How to return low-quality furniture: step-by-step instructions

When buying a kitchen set, a wardrobe, furniture for the living room, hallway, or bedroom, we hope that the seller (manufacturer) is responsible for the quality of the furniture sold or manufactured to order, the absence of defects, the agreement on the terms of delivery and assembly established by the contract.

But as often happens, behind the perfectly beautiful exhibition samples and the attitude of company employees towards the consumer, there is a terrible process of waiting for purchased furniture, delays in delivery and assembly, as well as shortcomings that, as a rule, are discovered at the time of delivery or during the assembly of furniture as a whole or its elements.

At the same time, the disadvantages of purchased furniture do not depend on the pricing policy of the furniture market segment - premium class or economy class.

Now we will talk about what can be demanded from the seller (manufacturer) if he has missed the deadline for production, delivery of furniture and/or there are deficiencies in it.

The law does not provide for the return or exchange of quality furniture that does not suit the size, color, texture, etc.

Request a refund? Return the furniture? Demand a penalty for late delivery? - You will find all the answers below .

We would like to immediately note the fact that household furniture and sets, although of adequate quality, are not subject to return or exchange, but are not suitable in size, shape, dimensions, etc. (clause 8 of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 19, 1998 No. 55) .

We remind you that the information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or an opinion, since any application of the law requires careful and detailed study.

If you have any questions, please contact our STD lawyer by phone: +7 (495) 741-84-78 , email: [email protected] or using the feedback form below.

Methods for selling furniture

2 ways to sell furniture - by samples or remotely.

The current legislation does not establish any prohibitions on the method of selling goods, that is, it does not limit the seller (manufacturer) to use any method to sell the furniture he produces. We will highlight the main and probably the most popular ways of selling furniture:

• sale of furniture by samples - involves direct familiarization of the consumer with the purchased product, which is located at the point of sale. The place of sale means showrooms, shops and other sites (Part 1 of Article 497 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 21, 1997 No. 918 “On approval of the rules for the sale of goods based on samples”)
• remote method of selling furniture - involves selling without direct familiarization of the consumer with furniture or its samples when concluding a purchase and sale agreement, including through booklets, catalogs, online stores, etc. (clause 2 of article 497)

Procedure for returning furniture with a defect (defect)

In order to return money for low-quality furniture without any problems, the buyer must adhere to a certain algorithm of actions provided by the legislator.

Step 1. Check the period provided by law for refusing a purchase

According to paragraph 1 of Art. 19 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights , the buyer has the right to refuse the sales contract and demand a refund for low-quality furniture:

1. during the warranty period;
2. within a reasonable time, but within 2 years from the date of delivery of the furniture, if the warranty period is not established.

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What legal provisions apply to the purchase of furniture?

The Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” contains 2 main chapters regulating the legal relations that arise between the consumer and the seller (manufacturer, performer) when:

• sale of goods (Article 18-26.2 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Protection of Consumer Rights”)
• performance of work and/or provision of services (Article 27-39.1 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”)

Furniture by its nature is a product and by default it is assumed that the legal relationship between the consumer and the seller is regulated by the provisions of Art. 18-26.2 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the agreement concluded between the parties.

However, what provisions of the law should be applied if the purchase of furniture is intended to be made to order - when selling goods or performing work/providing services?

Provisions regarding the performance of work or provision of services may apply to a contract for the sale of furniture.

If the purchase of furniture is intended to be made according to an individual order, then the provisions on the performance of work and/or provision of services should be applied to the legal relations of the parties to the contract (Article 27-39.1 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Protection of Consumer Rights”), since an individual order presupposes product parameters that are different from standard in size, color, etc.

That is, the contract for the purchase and sale of furniture must be in the nature of a mixed contract - it must contain conditions both for the purchase and sale and for the manufacture of furniture according to individual parameters.

In any case, it is possible to determine the existence of conditions for the purchase and sale and provision of services for the manufacture of custom-made furniture only after reading the terms of a particular contract. Only after this can the agreement be classified as mixed.

