Business ProfileforD.O.T. Furniture Ltd

I purchased two new black outdoor patio umbrellas from DOT Furniture in Hamilton on June 27, 2022. Total cost $282.50. The patio umbrellas were used in typical fashion on our patio until mid October 2022. They were stored indoors for the winter until May 2023. The umbrellas saw roughly 4 ½ months use. When setting up our patio furniture in May this spring we had noticed how much the two umbrellas had faded. In DOT's own language, the fading was "excessive,” and with no exaggeration, the best description for the two umbrellas now might be purple tie-died. We brought the issue to the attention of DOT Hamilton staff by taking the two umbrellas to the Hamilton store in May 2023. The staff at the Hamilton store appeared sympathetic but said any warranty decision was up to the head office. They sent head office an email on our behalf. After a bit of prodding, the head office acknowledged but ultimately denied our warranty claim. In the email denying our claim DOT stated “Dot warranty does not cover fading.” In fact the DOT warranty states it does not cover “normal fading.” I believe the term “normal fading” is key to this issue. Patio umbrellas are intended to be used outdoors in the sun. We expect years of use from these. Granted not a lifetime of trouble-free fade-free use … but years. Normal fading should also take years, not weeks. It is my belief that DOT”s denial of this claim is arbitrary and overly harsh. This is not “normal fading,” and DOT would never state to any prospective customer that an umbrella completely changing it’s color in one season is “normal.” I am asking you to intervene in my issue with DOT Furniture. Patio umbrellas should realistically last at least five to seven years as have all our previous umbrellas. These needed replacing after one year. I expect DOT to stand behind its products, and I firmly believe a refund is in order. Perhaps a pro-rated refund as we did get most of one season’s use from the umbrellas. An 80% refund is fair.