advice needed on M&S refusal to let me amend an order date on wedding cake

llyamah

Psychic? He called them up almost straight after he placed the order. If you were in the OPs position (we can all make silly mistakes like this) wouldn't you feel aggrieved?

As for the whole 'the law allows it' business, how about Martin Lewis campaigning against unfair bank charges which were and are completely legally valid. What the law allows is. Just one part of the picture

somethingcorporate

You're comparing apples and pears.

Bank charges are unlawful as amounted to financial penalties (which are not allowed under contracts so you are wrong when you said they were and are allowed).

The law is what it is and this is what the consumer rights board is concerned with.

If you don't like it you should probably find a board that focuses on lobbying the Government on consumer rights to get the law changed.

Valli

llyamah wrote: »

Psychic? He called them up almost straight after he placed the order. If you were in the OPs position (we can all make silly mistakes like this) wouldn't you feel aggrieved?

No, they were called the next day. And while I accept this was a mistake, it was a wedding cake. For a wedding - presumably the OP is aware of the date set for the wedding. OP was asking if there is a 'grace' period before orders are dispatched. So what the OP is, in effect, asking is 'should all companies 'hold on' to orders before doing ANYTHING at all to fulfill those orders for 24 hours after ordering?

The OP has every right to feel aggrieved. But should direct that aggravation at his/herself. M&S haven't done anything 'wrong'; they have even offered to try and ameliorate the situation - which they didn't need to. And to suggest that compensation should be offered by M&S (not the OP's suggestion, I know) is nothing short of ridiculous.

Had I done this I would be telling myself I had been stupid or careless. But I would accept that it was my mistake.

You ignored my point the M&S already do offer their customers rights OVER AND ABOVE those under SoGA. Customers have the right to return goods, for a cash refund if cash was paid for them, even if those goods are not faulty. But (naturally) they don't apply this to food or to special orders.

Three posters, myself included, have pointed out that if this cake is a fruit cake it will keep. It's also possible that it will come with a reasonably-long eat by (or best before) date (although, of course, that depends on what cake it is). OP hasn't come back to us on these points.

llyamah

I am not saying that I disagree with the law, and reading this seems to indicate that bank charges are still lawful. Anyway...

OP isn't asked if companies should hold on to all orders for 24 hours. The point that myself and others were making was that the mistaken date was so far away that they would not have started making the cake.

And they were called 'almost straight away' in my book; OP realised "within hours" and tried to change it there and then; he couldn't so he called at 9:30 the next day.

I'd also like to point out that it wasn't me who mentioned anything about compensation.

You think I have ignored your point, I think you are ignoring my point. Probably best to just leave it at that to be honest.

Valli

TrueBlue79 wrote: »

Are they able to do this or is there a 24-hour grace period to amend orders when ordering on line?

This is what the OP asked.

And one (rather scurrillous IMO) suggestion was that M&S should compensate to the tune of £50. I know it wasn't yours llyamah; nevertheless it was suggested!

So-

OP placed an order.

OP tried to amend it the next day and hasn't been able to.

OP will have to take this on the chin.

There is no legislation in place to force a company which has accepted an order to change it at the customer's whim.

Maybe they haven't started BAKING the cake - maybe they have already allocated a cake from stock. But M&S don't make all their own foodstuffs; some bakery items are made in Derbyshire; some of their chocolate lines are also made in Derbyshire by Thorntons. So maybe, having received the order for the cake they have sub- contracted with their bakers to produce that cake hence their refusal to amend the order.

llyamah wrote: »

The point that myself and others were making was that the mistaken date was so far away that they would not have started making the cake.

The cake has been ordered for Tuesday of next week. Not that far away, is it?

somethingcorporate

llyamah wrote: »

I am not saying that I disagree with the law, and reading this seems to indicate that bank charges are still lawful. Anyway...

Bank charges are lawful, the values they were charging were not (as were not a genuine pre-estimate of loss) and hence the value for bank charges has fallen from £30 a pop to more like ~£12-£15.