surprise the boss of the company, Annie, personally delivered the item in a van to an address in the Scottish Highlands days before Christmas.
Somehow, I can’t imagine The Range’s chief executive providing that level of personal service.
Biker convention spoiled our relaxing winter break
In January, we arranged a seven-day TUI holiday for June at the resort of Medulin, Croatia, for £1,600.
We are in our 70s, so tend to pick June or September to avoid the busy periods. We had been told that Medulin was an old fishing village that became a resort.
When we arrived, we got a text from the TUI rep saying they were excited that Medulin was hosting the annual Harley-Davidson Convention.
Bikers arrived in their droves, revving their engines, which continued into the early hours.
When I complained, TUI just said to buy ear plugs. I asked for a refund, but TUI won’t compensate us.
P. G. Banbury, Oxon.
Sally Hamilton replies: It must have been stressful to land in the middle of a rowdy convention like this when all you wanted was a peaceful break.
When you requested another hotel, TUI could not arrange it and offered you €150. Back in the UK, after complaining via three telephone calls and several emails, TUI said it would not offer any further compensation.
It said it was unaware of the convention and had no liability for events held outside the hotel.
You tried writing to the chief executive but got no response. You complained to ABTA, the travel organisation, to no avail. You also paid £150 to go to arbitration, which took TUI’s side.
Although the result meant you needed to pay £150 costs to TUI, the company waived this fee.
You then came to me in the hope I could persuade the firm to offer more compensation.
I tried my best but, even though I felt your arguments were strong, I failed to change its mind.
A spokesman says: ‘We’re sorry to hear that he felt his holiday was disrupted by the Harley-
Davidson event and we do understand how disappointing that must have been. Given the independent findings already made, we won’t be making any further offer of compensation.
‘We are genuinely sorry that he did not enjoy the holiday he had hoped for.’
I’m afraid we have revved to the end of the road. It can be tricky for me to exert influence over a firm once a complaint has gone to arbitration, unless there is new and compelling information.
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk ¿ include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
