Zanussi Integrated dishwasher - £94 delivered @ B&Q Possible misprice

As far as I am aware, purchases made via the internet should be received within 30 days of the order. The person/company also has 30 days from the order date to refund you, if they are no longer able to fulfill your order. No reason has to be given.

mattwallisuk wrote: »

At the end of the day almost none of you are going to get this, and none of you are going to take B&Q to court and win. So you may as well call up and claim your refunds. Get over it, it didnt work out.

You are probably right but as my money isn't needed right now and it'll be making very little in interest I'm going to see how long it takes for B&Q to contact me. They discovered the problem on Monday at the latest. It's now Wednesday. A quick email to all purchasers explaining the problem would have been polite.

zenseeker wrote: »

No they wouldn't, they stand legally. Any online retailer can, quite legally, back out of a sale at any point prior to despatch, every company has that clause. They may enter into a contract with you when they charge the card, but they can sever that contract by handing your money back to you, and there is nothing that you can do about it.

Another example:

http://www.superdrug.com/page/termsandconditions

Yes, many retailers may have a similar clause, but it doesn't make it a lawful one.

MSE was founded on the principle that just because a company puts something in writing, it doesn't make it legally enforceable (i.e. bank charges). A similar principle applies to these exclusion clauses in online retailer T&Cs. They put these dodgy terms in because they are "trying it on", in the knowledge that most people won't have the confidence to sue.

As I have already said, B&Q's exclusion clause would fall foul of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 on numerous counts.

Here are just a few relevant examples of terms that are unfair, as specified in the regulations:

inappropriately excluding or limiting the legal rights of the consumer vis-a-vis the seller or supplier or another party in the event of total or partial non-performance or inadequate performance by the seller or supplier of any of the contractual obligations

making an agreement binding on the consumer whereas provision of services by the seller or supplier is subject to a condition whose realisation depends on his own will alone

authorising the seller or supplier to dissolve the contract on a discretionary basis

excluding or hindering the consumer's right to take legal action or exercise any other legal remedy

There is also the small matter of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 which says that a party dealing on its standard terms of business can not by reference to any contract term exclude or restrict any liability of his in respect of the breach or claim to be entitled to render no performance at all.

Just think about the logic behind your assertion. You are saying that B&Q can insert a clause saying "this contract is not binding upon us". But the whole point of a contract is to bring an element of certainty and guarantee to an agreement between parties! If these clauses were allowed to prevail, all contracts would then become completely meaningless! That's why the above pieces of legislation exist.

Spoke to one of the managers this pm. Said had received a number of calls. Had previously spoken to one of his senior managers, and said they were seeking advice from their lawyers. Said will contact me tomorrow, but will not hold my breath as he failed to call me back today.
Appear to be lots of opinions on here regarding their liability. Is there anybody with legal knowledge who can confirm what we are entitled too???

zenseeker wrote: »

If the contract was so solidly binding then they could force you to accept delivery of the goods because you entered into a contract, but you have the right to end that contract, and so do they.

Surely it's simply due to the right of an individual to return goods under the distance selling regulations that it's pointless of them to try and force you to accept delivery.

'The contract between us will only be formed when we send you the Dispatch Confirmation.'

It matters not a jot what they say on their website. If the law states that a contract is formed on payment then thats the law.

I like that they are talking with their lawyers...lol. We need some legal clout behind us. Just a shame lawyers are all rich and don't frequent the MSE boards!