Quick one for the lawyers

[vitesse2000]

We are doing a self-build house, and are having problems getting the planning office specific roof tiles.

We had tiles on order with a company that said on the phone they could definitely deliver the exact tiles in 5-7 days, so we paid up the £1800 odd up front. After the due date had past, we contacted them and they said there was a supply issue, and they could not deliver for at least a month. Understandably, with the way British weather is, we didn’t want to wait for them and also the trust has gone regarding promises of delivery dates so we told them to cancel the order and refund. This they agreed to, but when the money was returned it was minus 5% (£90) so called admin charge.

At no time were we told there would be any charge, no T&Cs ever shown/told, they failed to live up to their initial promise of delivery, so peeved they have made this deduction. Every time we ring them about this we get the runaround and it’s over a week of empty promises to sort it.

What can I do about this? Surely they should have told us at point of order that cancelled orders would collect a charge and they have done FA for their £90 other than empty promises...

I know it’s only £90 but I’m so annoyed at their behaviour and want ideas of a stick to beat them with to get that money back - BTW both parties are in England, the roofing supplier in the Midlands, and I’m in Surrey

Thanks

[GreatGranny]

It's only £90.

You're probably under enough stress as it is doing a self build so why pile on any more.

Yes annoying but ultimately better for your sanity :-)

[Pica-Pica]

Was a time scale in the contract?

[vitesse2000]

We did stress that we wanted delivery in that time scale as other suppliers needed more time - we trusted them... mistakenly

And all this was by phone, so no written evidence of timescale

Edited by vitesse2000 on Thursday 25th October 12:07

[AndyTR]

You could go down the MCOL route, but stick to the guidelines for pre-action conduct - www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/ru... (see para 6)

[Eddieslofart]

Any tile supplier that told you a week was pulling one.

Even though yours is only a small order, they still shouldn’t have took your money on the basis of a week delivery.

We’re pre ordering circa 30,000 a month at the minute 4 weeks in advance, and thats on most tile types.

Slate is 2-3 weeks on non specials.

[jamei303]

All done by phone? Distance selling regulation apply - cancel within 14 days and owe nothing.

[George Smiley]

jamei303 said:

All done by phone? Distance selling regulation apply - cancel within 14 days and owe nothing.

Unless it's for a custom / bespoke/ specailst serive

[vitesse2000]

All done by phone, not a specialist tile ( a common Marley double Roman ) and cancelled after 13 days - it also stated on the emailed invoice the 5-7 day delivery, and crucially for me the terms and conditions regarding refunds were only linked to on the email invoice, which was AFTER the money was taken - no mention of any Ts and Cs during the call.

We had a call from them this afternoon and they are refusing to refund that withheld 5%.

I need to be sure I’m saying the right things when I get back to them tomorrow, either by phone or “notice before action” letter

If I can be pointed to the right legislation I hopefully can put this one to bed and get my cash back

[George Smiley]

Follow the mcol guidance, write to them and then confirm on the phone if you wish.