IKEA policy on faulty goods

I went to IKEA and bought a bed.

Assembling it involved a few hours' work. At the final stage, just three bits to be fitted, it emerged that there was a problem: the parts would not fit by a margin of one or two millimetres. Now, I didn't want to take a saw or plane in hand on a brand new product on which the vendor should have a responsibility to me. So I phoned IKEA.

The person to whom I spoke said that they would send me out replacements for the off-size parts. I said that it was impossible for me to identify which ones were wrong. She then said that they would replace the entire unit, but that I would need to dissemble it first (I think it was also implied that I should pack it). I had put roughly six hours work into the assembly -- yes, it seems a lot, but I was being slow and careful, and to get as far as I did involved 128 fixings of various types. I think I could take it apart in about 3 hours.

I suggested that, as the product was faulty, it was incumbent on them to rectify the situation and that it seemed fair to me that they should have somebody disassemble the bed and assemble a replacement. There wasn't the proverbial snowball's chance.

I considered, in a moment of pique, rejecting the goods, but they held to the position that I would still have to disassemble it, and I would expect a problem recovering the delivery charge, which they would say was not paid directly to them.

There is another solution, involving a bit of woodworking skill. Two passes of a rebating plane would fix it, but IKEA say that if that is done, I would lose all guarantee rights. So if I choose to have a product defect remedied at my own expense, they eschew any other responsibilities that they might have. I'm going down that road, and I have just phoned an experienced carpenter to fix the problem.

I'm venting here a bit, but I am also putting the issue here for discussion. I don't think that I am being unreasonable in expecting IKEA to put right a product problem at no financial cost to me, and without causing me serious inconvenience.

What do people think?

I would be pulling the hair out of my head, stamping my feet and generally furious.

After I had calmed down I would ring www.consumerconnect.ie and get their advice.

Another angle might be to write directly to [broken link removed] and let him know how disappointed you are in light of the glowing reports that you had heard from friends and on AAM about their excellent customer service.

Sue Ellen said:

I would be pulling the hair out of my head, stamping my feet and generally furious.

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Been there, done that! Had I posted last night a moderator would have deleted my post because of the language I would have used.

After I had calmed down I would ring www.consumerconnect.ie and get their advice.

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I went to their website, and found nothing there that seemed relevant. In particular, http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Guides-to-Consumer-Law/Shopping/faults.html seemed unhelpful, as it says: "Once you notice a fault with an item, you should return it as soon as possible to the seller and explain what has happened." No account seems to be taken of complications like assembling a product.

Another angle might be to write directly to [broken link removed] and let him know how disappointed you are in light of the glowing reports that you had heard from friends and on AAM about their excellent customer service.

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I might do that.

[The carpenter has been and gone. The problem is now solved. Twenty minutes' work. He made some proper money from me recently on a house renovation project, so he did this job as a goodwill gesture.]

When dealing with suppliers and complaints, it is always a good idea to have your ideal outcome in mind and a clear estimation of how likely it is to achieve it.

In this case, you might want IKEA to send someone to dismantle the furniture and then send for the right parts. Unfortunately very unlikely to happen. The IKEA business model hinges on flatpacked furniture with the customer doing a lot of the handiwork (and legwork) in exchange for low prices. Their returns policy is very reasonable within that framework. I found (in the UK) that they were very efficient in sending missing bits such as screws and hinges with no hassle.

Your solution was the most practical one in the circumstances.

Such is flatpack furniture......it has broken up marriages. It's a black art, with no regard logic.