Problems with a discount I'm owed

cleggar

Hi everybody. I've got a bit of a complex problem that I'm looking for some advice on.

I run a shipping service for music fans, when certain acts release CDs/items that aren't delivered outside the UK. I buy the items, the fans pay me and I ship them out all over the world. A few weeks ago, a new one came up, and included an offer for a discount if you purchased a CD and vinyl together, as a bundle.

I had about 20 orders from fans for this bundle, so went about buying them. When checking out on the website, it only gave me one discount, so I contacted the company. After a bit of discussion, they agreed to give me a discount for every bundle, not just the one, and that once the order was dispatched and I was charged, they would refund me the agreed amount.

A few weeks later, I received my full order, however I was only charged £2.99 for an order totalling nearly £160. Initially I didn't realise I'd been charged at all because the amount was so small, so I contacted them to chase up my refund. I needed to be sure of the exact amount I was going to be charged, so I knew exactly how much to charge all my buyers. I didn't want to overcharge anybody, but I also didn't want to charge them the discounted amount, only for me to be charged the full amount, and end up out of pocket.

This was almost three weeks ago and in short, the company are a complete nightmare. They asked me for lots of different information, copies of my credit card statement, made me contact my bank etc, all of which I have done. They have also started taking ages to reply (I didn't receive a reply for over a week to my previous emails).

I sent them a very strong email demanding the issue be resolved immediately so I am able to invoice all my buyers and send out my parcels. As I'm sure you can appreciate, they're all also getting a bit frustrated with me, despite the fact it's not my fault.

In my eyes, there's an incredibly simple solution - charge me the remaining amount. Or charge me the full amount, and refund me. I have made these two solutions incredibly clear in various emails, even quoting the exact amounts I owe them. (Yes, I owe them!!)

So after all this, I have one simple question. Because they have charged me £2.99, and despite my best efforts to try to get them to charge me the outstanding amount, am I able to now refuse to pay the remainder of the order? They have charged me £2.99 over a month ago, I pointed out the error, and they aren't rectifying it, therefore I can do no more.

As I said, I need to know exactly what I'm going to be charged before I contact my buyers or I risk being out of pocket. Is it within my rights to refuse to pay anymore (and if so, is there any supporting legislation I can quote?), so I can finally resolve this?

I hope this makes sense and if anybody needs any clarification, please let me know. Thank you!

dalesrider

cleggar wrote: »

So after all this, I have one simple question. Because they have charged me £2.99, and despite my best efforts to try to get them to charge me the outstanding amount, am I able to now refuse to pay the remainder of the order? They have charged me £2.99 over a month ago, I pointed out the error, and they aren't rectifying it, therefore I can do no more.

No. They have 6 years to charge you.

cleggar wrote: »

As I said, I need to know exactly what I'm going to be charged before I contact my buyers or I risk being out of pocket. Is it within my rights to refuse to pay anymore (and if so, is there any supporting legislation I can quote?), so I can finally resolve this?
. Thank you!

You know the item price with discount. So you charge your customers that price.

Either you risk them telling you they no longer want it, or taking a hit on a loss.
I guess you are not doing this for the love of it and must be making a profit....
End of the day you are doing something I'm sure the record companies would not be happy about.

arcon5

Invoice your customers and send out there orders then continue dealing with your supplier. Dragging your customers in to your supplier issues is a really bad way of doing business - it's on par with retailers who refuse to deal with missing parcel issues and pass the buck on to their sub-contractor (usually RM).

cleggar

Thank you for your replies.

Hintza

Why not just charge them the full price and either offer them a discount (on another order) or part refund if/when you get your refund.

paddyrg

I would charged customers the full amount and if you get a discount applied then send them all a credit email saying they have free postage on the next order or something. I suspect they come too you partly for price but also for speed and convenience, so don't risk letting that drop.

arcon5

Don't you state prices before they order actually? If so, how much have you stated?

cleggar

Thank you for the suggestions, but I'm not a business, I'm just a person essentially helping out my friends, so nobody is a "customer" as such.

somethingcorporate

I'd disagree, you are selling things for a profit which is trading in the eyes of the taxman. Buying and selling things to 20 people would not be classed as helping out "friends".

I hope you are declaring your income to HMRC.

vuvuzela

somethingcorporate wrote: »

I'd disagree, you are selling things for a profit which is trading in the eyes of the taxman. Buying and selling things to 20 people would not be classed as helping out "friends".

I hope you are declaring your income to HMRC.

To be fair to the OP, they didn't mention anywhere that they were profiting from this.
OP - are you makintg any money from this venture ?

somethingcorporate

They do not need to make a profit for it to be a business (Amazon did not make one for years). If they are buying / selling it is a trade and needs to be declared to HMRC.

"As I said, I need to know exactly what I'm going to be charged before I contact my buyers or I risk being out of pocket." Sounds very much like acting as a business to me.