Special order by phone

gram77

Hi All, If I bought an expensive piece of furniture (£1000) from a small local independent shop but via email and telephone...never went to the shop, and want to return it for a full refund although it is not faulty just not what i imagined..what are my rights.
The first issue is, I used this local company because they deal with the supplier and could therefore order me one. It was not part of their regular stock and they do not advertise them, in fact the supplier told me about the local trader and perhaps they would get it for me and they were local. I sent an email to the local trader asking if they could get me one and what was the best price, as i had seen them at £1009 inc delivery online (but a company the other side of the UK). The local trader said he would match the price and order and deliver within two weeks...which he did. When i saw it I didn't think it was worth what i'd paid , so rang the local trader and said i didn't want it and wanted a full refund. He says its up to whether his supplier will take it back and refund his money before he can refund me. I quoted the online buyer right to 7 days notice to cancel for a refund, but as he never advertised the product and only ordered it in especially for me...what is the situation ?

many thanks
G

pinkshoes

In what way is it not as you expected? You'll need to be more specific.

gram77

Its just not built to the quality I expected from a £1000 item.

bris

We need to know whether they normally sell at a distance or if this was a one off for you. If they have a mail order, telephone sales or internet based store then DSR would apply.
If not then you have no rights other than the store goodwill or own shop policy.

gram77

Its a shop that also has a website, so yes I assume they sell at a distance, though the website does not take payments...i had to ring to pay by card.

Auntie-Dolly

If you asked them to order an item they don't normally stock especially for you I would think that is exempt from the DSR's and you are relying on their goodwill.

wealdroam

Auntie-Dolly wrote: »

If you asked them to order an item they don't normally stock especially for you I would think that is exempt from the DSR's and you are relying on their goodwill.

Sadly that is not so.

If the item was especially customised to the customer's specification, then the transaction would be non-cancellable under DSRs.

unholyangel

gram77 wrote: »

Its a shop that also has a website, so yes I assume they sell at a distance, though the website does not take payments...i had to ring to pay by card.

Is it not what you would expect of a £1000 table or not what a reasonable person would expect of a £1000 table? Ask friends/family members opinions if you need to get an objective view.

If its obvious that a reasonable person would say it was "shoddy" work for £1000 then you may be able to reject under SoGA as not of satisfactory quality.

2)Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality.

(2A)For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

(2B)For the purposes of this Act, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—

(a)fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied,
(b)appearance and finish,
(c)freedom from minor defects,
(d)safety, and
(e)durability.

(2C)The term implied by subsection (2) above does not extend to any matter making the quality of goods unsatisfactory—
(a)which is specifically drawn to the buyer’s attention before the contract is made,
(b)where the buyer examines the goods before the contract is made, which that examination ought to reveal, or
(c)in the case of a contract for sale by sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.

(2)Where goods are delivered to the buyer, and he has not previously examined them, he is not deemed to have accepted them under subsection (1) above until he has had a reasonable opportunity of examining them for the purpose—

(a)of ascertaining whether they are in conformity with the contract, and
(b)in the case of a contract for sale by sample, of comparing the bulk with the sample.

gram77

it wasnt specially customized..i never said. It was just not a stock item so they ordered it specially form me.

bris

gram77 wrote: »

Its a shop that also has a website, so yes I assume they sell at a distance, though the website does not take payments...i had to ring to pay by card.

Having a website and selling at a distance are not the same thing, there are thousands of bricks and mortar shops that have websites for information only. If they have no shopping basket you can put stuff in and no means of taking payment it could very well be said they do not normally sell at a distance. In this case they are allowed to sell the odd thing from time to time in situations like this without having to abide by the DSR.
It is of course subjective and only a judge could decide whether or not they should follow the DSR, the amount of sales like this they do would be the factor on the outcome.

As you say they do not stock or advertise this product and you went to them specifically for it, for me it doesn't look good that you could rely on the DSR.

gram77

From what i've read orders purchased by telephone or internet have an automatic cooling off period anyway and therefore I would be expecting a full refund as this is the norm