B.C. resident's legal fight claims Wayfair delivery caused emotional distress
A B.C. resident ordered a bed through the popular digital furniture storefront Wayfair and wasn’t very satisfied with the results.
According to a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, the B.C. resident, SG, bought a bed and claimed that Wayfair didn’t deliver it by the promised delivery date.
She said that the delay in its arrival caused “significant disruption, inconvenience, stress and anxiety, emotional distress, and physical hardship.”
For those reasons, she claimed $1,500 in damages.
In response to the accusations, Wayfair told the tribunal that it doesn’t guarantee delivery dates. It also said that SG could’ve requested a refund after the late delivery, but she didn’t.
Wayfair added that SG didn’t indicate that there was anything wrong with the bed once she received it and put it together.
SG ordered the bed on June 30, 2024. The bed cost $773.11. She claims that Wayfair promised delivery by July 3, 2024.
Wayfair used FedEx to ship the bed, which was delivered in two parcels, one on July 15 and one on July 23, 2024.
SG started the dispute on July 20, three days before FedEx delivered the second parcel.
On July 19, 2024, SG called Wayfair, trying to cancel the order.
“The notes show that Wayfair told [SG] part of the order was still in transit and FedEx had an open inquiry into it,” the tribunal decision reads.
Wayfair informed SG that it couldn’t cancel the order until FedEx completed the inquiry or the second parcel arrived. It also informed SG that she could return the bed for a refund once the second parcel arrived or if FedEx confirmed it was lost.
SG admitted that she did not return the bed after the second parcel arrived. She claimed she had no choice but to assemble it due to the prolonged wait and lack of resolution from the online furniture company.
The tribunal said that it did “not accept” that SG had no choice and said she could’ve returned the bed but chose not to.
For her claim, SG relied on the order confirmation from Wayfair, which stated that the estimated delivery date was July 3, 2024. The tribunal did not view the estimated date as a guarantee.
Additionally, after Wayfair sent the confirmation to SG, it actually updated the shipping date to July 16, because the item was on back order.
SG admitted that she was notified that the item was on backorder, and the tribunal said she could have cancelled the order after that, or any time before it was shipped on July 12. SG failed to do so and did not explain to the tribunal why. The B.C. tribunal decision states that instead, she contacted Wayfair on July 2 to see if she could get the bed sooner.
The tribunal also pointed out that the only evidence SG offered for her claims was an assertion that she had to have a large box sitting “in the way in her living room for eight days.”
SG’s claims were dismissed, and she was awarded $0.