Consumer rights when returning furniture

When sending a pre-trial claim or going to court, the client has the right to demand the following:

1. Elimination of defects, replacement of goods. The seller is obliged to fulfill this requirement within 7 days from the receipt of the complaint. If the specified period is not enough and an examination is needed, everything can take up to 20 days. In the case of upholstered furniture based on the client’s design, an extended period for production and replacement is given - 1 month. All this is done for free.
2. Reduce the price of work performed. For example, if at the conclusion of the contract the buyer paid 50% of the cost, and must pay the same amount after receiving the goods. If defects are discovered, he can demand a price reduction and then use the money to fix the problem.
3. Request that the work be done again by returning the defective product to the seller.
4. Terminate the contract if the store does not eliminate minor deficiencies within the established time frame.
5. Refuse to fulfill the contract and demand a full refund if significant defects are found that make it impossible to use the furniture.

When you can't return

In accordance with Art. 25 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” , furniture sets and fittings without visible defects cannot be replaced. Before choosing a furniture set, you need to know exactly what you want (model, size, color).

If the furniture is made to order

By law, custom-made furniture can only be returned if it is of poor quality. This means:

• presence of chips, dents, cracks, abrasions;
• peeling of the facing layer;
• discrepancy between the dimensions established by the project;
• uneven color;
• curvature of elements;
• paintwork defects;
• defects in fabric, leather, or other material;
• asymmetry;
• problems with mechanism locks.

Custom-made furniture is always made according to individual measurements, and a contract is concluded between the parties. In this case, the manufacturer provides a service for the production of furniture, therefore Art . 28 and 29 of the Consumer Protection Law . Considering what is stated in these articles, you can return furniture in the following situations:

• a significant defect was found on the furniture;
• The repair period for a minor defect has been exceeded.

Important!

A significant furniture defect is an irreparable defect or defect that cannot be eliminated without disproportionate expense or time, or is detected repeatedly, or appears again after its elimination.

If the furniture is of good quality, but made according to the client’s order, it will not be possible to return it. The fact is that the effect of Art. 23 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights , applies only to goods purchased as a store sample. In this case, a person can return it or exchange it for a similar one, even if the color or style is not suitable. If the consumer made his own measurements, indicated the desired colors, style and other parameters in the project, it will not be possible to return it.

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Some “tricks” of the seller’s or manufacturer’s contract

Recently, a trend has been gaining momentum when sellers (manufacturers) of furniture stubbornly avoid conditions in contractual relations with consumers that indicate the manufacture of furniture.

A penalty of 3% of the contract price for each day of delay is possible.

As we said earlier, the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” contains 2 main chapters regulating legal relations in the sale of goods and the performance of work and/or provision of services.

The main difference in these chapters comes down to the financial responsibility that the seller (manufacturer) bears to the consumer in the following amounts:

• when selling goods, in accordance with Art. 23 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, that is, 1% of the price of the goods for each day of delay or in accordance with Art. 23.1 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, that is, 0.5% based on the preliminary amount of payment for the goods (for each day of delay)
• when performing work and/or providing services on the basis of Art. 31 and paragraph 5 of Art. 28 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, that is, 3% for each day of delay, based on the price of the work/service stage or the full price of the order, if the cost of the work/service stage has not been determined

Thus, sellers (manufacturers) of furniture are guided by economic benefits (reduction of penalties) in the event of a violation of contractual terms, therefore the subject of the contract can be exclusively the provisions on the purchase and sale of goods, without mentioning the provision of furniture manufacturing services.

Therefore, when signing an agreement, it is required to at least “quickly” familiarize yourself with its contents and understand the essence of its content.

Otherwise, it will be necessary to prove in court that the purchase and sale agreement is a mixed agreement containing the terms of both the agreement for the sale of goods and the agreement for the provision of paid services, as evidenced by the dispute of one of our clients with JSC Forema-Kukhni » on the collection of a penalty for violation of the terms of the contract for the manufacture of kitchen units.

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Furniture manufactured at the wrong time: what is the amount of penalty required by law?

On May 13, 2021, Alla from Kaliningrad entered into three contracts for the provision of furniture manufacturing services and made an advance payment of 160,000 rubles. The parties to the contract set the delivery time for furniture at 40 days, i.e. the woman was sure that she would receive her order at the end of June. She had no idea that for two months she would have to seek delivery of furniture and spend a lot of nerves and money.

Having received her order only in August 2021, Alla decided to punish the furniture manufacturer and collect a penalty, which was determined in the contract at 0.1%.

