Furniture company fined for 'misdescribed' doors

Interstyle Fine Furniture have been fined a total of £1,500 for selling bedroom fitted furniture with MDF doors and drawer fronts described as Solid Cherry.

Castlereagh Magistrates Court in Newtownards on 28 August 2002 heard that two local businessmen, Peter Ford Gillies and David Daltry, trading as Interstyle Fine Furniture, had sold and supplied fitted furniture to a retired couple. The doors and drawer fronts were described as being made of “Solid Cherry”.

The Magistrate had the defendants, who did not appear before the court, called on two occasions before passing judgement and setting the penalties. The Magistrate, Mr Murphy imposed a fine £250 on each count plus costs of expert witnesses £338.06 split between defendants and Court costs of £28.00 each.

Peter Ford Gillies the salesman who applied the descriptions to the fitted furniture sold to the retired couple faced two charges of applying the false descriptions to the furniture.

David Daltry owner of Interstyle Fine Furniture, faced two charges relating to the descriptions applied by Mr Gillies, his employee, and two charges relating to the supply of the doors and drawers made from the wrong material.

The court heard that after the furniture was installed in the couple’s home it was discovered that the doors and drawer fronts were made of MDF (medium density fibre board) veneered with Cherry. The company refused to change the items to the correct material.

The couple reported the matter to Trading Standards Service who investigated the alleged misdescriptions as offences under Section 1 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968.

(SP)