Contact the retailer with evidence of damage

As soon as you see there’s a problem, let the retailer know and confirm any conversations in writing – we recommend doing this by email. If you have a camera handy, take photos of the damage straight away so that you have a full record of the problem.

Acting quickly will ensure you retain all your rights provided by the Consumer Rights Act, in particular the right to reject an item. If you bought your goods before 1 October 2015, you have the same rights under the Sale of Goods Act.

Acting quickly also helps you avoid a situation where a seller might try to claim that the damage must have been caused by you.

If a retailer does try and pin blame on you for any damage, the onus is on the retailer to prove this within the first six months of you receiving your goods.

Whether you bought your goods online or arranged delivery in person when you were in store, you shouldn’t be told to take up your damaged goods complaint with the courier company. Nor should you be told that you’ll need to claim on the courier company’s insurance.

If your goods are damaged during delivery, in the eyes of the law you have a faulty goods claim, and as such you have the right to a refund, repair or replacement.

You can use this letter template to request damaged goods be repaired or replaced.

Legally a faulty goods claim can be raised by customer within 30 of receipt of goods.

Personally I think you are being taken for a ride as anybody who received damaged goods would usually contact seller right away, not waited 3 weeks from delivery but as Monkey_UK said you will have to accept it’s return and issue a refund, or face further issues.