Having things I don't own ....
Discussion
TL:DR Stuff has been delivered AFTER I have been given a refund by the company who supplied it. What do I do?
Tricky one this. I'm looking for legal and moral advice (I know, wrong place to go looking, eh?)
I have some car wheels, which I took to a local wheel refurbishers. I left them there, and ordered some new tyres for the refurbishers to fit to them when they were done. I used one of the on-line tyre supply places which I have used before, and who were good. I but the delivery address as that of the wheel refurbishers.
It turns out that the on-line tyre supplier is now bad .... very bad, and the online reviews are most clear about this. The 'delivery within 7-5 working days' was apparently a work of fiction and after a couple of weeks I contacted them, first by 'phone (which they don't answer, but they do have a completely useless AI chatbot), then online (via their on-line chat service on their website, which has no humans on it but it does have a completely useless AI chatbot. Spot the theme?)
After having sent two complaints eMails (both unanswered), they sent me an automated eMail to say that 'my delivery was delayed, but would arrive by 1st April'. So last week I logged on to the on-line AI chatbot and said I wanted to cancel the order. Which it did - immediately, and eMailed me to that effect. My bank eMailed later that day to say that I had been refunded, and I duly trogged off and bought some nearly-identical tyres from another tyre supplier.
Tyre Supplier #2 delivered the tyres on Monday - 3 working days later. Wheel refurbisher fitted them to my wheels. All well and good.
Tyre Supplier #1 eMailed me yesterday to say that despite having refunded me, they had delivered my order so would I like to pay for the tyres OR make arrangements for them to be returned? I replied to say that I didn't think they had been delivered; would they please send proof of delivery? They haven't replied (but that was only yesterday).
I collected the wheels (with tyres from Tyre Supplier #2) today. They look beautiful. I'm very happy. But the refurbisher asked what I wanted to do with the other set of tyres which had been delivered for me on Tuesday ....
That other set of tyres does exist. I saw them when I collected the wheels. And they are with the refurbisher. What do I do?
The supplier (Tyre Supplier #1) doesn't answer their 'phones and won't reply to eMails. But I have been repaid for the tyres and therefore they aren't mine. I don't think that the supplier has proof of delivery but that doesn't matter - I'm not disputing that the tyres have been delivered.
The wheel refurbishers have lots of space and are currently being very amenable about storing them for a while. But I don't want to trespass on their good nature and don't intend to ask them for more of a favour than they are currently giving me. (And they have no use for the tyres - I asked!
)
What are my obligations, legal and moral?
I think that I am an 'involuntary bailee' and that I can give the supplier 2 weeks to collect the goods, at my convenience, and if they don't collect them within this time I can dispose of them and charge them for the disposal. The supplier (Tyre Supplier #1) is based in Germany and my strong suspicion is that it will be more faff for them to collect them than the tyres are worth to them, but that's by-the-by.
I guess that I can eMail them, laying out the 2-weeks-to-collect-them offer and I then wait to see what happens. Can anyone shed any light on whether this is right/legal/too grasping? Or if you have better suggestions I'd love to hear them!
Thanks!
Tricky one this. I'm looking for legal and moral advice (I know, wrong place to go looking, eh?)
I have some car wheels, which I took to a local wheel refurbishers. I left them there, and ordered some new tyres for the refurbishers to fit to them when they were done. I used one of the on-line tyre supply places which I have used before, and who were good. I but the delivery address as that of the wheel refurbishers.
It turns out that the on-line tyre supplier is now bad .... very bad, and the online reviews are most clear about this. The 'delivery within 7-5 working days' was apparently a work of fiction and after a couple of weeks I contacted them, first by 'phone (which they don't answer, but they do have a completely useless AI chatbot), then online (via their on-line chat service on their website, which has no humans on it but it does have a completely useless AI chatbot. Spot the theme?)
After having sent two complaints eMails (both unanswered), they sent me an automated eMail to say that 'my delivery was delayed, but would arrive by 1st April'. So last week I logged on to the on-line AI chatbot and said I wanted to cancel the order. Which it did - immediately, and eMailed me to that effect. My bank eMailed later that day to say that I had been refunded, and I duly trogged off and bought some nearly-identical tyres from another tyre supplier.
Tyre Supplier #2 delivered the tyres on Monday - 3 working days later. Wheel refurbisher fitted them to my wheels. All well and good.
Tyre Supplier #1 eMailed me yesterday to say that despite having refunded me, they had delivered my order so would I like to pay for the tyres OR make arrangements for them to be returned? I replied to say that I didn't think they had been delivered; would they please send proof of delivery? They haven't replied (but that was only yesterday).
I collected the wheels (with tyres from Tyre Supplier #2) today. They look beautiful. I'm very happy. But the refurbisher asked what I wanted to do with the other set of tyres which had been delivered for me on Tuesday ....
That other set of tyres does exist. I saw them when I collected the wheels. And they are with the refurbisher. What do I do?
The supplier (Tyre Supplier #1) doesn't answer their 'phones and won't reply to eMails. But I have been repaid for the tyres and therefore they aren't mine. I don't think that the supplier has proof of delivery but that doesn't matter - I'm not disputing that the tyres have been delivered.
The wheel refurbishers have lots of space and are currently being very amenable about storing them for a while. But I don't want to trespass on their good nature and don't intend to ask them for more of a favour than they are currently giving me. (And they have no use for the tyres - I asked!
) What are my obligations, legal and moral?
I think that I am an 'involuntary bailee' and that I can give the supplier 2 weeks to collect the goods, at my convenience, and if they don't collect them within this time I can dispose of them and charge them for the disposal. The supplier (Tyre Supplier #1) is based in Germany and my strong suspicion is that it will be more faff for them to collect them than the tyres are worth to them, but that's by-the-by.
I guess that I can eMail them, laying out the 2-weeks-to-collect-them offer and I then wait to see what happens. Can anyone shed any light on whether this is right/legal/too grasping? Or if you have better suggestions I'd love to hear them!
Thanks!
Edited by 2Btoo on Thursday 26th March 18:23
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