Having studied the documents submitted by the client, the lawyer of the “Unified Protection Center” prepared a claim against the manufacturer, in which, among other things, he indicated that the clause in the contract regarding the amount of the penalty of 0.1% infringes on the Customer’s right, because in accordance with paragraph 5 of Art. 28 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, in case of violation of the established deadlines for the performance of work (provision of a service) or new deadlines assigned by the consumer on the basis of paragraph 1 of this article, the contractor pays the consumer for each day (hour, if the period is defined in hours) of delay a penalty (fine) in the amount three percent of the price for performing the work (providing a service), and if the price for performing the work (providing a service) is not determined by the contract for performing the work (providing services) - the total price of the order.

As follows from the terms of the contract and additional agreements to it, the parties established a penalty of 0.1% for each day of delay for undelivered goods, but not more than 15% of the cost of the product. By virtue of the provisions of Part 1 of Art. 16 of the said law, contract terms that infringe on consumer rights in comparison with the rules established by laws or other legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of consumer rights protection are declared invalid.

Unfortunately, many sellers (manufacturers, performers) often do not understand that pre-trial settlement of a dispute can save them money, reputation and costs of litigation, therefore they leave buyers’ claims unanswered or refuse to enter into peaceful negotiations.

Due to the fact that our claim was ignored, the lawyer went to court and, in addition to collecting a legal penalty, included demands for a fine, compensation for moral damage and expenses for the services of a representative.

Having considered civil case No. 2-1562/2021, the Leningradsky District Court of Kaliningrad decided to recognize the clauses in service contracts for the collection of a penalty in the amount of 0.1% as invalid, as infringing on the rights of the consumer.

He also collected from the individual entrepreneur in favor of Alla a penalty for late production and delivery of furniture in the amount of 227,300 rubles, compensation for moral damage in the amount of 5,000 rubles, a fine of 116,150 rubles, and representative services - 10,000 rubles.

Thus, having received an advance payment of 160,000 rubles from the client, the unscrupulous furniture manufacturer lost 358,450 rubles.

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18.05.2021

Requirements that may be presented to the seller

If the terms of the contract are violated, you should not demand everything at once.

If we consider furniture as a product, the consumer, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 18 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” may require the seller (manufacturer):

• replacement with an identical product;
• replacement with the same product, but of a different brand, taking into account recalculation;
• reduce the price of furniture (proportionately);
• eliminate identified furniture defects or reimburse the costs of their correction by the consumer or a third party;
• terminate the contract with subsequent return of the amount paid;
• penalty, in the manner and within the time limits established by Art. 23 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, which is 1% of the price of the goods for each day of delay or in accordance with Art. 23.1 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, which is 0.5% based on the amount of payment (preliminary) for the goods (for each day of delay).

If we consider furniture as a product that requires custom manufacturing, the consumer, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 28 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” may require the seller (manufacturer):

• set a new deadline if the furniture was not manufactured within the period established by the contract;
• entrust the furniture manufacturing service to third parties, observing the principle of a reasonable price, or perform it yourself and demand compensation from the seller for expenses incurred;
• demand a reduction in the price of the product;
• refuse to perform the contract;
• penalty provided for in Art. 31 and paragraph 5 of Art. 28 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, which is 3% for each day of delay of the price of the contract or the corresponding stage.

But it must be taken into account that the choice of the requirements indicated above must be presented based on the actual circumstances of the case and the terms of the contract. It is not possible to include all requirements in a claim at once.

How can I get my money back if I haven’t received it?

If the seller does not deliver the furniture, the buyer should make a written claim indicating the seller’s violation of the contract between him and the buyer.

The seller is obliged to return the money within 10 days after submitting a written claim.

If the seller refuses to fulfill the customer’s requirements, then the only remaining way to return the money is to file a claim with the seller in court.

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Thus, furniture is practically no different from other consumer goods; the conditions for its return are regulated by Russian legislation.

The buyer has the right to return or exchange furniture if the terms of the contract are violated, be it the terms of its implementation, conditions or the item.

Exchange or return of low-quality furniture is possible within the warranty period, and furniture that is incomplete or does not comply with the contract is possible if such a fact is indicated in the acceptance certificate.

Returns of high-quality but unsuitable furniture are limited to 14 days and the product category (does not apply to furniture sets). In case of violation of these conditions by the seller, the buyer has the right to appeal to the judicial authorities.

A sample statement of claim to the court for the return of money for furniture.