Consumer Rights: MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

Art_2

ilesmark wrote: »

Hi all - am having trouble getting my head around a consumer issue.

The common law position, as far as I am aware, is that if you have made a contract, you are bound to deliver the specific good/service at the price agreed. So if I ordered something from a seller and the seller agreed to supply it at the price given, it would not be open to the seller to turn around and charge a higher price on the basis that their own supplier had upped its price, or the work had been unexpectedly onerous or whatever. Unless of course there was provision in the contract that allowed this.

To this end, compensation in the event of a breach of contract is designed to put you in the position you would have been in had the breach not occurred. So if, for eg, one had engaged a fitter to install a kitchen and he didn't do it - or didn't do it properly - then you would be entitled to the extra cost over and above the contractual price to get someone else to come in and do the kitchen, or put right the faulty workmanship of the original fitter.

Thus, a few years ago I ordered a part for my car and the seller sent the wrong part and then tried to charge me more for the correct one. I argued that I had made a contract for a specific part for a specific price and that the seller was bound to honour this rather than charge me a higher price; grudgingly, the seller did so.

Last year I bought a SatNav from a retailer and it broke; the retailer offered me my money back but I said I wanted a replacement. The only identical replacement left was no longer in the sale and the price had gone up - again I argued that I had made a contract for a specific SatNav for a specific price and again the retailer eventually gave me the replacement without charging extra.

So far so good. But a couple of months ago, I bought a pair of trousers in a sale from a shop. The fabric wore out very fast and when I took them back the retailer agreed they were defective and offered me a refund. I said I wanted a replacement, but the only (identical) replacement left was by this time at a higher price, just as with the SatNav. But this time, when I argued that I had made a contract for a specific garment for a specific price, the retailer refused to give me the replacement without charging extra.

I have spoken to Consumer Direct about this and they say the retailer is in the right.

They also said I was mistaken about the legal position in the case of the car bit and the GPS - I had merely been 'lucky'.

Can anyone explain?

Mark

You were certainly lucky in the case of the Sat nav and the car part. In law the retailer is only responsible for refunding the actual cost you paid. He could if he wanted to even deduct a percentage to represent the time you have had use of the article.

Regards,
Art.

ilesmark

Art - so I know for the future, can you explain which piece of law we are talking about here? Am having difficulty understanding the distinction between the situations of the car part / satnav and that of the kitchen fitter. I actually know people who have successfully sued builders for the excess cost of putting right work that has been done badly. I work for a council and certainly if some supplier of ours had accepted an order to supply us with some widgets at a given price and then tried to up the price we would tell them to take a running jump - again, I have seen this happen.

Surely the same principle ie putting you in the position you would have been in had the contract not been breached, applies when the seller breaches the contract by supplying faulty goods?

hayley11

ilesmark wrote: »

Art - so I know for the future, can you explain which piece of law we are talking about here? Am having difficulty understanding the distinction between the situations of the car part / satnav and that of the kitchen fitter. I actually know people who have successfully sued builders for the excess cost of putting right work that has been done badly. I work for a council and certainly if some supplier of ours had accepted an order to supply us with some widgets at a given price and then tried to up the price we would tell them to take a running jump - again, I have seen this happen.

Surely the same principle ie putting you in the position you would have been in had the contract not been breached, applies when the seller breaches the contract by supplying faulty goods?

Sorry to butt in but under the sale of goods act, they have to offer repair, replacement or refund, but they don't have to offer you something "better" if the item you originally bought is unavailable.

I'm confused about how the example regarding the widgets is relevant to your situations with the satnav and car part. When you buy something from mail order or online, suppliers are within their rights to change their price, as long as they inform the customer before the goods are delivered.

Perhaps have a read of the Sale of Goods Act and also the Supply of Goods and Services Act? You can find links to them here.

ilesmark

The item I originally bought - or rather an identical one - WAS available in the case of the SatNav. It wasn't a higher spec one but the retailer had merely reverted to the original pre-sale price.

Re the widgets, we hadn't ordered them via mail order or online and as a council, we weren't dealing as a consumer. Do these 2 factors make a difference? We insisted that we had made a contract for a specific widget for a specific price and that the seller was bound to honour this - the seller did.

Art_2

ilesmark wrote: »

The item I originally bought - or rather an identical one - WAS available in the case of the SatNav. It wasn't a higher spec one but the retailer had merely reverted to the original pre-sale price.

Re the widgets, we hadn't ordered them via mail order or online and as a council, we weren't dealing as a consumer. Do these 2 factors make a difference? We insisted that we had made a contract for a specific widget for a specific price and that the seller was bound to honour this - the seller did.

The council is not covered by the sale of Goods Act. Obviously if it was a valued customer the supplier may have sorted the problem out in order to protect future business.

To go back to your original problem if you paid £x for something then this is all you will be refunded even if the product has increased in price.

Regards,
Art.

ilesmark

Hi Art. We and the supplier were certainly under the impression that they sorted the problem out because they had to. This was confirmed by the council's legal department. They made a loss money and haven't supplied us since - at least, not my department.

So is the situation with the Satnav (and the trousers) different because the goods have already been supplied and have then proved defective?

Sorry I am hammering away at this but I did a law degree a few years ago and can't quite square this with what I learned (and passed the degree with!)

Art_2

ilesmark wrote: »

Hi Art. We and the supplier were certainly under the impression that they sorted the problem out because they had to. This was confirmed by the council's legal department. They made a loss money and haven't supplied us since - at least, not my department.

So is the situation with the Satnav (and the trousers) different because the goods have already been supplied and have then proved defective?

Sorry I am hammering away at this but I did a law degree a few years ago and can't quite square this with what I learned (and passed the degree with!)

I think you answered your own question. When you contacted Consumer Direct they said you were lucky with the outcome with the Sat Nav and car part.

Regards,
Art.

Ollock

I've got a potential issue, I purchased a sofa and chair from DFS today, I measured the space before I signed anything and got the guy to give me the measurements, however, when I get home I look at the measurements on the web there's an additional 5 cm he forgot to tell me about on the chair...which means it won't fit.

How do I stand here? Can I go back and say "I can't have the chair, you told me the wrong size"?... For what it's worth i'm not going to cancel the sofa, literally just the chair.

To clarify, this was about 2pm today, they surely can't have gone too far with the order to ammend it?!!

I'm properly worried about this as legally I think I haven't got a leg to stand on!

HELP!!!!

Art_2

Ollock wrote: »

I've got a potential issue, I purchased a sofa and chair from DFS today, I measured the space before I signed anything and got the guy to give me the measurements, however, when I get home I look at the measurements on the web there's an additional 5 cm he forgot to tell me about on the chair...which means it won't fit.

How do I stand here? Can I go back and say "I can't have the chair, you told me the wrong size"?... For what it's worth i'm not going to cancel the sofa, literally just the chair.

To clarify, this was about 2pm today, they surely can't have gone too far with the order to ammend it?!!

I'm properly worried about this as legally I think I haven't got a leg to stand on!

HELP!!!!

Speak to them first thing in the morning and explain the problem. They should be able to stop the order going through.

Regards,
Art.

Ollock

Art wrote: »

Speak to them first thing in the morning and explain the problem. They should be able to stop the order going through.

Regards,
Art.

Thanks, I'm hoping they will understand the situation, I've just heard they will try and be as by the book as possible, all I want is a reasonable outcome....

I hope i'll be posting with a positive result.