Dunster House Ltd

[Deleted User]

Not trying to muddy up the waters here but is show site and retail shop not the same thing ? - they have all their log cabins and climbing frames on show in their site where I placed the order - so I believe the location I placed the order is classed as show site (jn reference to their FAQ section I posted earlier).

Addressing your other points - the company had decided to agree to my cancellation request and refunded part of the money, but retained some (£30) which does not seem to add up to their 'established' company policy (offcourse it came to my knowledge about their company policy only after I received partial refund and started looking around for details on their TnC and Policy).

Yes offcourse I could have asked this and that, went to their site saw the product and could have come back home and ordered over the internet protecting myself with distance selling regulation rights for consumers, or ordered nothing and save all the hassle - but really that's not the point that we are trying to discuss here I guess. Simply put I did not have any intention of cancelling when I placed the order but on checking my site again it became apparent that the overhanging bits of the roof of the log cabin might breach into the neighbours garden(I have a tiny plot :-( ) and so I then decided to cancel it.
And contracts are based on written facts, and my point again is I was not made aware of all the facts (although they existed in the company's website clearly) and the paperwork I received should have had the contents that is in their FAQ but mine only talks about cancellation rights for orders placed over internet and phone. Why give me that information ?? I was on-site, so they should have given me the information that is relevant to me - the company has clearly enforced the fact that I placed the order on site and withheld some money, that I believe makes them also responsible to provide me the cancellation rights/non-rights information that applies to customers placing order on-site., it's their 'mis-information' tactics that really put me off.

[Deleted User]

For clarity of the forum members so they can comment with clarity on what my grief is, here is the actual wordings on ‘cancellation’ in the paperwork that I was given
2. Right to Cancel:
2.1 Orders made by telephone, mail order or on-line customers have the right to cancel any order for Log Cabins, Playsystems or Decking (excluding any bespoke made to order items). This right to cancel extends for 7 days after the items have been delivered.
2.2 Any notification of cancellation must be made in writing, either by post to Dunster House Ltd. Caxton Road, Bedford, MK41 0LF, fax 01234 224497 or email to [EMAIL="cs@dunsterhouse.co.uk"]cs@dunsterhouse.co.uk[/EMAIL].
2.3 Assuming that the Goods were as described and not faulty a refund will take place less any reasonable charges for the costs Dunster House Ltd has incurred. Refunds will take place within a reasonable period of time after the items have been returned and inspected.
2.4 Any collections will take place from Kerbside with reasonable access granted to the Company. Please note: Due to insurance ramifications we do not enter onto customers’ property.
2.5 You can also make your own arrangements, should you wish, to return the Goods. A ‘Sales Return Note’ must be issued for this method of return. Your statutory rights are not affected. Refunds may be subject to a fee covering any costs incurred by the Company, such as Administration fees, card fees, repackaging etc.
2.6 If the goods are not as advertised then ask the delivery driver to bring the whole product back at point of delivery and we will refund your money, without any delivery or return charge. We will not supply a replacement or replacement parts as we are unable to guarantee that these will be any different. In the unlikely event that we leave the Goods and you subsequently request that they are returned, unused, unassembled and in the condition they were delivered in, we can arrange to collect the items and make a reasonable charge for that facility, providing that you notify us of your wish to cancel the order in writing within seven working days from the delivery date and provided that you are entitled to do this under the Distance Selling Regulations. These rights do not apply if you have ordered at any of our display sites.
So in my case, my interpretation/action is as follows
2.1 – does not apply in my case
2.2 – I followed this correctly-– I placed the order on Sunday around 11AM and requested cancellation on Monday 12.45pm, simply put as soon as I found out it was not going to be suitable (Monday morning)
2.3 – does not apply as no goods were delivered so no question of goods being not as described or faulty
2.4 – Not applicable, no delivery was made, so no collection necessary
2.5 – Not applicable again
2.6 – Not applicable again

Dukesy

OH owns a small company making sectional buildigs and carrying out other carpentry jobs etc. Frankly, were he to get an order and then have it cancelled the next day as the person ordering had not bothered to check the space available, he'd be charging a fair bit more for his admin time. I'm sorry, but I really think you are getting off lightly with only losing £30. Why didn't you make sure of the measurements first, for goodness sake?

