Chargeback Possible?

TSx

Just looking for some opinions as I don't really know how chargebacks work and if this transaction would be eligible.

I purchased a 'time sensitive' item (a personalised item for an event over the weekend, absolutely useless afterwards) online. The website says they do same day dispatch, but when I ordered (on Wednesday morning) it actually came up saying it would be dispatched on the following working day (on Thursday) - this was fine.

There is an option for guaranteed delivery and I took a screenshot - the website says delivery: Friday (guaranteed) and mentions that the delivery is guaranteed in a few other places across the website.

Thursday at 4:45pm, I got an email from them to say the order was going to be delayed - I immediately called them but their lines were down and there was just an answerphone. I sent them an email asking for the order to be cancelled immediately.

In their terms and conditions, they have a clause

xx. Orders cannot be cancelled after being submitted as they will have already been sent to production

Now I know distance selling rights don't apply, but I'm fairly confident they're in breach of contract - if they've guaranteed to do something, then they should do it. Nothing in the T&C's says that guaranteed just means they will try and deliver on that date.

The item was finally produced Monday and received today but is absolutely useless. I haven't had any luck contacting the company concerned either (a large company with major clients).

Can I chargeback the costs via the CC provider, or will I need to claim the money back through the small claims court? It was a fairly small amount, but it's the principle!

[Deleted User]

as it was a personalised item and their it&c`s cover them i dont see what can be done tbh,if its not a large £ then the effort may outweigh the return

[Deleted User]

I would tend to agreeing with the OP - T&C's maybe, but if the company have guaranteed delivery and they can't - surely it's their problem. It's not as though the OP wanted to cancel because they had changed their mind ...

dalesrider

There is no chargeback right that would cover what you are looking at.
You ordered goods. You recieved goods.

Fact that they arrived late is not a chargeback right.

There is an option for guaranteed delivery and I took a screenshot

So did you pay extra for this service?

matttye

dalesrider wrote: »

There is no chargeback right that would cover what you are looking at.
You ordered goods. You recieved goods.

Fact that they arrived late is not a chargeback right.



So did you pay extra for this service?

I think you're thinking what I'm thinking; that the OP would be entitled to refunded delivery costs as the delivery was late, but not a refund for the actual product, as that was received.

That said, the Sale of Goods Act does allow a 'reasonable amount of time' for someone to check that the product is consistent with the description/contract/etc. when they've ordered it rather than bought in person, so if something can be found to suggest it's not, then a refund could potentially be gotten that way.

Section 34 - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54/section/34

chattychappy

First of all, Chargeback is simply a scheme operated by the networks to return monies in particular, specifically defined situations. Looks like it doesn't apply here.

To "get out" of the contract, you have to have mispresentation or a breach of condition (as supposed to a breach of terms). A condition is something pretty fundamental to the deal - eg in this case you would want to argue that time was the essence of agreement.

So check the T+Cs you agreed to. What does it say about delivery times? It might say that a quoted delivery time is only an estimate or attempt to exclude liability in the case of lateness. It gets more complicated - because such exclusion clauses can be held invalid through Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and other regs. This will come down to the circumstances - including what precisely the goods/services are. Just because this order was time critical for you doesn't mean that would normally be the case. Unfortunately this is a problem of internet orders. When you order stuff on the phone it is easier to bring these matters to the attention of the company you are ordering from.

Their "cancellation clause" doesn't apply because we are not talking about cancelling the order, we are talking about their breach of condition in performing the contract which (potentially) voids it.

Funnily enough I'm in a similar situation - I ordered a table for guaranteed next day delivery. 4 days later it hasn't come, I don't need it anymore and will be out of the UK tonight. I phoned them up but they say I can't cancel because of their T+Cs. I reminded them that I phoned through the order, didn't agree to their T+Cs and imposed the requirement that if it didn't arrive next day, "the deals off as I must have it then" which they agreed to. Ha ha ha. Well, no CC involved (pay on invoice) so they can sue if they like.

Anyway if you can argue the above then you are entitled to a full refund (not just the delivery cost). It is a pity you didn't refuse the goods. They can either collect them or you could return them and add this to your claim.

If the item was over £100 then S75 the CC is jointly liable (subject to a few other provisos). Ie whatever breach of contract/misrep claim you have you can go against the CC too.

Not a clear case - T+Cs are usually written to avoid responsibility for late delivery (or restrict it to delivery charges), but as I say such restrictions are not always valid. Lawyers often draft stuff knowing it wouldn't stick in court.

grumbler

matttye wrote: »

That said, the Sale of Goods Act does allow a 'reasonable amount of time' for someone to check that the product is consistent with the description/contract/etc. when they've ordered it rather than bought in person, so if something can be found to suggest it's not, then a refund could potentially be gotten that way.

Section 34 - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54/section/34

"tailor-made or personalised goods" are exempt from DSR.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/distance-selling-regulations/#link-3

chattychappy

grumbler wrote: »

"tailor-made or personalised goods" are exempt from DSR.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/distance-selling-regulations/#link-3

Yep, but mattye was talking about SOGA as a way to reject if there is something wrong with the goods.

SOGA has the effect of implying certain terms into contracts and in certain circumstances elevating them to conditions. Hence the right to return something for refund if it doesn't work - because a breach of condition entitles you to call the deal off.

StuC75

Nothing is wrong with the goods though, only the timing of delivery.

Did the OP speak to the supplier directly to ensure that delivering in time was a stipulation and key point of the contract in placing the order, or was it solely completed online. If I was placing the order myself I would have spoken to someone and ensured that they were away that it was 'by then' or 'Not at all' and see if that was something they were willing to work to.

Why was it left to the last minute to place such an order? should it not have been arranged more in advance??

chattychappy wrote: »

Yep, but mattye was talking about SOGA as a way to reject if there is something wrong with the goods.

SOGA has the effect of implying certain terms into contracts and in certain circumstances elevating them to conditions. Hence the right to return something for refund if it doesn't work - because a breach of condition entitles you to call the deal off.

jamesml

Even if it was left to the last minute, that doesn't mean the company shouldn't honour guaranteed delivery on Friday if that's what they committed to.

StuC75

all the OP had personally confirmed by the supplier was the delay - does the OP actually have any order confirmation saying the order had been received and they would commit to the next day aspect of the order?

All such offers (screen grabs of next day this and that) tend to have caveats of deadlines for when the order is placed 'eg. Next say order by Xpm for Next Day Delivery'. There may be small print as to what kind and size of orders they can despatch same day for next day - it may say in small print that personalised items need X amount of notice; New customer orders may need additional checks completing prior to order fullfillment (have seen this with regular retailers)..

They got the email Thursday, but did they try to call again on Friday?? to advise that wasnt acceptable?

Personally If I had such a time sensitive request I would have spoken to someone in the first instance to check that was achievable in the timescale available.

Read the OP again..

"The website says they do same day dispatch, but when I ordered (on Wednesday morning) it actually came up saying it would be dispatched on the following working day (on Thursday) - this was fine.

There is an option for guaranteed delivery and I took a screenshot - the website says delivery: Friday (guaranteed) and mentions that the delivery is guaranteed in a few other places across the website.

Thursday at 4:45pm, I got an email from them to say the order was going to be delayed - I immediately called them but their lines were down and there was just an answerphone. I sent them an email asking for the order to be cancelled immediately.

jamesml wrote: »

Even if it was left to the last minute, that doesn't mean the company shouldn't honour guaranteed delivery on Friday if that's what they committed to.