DFS cancellation procedure--HELP!!!!

unholyangel

DonB786 wrote: »

Once the product is recieved and signed for, until this is done it is not a valid contract.

The fact you have contracted them for work and they have started that work is enough for them to sue for breach of contract.

While it may stop matters in the short term, they have 6 years to legally chase the debt.

As for the direct debit.....you can cancel these at any time! But as stated if you cancel the direct debit then you'll still owe the money.

I think you're possibly getting confused that a cooling off period applies and that the distance selling regulations apply. Which they dont for agreements made at the traders normal place of business. See below:

Credit Agreements

You will only benefit from a cooling off period if the credit agreement was made in one of the following ways:

- For agreements signed away from the creditor’s normal business premises – i.e. at your home, place of work or at an exhibition stand
- For agreements made at a distance (online, by phone or by post)


On MSE we give opinions, not advice. Advice is something you can be be held liable for so i would seriously consider this before stating that you have found a "legal" loophole. Furthermore, if what you claim is indeed fact, please quote and link to the relative regulations so we can all see you arent speaking utter crap.

bigbulldog

DFS will not release your order for sofa's to be made until your finance has been approved.

And not meaning to sound harsh,but that's a fact as every finance order is subject to finance being approved whether its a sofa from dfs or furniture village or any other retailer.

shaun_from_Africa

Once the product is recieved and signed for, until this is done it is not a valid contract

.

Probably the most misleading and incorrect sentence I think I have ever read on MSE.
A contract is formed and is valid once it has been signed for by all the parties concerned.
The delivery and signing for is simply one part of the contract being carried out.
If you want to confirm this, send a quick e-mail to Trading standards or the OFT asking them for their opinion.

Another way to confirm it is to consider the Distance selling regulations.
A consumer can generally cancel a contract within 7 days of receiving the goods or before they have received them, and in both cases they have to inform the seller of their desire to cancel.
If as you (wrongly) state, a contract isn't valid until the goods have been received and signed for, why is there still a requirement for the buyer to cancel the contract if they had not received their goods?

How about when you buy a new car, sign the contract and pay a deposit.
If you pull out, the dealer is legally entitled to keep some or all of the deposit paid to cover any costs or losses that they have incurred due to you changing your mind.
If the contract wasn't formed then this would be illegal and you should get you full deposit refunded.

somethingcorporate

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

A contract is formed and is valid once it has been signed for by all the parties concerned.

Even this is inaccurate, a contract can be an oral agreement as well as a written document.

Only certain types of contracts (witnessed deeds iirc) need to be written down.

shaun_from_Africa

I realise that something.., but I just mentioned written contracts as that was what DonB786 was referring to.
As you rightly say, verbal contracts can be as binding as written ones, but actually proving what was agreed by the people concerned can be far harder than a written agreement.

DonB786

DFS Cancellation Loophole

Hi Guys,

The points here whether you guys think so or not or whether its legal or not, are the experiences from other people who have gone through these circumstances proves ALL you guys absolutly wrong as they have not had to pay anything or are being chased due to goods not being recieved and signed for.

However, this information I'm getting on MSE about certain peoples reply clearly shows that having experience in life gets you a much better and futher overview/understanding of life as suppose to someone who hasn't got experience (thats another topic).

I suppose it depends on whether the company thinks its better to spend money on resources chasing someone who hasn't accepted the goods but signed the contract or keep spending money on re-delivering Big Bulky Sofa's and furniture (I guess it's not cheap re-delivering these types of items) to the cancelling customer or just re-selling the goods to someone else...what d'you guys think they would do as a company???!!!...

Experience shared, now depends on people who read these threads whether they take on board these expreiences or not or whether to put it into action or not, never the less its upto the reader!!! After all I thought forums is where people discuss certain subjects, experiences and get and give advice on etc...

DonB786

I'm sorry 'shaun from Africa', but for a contract to be valid both parties have to up hold thier side of the contract, in this case the company delivering the goods and in good nick and the customer recieving, checking and signing for the goods. So going back to what I have stated in my first reply to this subject, was even after informing the company you wish to cancel and your delivery STILL turns up...etc etc... this is how they manage to up hold thier customers side of the contract by not paying for something they have not recieved, checked and signed for. How can you pay for something you have not recieved, checked and signed for!!!??? Please answer this question!!!? Also 'shaun from Africa', you make it sound like ALL contracts are the same!!! Also its OBVIOUS that you will lose your DEPOSIT should you wish to cancel after you have paid your deposit!!!

George_Michael

Where to begin?

Once the product is recieved and signed for, until this is done it is not a valid contract

So what about items bought on credit, HP, etc?
The buyer and seller sign a contract, and even if the goods are not yet in the buyers possession, the contract is still valid and can only be terminated in certain circumstances.

was even after informing the company you wish to cancel and your delivery STILL turns up...etc etc... this is how they manage to up hold thier customers side of the contract by not paying for something they have not recieved, checked and signed for.

Some items can not be cancelled once ordered, and irrespective of informing the seller before delivery, the buyer can still be held liable for the cost.

Also its OBVIOUS that you will lose your DEPOSIT should you wish to cancel after you have paid your deposit!!!

Why is it OBVIOUS?.
The retailer is not allowed to automatically keep the deposit. They can only keep enough of it to cover costs or losses due to your cancellation.

How can you pay for something you have not recieved, checked and signed for!!!???

Easy.
Doesn't this happen all the time when buying at a distance?
You order online or on the telephone and pay before receiving the goods.

but for a contract to be valid both parties have to up hold thier side of the contract, in this case the company delivering the goods and in good nick and the customer recieving, checking and signing for the goods

Wrong again.
All the company delivering the goods has to do is to show that they attempted to keep their side of the agreement by trying to deliver the goods.
If the buyer refused delivery for no good reason, then the seller has every right to attempt to recover their loses from the buyer.

DonB786

George Michael...really????:)

The thing is, it worked!!!! DFS probably found it most cost effective to re-sell the sofa's than chasing the customer.

It looks like I am wrong in alot of aspect of what I stated about the contract etc...but the fact of the of the matter is it worked which means you guys were wrong in me saying DFS Cancellation Loophole.

George_Michael

The thing is, it worked!!!! DFS probably found it most cost effective to re-sell the sofa's than chasing the customer

But just because a loophole worked for one person, doesn't mean that it will work for someone else or at a different branch.
Maybe the sofa in question was a popular model and DFS knew that there wouldn't be any problem selling it to another customer.
If it was something that they had a large stock of and were trying hard to get rid of then it might be a different matter.

It's no different to taking unwanted goods back to a shop. Even though their T&C's may well state that they don't accept returns, the store manager may well decide to allow the return and refund the customer. This isn't a loophole, simply one person making a decision to help a customer.

The fact still stands that simply cancelling a direct debit does not cancel any agreement or contract made with a supplier.
This cancellation can only be made with the agreement of everyone concerned.