Edited to add that: in fact, I think you're very lucky you ordered something 'off the shelf' rather than going to someone like OH who custom designs everything... You'd not be seeing a penny back from a lot of places!

[Deleted User]

Thanks Dukesy. Sticking to my scenario, the company is not a small one, infact it's a multimillion pound company with 4 display sites across the country and the item I ordered as you say was an off the shelf product.
I wish I went for a custom size but affordability is not there. Infact this 30£ I'm losing, I will have to work nearly 3 hours to get that money into my bank.
And I agree If I ordered something custom then I won't see a penny back, but that's not my situation - thanks for your point of view although not contributing to this discussion.
Once again I would like to re-iterate that I'm not challenging the company's right to charge me, but only the fact that they withheld information re cancellation that was relevant to my scenario., and as it has now come to light they have charged me double the amount of what is stated in their company policy for administration charges. That is a clear cut rip off in my view.

kwmlondon

Just to add a thought - the law is the law, sure. However, I think that sometimes any of us can get over-excited and fall prey to some very honed and slick sales techniques. Everyone should be allowed a 24 hour cooling off period on any purchases made so that if they get home and suddenly think "oh my word, what WAS I thinking?" or wake up with a hangover and a sales invoice, they can cancel the order - especially if they've only paid a deposit.

Why should legal protection only apply to people online or over the phone.

Still, the reality is the reality.

One question for the OP though - why not try and get a smaller log cabin? Surely they have different sizes. If you're serious about this then I'd have thought it would just be a case of changing your order. Then you'd not have lost the admin fee at all.

Dukesy

Doesn't matter whether it's a small company or a multimillion pound one, you have still messed them around.

The terms say that they will only cancel orders made at their sites subject to their discretion, and that includes your order. They also mention that they may factor in any other costs into a cancellation fee. Be grateful that they did cancel your order for you and that they didn't take a greater fee.

Hintza

Deleted_User wrote: »

That is a clear cut rip off in my view.

You should pay some heed to what the others have said.

You should not leave a deposit until you have decided to purchase and why would you need to rush to leave a deposit anyway?

Gra76

Deleted_User wrote: »

Infact this 30£ I'm losing, I will have to work nearly 3 hours to get that money into my bank.

Had you spent 5 minutes measuring up to see if it would fit in the first place you would have avoided this altogether.

You might want to hire a digger to help with that hole you're making for yourself.

Take the £30 hit and put it down to experience.

[Deleted User]

Dukesy wrote: »

Doesn't matter whether it's a small company or a multimillion pound one, you have still messed them around.

The terms say that they will only cancel orders made at their sites subject to their discretion, and that includes your order. They also mention that they may factor in any other costs into a cancellation fee. Be grateful that they did cancel your order for you and that they didn't take a greater fee.

Reference to small/big company made against your initial comment on your OP being a small company

And if you read the posts you will see that the company's policy say the admin fee is £15 not the £30 that they have charged me.
And once again the company did not provide me the terms that state the details about cancellation charges when I signed the contract
Hope that clears up any doubts you may have had.

[Deleted User]

Gra76 wrote: »

Had you spent 5 minutes measuring up to see if it would fit in the first place you would have avoided this altogether.

You might want to hire a digger to help with that hole you're making for yourself.

Take the £30 hit and put it down to experience.

Thanks, once again like I said the size of the overhang from the roof of my selected log cabin is the problem. Unfortunately the company's website does not specify the size/length of the overhang from the roof on the sides of the log cabin. I measured up my plot which is the correct size of the given dimensions of the log cabin, but then the roof overhang is not stated and in my case that appears to be falling slightly into the neighbours garden which is not desirable as you may understand I hope.

If only all the dimensions are cristal clear and provideded in an engineering diagram format in the company's website then one could argue your point and many other posters points on my measurement skills, however that does not seem to be the case here.