Services paid but not delivered to small business

tan2

Hi,

I own a small business and placed an order with JellyPrint, a printing company, for a batch of cards. I had a very strict deadline to deliver these cards and I made the company aware of this. They assured me it would be fine. However a week before the deadline, I called them and they said that there would be a delay. The customer service at JellyPrint is extremely bad and even the manager was very inflexible and not willing to help. I had to contact another printing company as an emergency to print these cards.

I subsequently requested JellyPrint for a refund but they said they would not refund any money but that they would deliver the cards instead. If the transaction was at a consumer level, I believe I would be protected by consumer protection rights and that I would be entitled to a refund. However as a business, I am not sure what my rights are. Also, there is no contract stating that the cards should have been delivered by a specific date.

Can anyone advise please? Thank you.

Horace

Is there anything in writing between you and Jellyprint to say that you needed the cards by a specific deadline? If not, then it is a case of he said, she said.

They have said that there was a delay and that you would get the cards but not on the date that you wanted them - you will still have the cards regardless.

tan2

JellyPrint had no intention of delivering the cards on time and had I not followed up with them, they would not have delivered anything on the day that was agreed. As a consumer, I know I would be entitled to a refund in such a situation because I am protected by the consumer laws. However as a business, I am not sure what my rights are and I plan to seek help from a lawyer for this.

Yes it is a case of he said/she said. JellyPrint is not accepting any fault and refuses to refund the money or offer any compensation for this. The cards have not been printed yet so they are not going to incur a loss by issuing a refund. Even if there is no contract stating a deadline, this is just an example of really bad customer service and a stupid way for their reputation to go down the drain within the small business community. So JellyPrint might think that by issuing a refund, they will lose one deal. However they don't realise that by not doing this and by providing horrible customer service, the loss is going to be substantially greater and may even destroy the company.

Of course, I want to avoid a lawsuit if possible and I would like some advice for anyone who has been in such a situation. If anyone is familiar with B2B transactions and the relevant laws, I would much appreciate your insights.

pitkin2020

Even as a consumer you may not have any come back if the cards are a custom print and not a generic off the shelf product. When they advised they couldn't meet the deadline did you refuse to complete the order there and then or did you give them extra time?? If no contract was set up outlining they were needed by the set date then I expect their standard terms and conditions will have something regarding the delivery time of set products which maybe your only get out clause if they have gone over that time frame. Without them confirming that the order would be delivered by your set day though you might not be going any further with it as already said its a case of he said/she said, you might well say they promised to delivery on the set day and they might say they told you they couldn't meet that deadline but you simply asked them to try!!

Good luck and go through all their T&C's and see if there is something you can pick up from there.

paddyrg

If the cards haven't gone to print, and they're no use to you any more (eg thet have a date on them), how about you agree that they freeze the order until you provide revised artwork, and you make some different, more generic cards instead? It kind of splits the difference, you get more useful goods, they still have your order.

btw for the future, stressfreeprint have lived up to their name in my experience

trebor21

Is small claims court an option?

bris

You didn't make the deadline part of the contract, you don't have much of a case, sorry to say. Even a consumer would struggle with this, as without a specific deadline in place then their standard delivery times will apply.
When you need to meet a deadline it's always best to get it in writing, this way it's clear there is a breach of contract.
You can always hope they fail to met their own delivery schedule, their must be something that say's what that will be as they can't just keep you waiting forever. if they fail this then you may have a claim.

tan2

Thanks for all your advice and contribution.

Unfortunately everything was negotiated verbally and it is absolutely correct that the agreement should have been made in writing. In the past month, I have dealt with four printing companies and I’ve had great experience with all of them so far, except JellyPrint. This company doesn’t operate on any Terms and Conditions and in my opinion, not on any business ethic either. In the absence of a refund and cancellation policy, I wish to understand what my rights are and I am currently speaking with the relevant government bodies to get more clarity. I have tried to negotiate alternative arrangements with the owner of the company but he was extremely inflexible and was not willing to compensate me for the time wasted and the headache. Even if he said he would deliver the cards and would not issue a refund, there is still no sign of the cards to date and I could be waiting forever. I have never experienced such a shockingly dreadful customer service and this is the least I expected in a business transaction. Anyway, thank you all again for your help, much appreciated.

easyhost

just looked at their site http://www.jellyprint.com and their is no link to any terms or conditions.