AN unhappy customer has mounted a campaign against a furniture shop to get back a £200 deposit she paid for a settee.

Annette McLaren bought a settee and footstool from SCS in Crewe and paid a £200 deposit, but later discovered on her receipt that they were 'part-used'.

Concerned that the goods were second hand Annette, from Winsford, returned to the store and asked for her money back. But the store refused to return her deposit.

She has now resorted to desperate measures to get her money back including:

Taking a film-maker into the store with her to tape an argument between her and the manager.

Urging customers not to buy anything because some goods are part-used.

Sitting outside the store with her wheelchair-bound mother telling people not to go inside because says she was "badly treated".

Annette, of Welsh Lane, explained why she wants her money back: "I agreed to buy the furniture for £1,090 and gave the company a £200 deposit. However when I got my receipt I noticed it said 'part-used' on it. I asked the sales assistant what this meant and he said it had been delivered to somebody's house but it was the wrong colour and was returned the same day.

"I went back home and showed the receipt to a friend and she said the settee was probably second hand. I returned to the shop and asked them to check their records to see how long the settee had been in somebody else's home.

"We discovered it was 22 days and I was not happy with this. I asked for my deposit back but they refused."

Upholstery specialists SCS confirmed that they would not return Annette's deposit, but said they would allow her to reselect another suite to the same value of the original.

David Knight, merchandise director at SCS, said: "We explained to the customer at the point of sale that the goods were part-used and she signed a customer inspection sheet which stated the same thing.

"This lady was particularly vocal in the store and that did involve swearing. Our manager Karl Lumsdon tried to remain calm. But we are not prepared to have someone in the store like this creating a disruptive atmosphere when we are trying to help them out.

"However, should she want to talk about this reasonably we would be happy to discuss the situation with her."

"I believe we have acted in a professional manner throughout this whole transaction," he added.

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