Thread: Advice wanted re purchase of Blackwood Buffet

Sounds to me like they are trying to blow smoke up your butt.
Any good carpenter can make all timber doors that won't sag & blackwood is quite a stable timber & provided its properly dried it shouldn't warp at all.
If u contracted for "solid blackwood buffet and hutch" then there should be almost no MDF in it, sounds to me like they are taking short cuts to make them extra $$$

My Dad has recently purchased a heap of solid blackwood furniture from BevMarkz, no MDF that we can find yet.

Originally Posted by Les Caddaye

Hi All,
who is now telling me that no one makes solid doors etc because they will sag and warp due to weight.

He is having you on all right.

Les

Your order and quote was "order clearly states solid blackwood buffet and hutch to our design which was duly quoted on and accepted by us"

that is a legal contract and if not delivered as such is a breach of that contract.

Their changing the construction to use MDF is a straight breach of that agreement.

THem saying "no one makes solid doors etc because they will sag and warp due to weight" is beside the point as that should have been discussed by them with you before they made the quote and you agreeing to it. They do not legally have an option but supply a piece of furniture made of solid timber and MDF by its construction is not solid timber.

Legally they are in a big pile of dodo..
It is a simple case of contract law.

Originally Posted by Les Caddaye

It has taken a while to get hold of the supplier (not the manufacturer as yet), who is now telling me that no one makes solid doors etc because they will sag and warp due to weight. Are they having me on?

Absolute garbage. The solid blackwood doors on my sideboard are now about 140 years old - how much longer do I have to wait for them to sag?

Cultana is spot on, provided that you did not sign an acceptance form that states that the product delivered was in accordance with the order.

You need legal advice, costs dollars and the buffet supplier may turn out to be a man of straw even if you win, you can go to Consumer Affairs, you can proceed on your own and hope for satisfaction, or you can just write it off as an expensive learning exercise. If you do not mind being in the public spotlight you can even approach A Current Affair.

Good Luck

Graeme

Originally Posted by cultana

Legally they are in a big pile of dodo..
It is a simple case of contract law.

Not so. This has been a grey area for years and years. Unless the order states 100% Solid with NO man made board (wich I doubt it does) their will be nothing you can do. It only takes a certain % of solid timber to classify it as solid. The majority of commercial furniture makers for years have used solid on all horizontal surfaces, door frames and drawer fronts with the remainder veneered man made board.

Les, it’s not acceptable and you should contact VCAT and get their advice.

Originally Posted by Lignum

Not so. This has been a grey area for years and years. Unless the order states 100% Solid with NO man made board (wich I doubt it does) their will be nothing you can do.

Les, it’s not acceptable and you should contact VCAT and get their advice.

While product description and contract compliance is a very slippery area of law, are you sure on this, Lignum.

Suggesting that solid blackwood really means veneered chipboard does boggle the mind.

Cheers

Graeme

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

are you sure on this, Lignum.

Am sure, because i have worked for companies who have had customers "try" and take action over the very same thing. Thats why i think it will be good to try VCAT as their might be a chance the law has changed.

Hmmm. In my limited experiences with court matters the judges in the courts and tribunals take a dim view of any misleading statement - in fact even exaggerations are not taken too kindly. The judges are also lawyers and consumers, not furniture salesmen. They apply the common law principle of the "reasonable person test".

Such a test would not allow a shop to describe something as being solid blackwood and it not be so. The only time it would be acceptable, would be that in the ordinary parlance of most consumers (and not industry jargon), "solid wood" did in fact mean " veneered chipboard". The fact that they have duped many others will only make matters worse for them.

The catch to all this is to see it through. Crooks have thicker skins than most consumers and care nothing about threatened legal action. They will, however most likely do something if a court date has been set and they know the customer won't back down ( as most do)

I thank you all for the support, I may in fact quote a few of you to the supplier (no names of course), I like the VCAT option if I don't get some satisfaction beforehand, been there, done that and it does work. Going to have to wait until late next week when the suppliers boss gets back from holidays but you have all made me feel a touch better about fighting this. I'm am no expert furniture guru, but I'm certain some if not all of you are. I've discovered the joys of woodwork recently and hope to improve my knowledge and skills over time. Not a bad retirement hobby I'm hoping.

Cheers

What about some pictures of it?

Mean while cover it up under a dust cover and do not use it, if you end up returning it it will then be in pristeen condition

Hmmm.... Do you like the unit and workmanship? Does it look good? Does it meet your needs? Other than the use of man-made boards in places, does it meet all your other expectations?

While I agree it's wrong not to get what you paid for, perhaps it's not worth the hassle and agro of persuing it.

If you don't like the job they've done, or it varies significantly from what you were quoted, complain loudly.

Some photos and the cost you paid would help others here see if you've got "value for money".

ajw

Originally Posted by ajw

Some photos and the cost you paid would help others here see if you've got "value for money".

ajw

Great idea