Misled by advert

little_princess

Hi all,

Is there anyone out there with a bit of legal know-how who can help me with this problem?

We have just purchased some fire doors, they were shown with glazing in them and the title of them was "Glazed Fire Door".

They were very competitively priced and so I emailed them to confirm that they were glazed and not just "ready to glaze". The reply I received stated "I can confirm that the door is sold glazed." Unbeknown to me my husband a couple of days later also found the same doors and rang the company to ask if they were supplied already glazed. Again they confirmed that they were and even added that they get asked this question a lot!

We therefore ordered the doors and you guessed it...when they arrived they were not glazed at all...in fact they were not even "ready to glaze"...they were full panelled solid fire doors :mad:

We rejected the doors and around an hour later received an email blaming the problem on an "incorrect picture" on the website as the manufacturer don't even supply that door in a fire door (the door has now been removed from their website). We therefore emailed the company with copies of the advert and email and stated that we would accept an alternative glazed fire door from them. But in reply they have again blamed "human error" and have just refunded us the money. :mad:

The problem is that our joiner is being paid on a day rate and was their to take delivery of the doors and fit them that day (the company was aware of this and had arranged delivery of the doors for that particular day at our request). We have therefore incurred costs because of this companies "mistake" and so an apology and refund is not really enough in this instance. They appear to think that by just refunding the money of the doors to us, this absolves them of any further responsibilities...are they correct? Do we just have to stand the extra costs despite them being fully aware of our order and timescales?

Thanks for reading this long winded rant and any help would be gratefully appreciated :T
LP

bris

You could sue them and win reasonable consequential losses for the failed contract. You would need to prove the loss by having the joiner sign an affidavit to prove he was paid (or get him to attend court) and have the advert as evidence that they were sold on a false pretense.

little_princess

Is the retailer allowed to choose whether to refund or replace?

Surely if they have made the mistake and have other stock available a customer can choose not to take the refund :think:

frugal_mike

little_princess wrote: »

Is the retailer allowed to choose whether to refund or replace?

Surely if they have made the mistake and have other stock available a customer can choose not to take the refund :think:

If they fail to give you the doors you ordered then they are in breach of contract and will have to put you back in the position you were in prior to entering the contract. That will include refunding all money you paid to them and paying for the return delivery of the unacceptable doors. As bris said you may also be able to claim any other losses you incurred.

You can't force them to give you different doors if they don't want to.

shaun_from_Africa

A few questions, the answers to which may help with advice.

Were the doors purchased by your hubby acting as a consumer? (ie, were the doors for non business use), how much was each door? and was payment made with a credit card.

The reason for these questions is that you may have the right to pursue your credit card issuer for a refund (if this is how you paid), and if this is the case, the card company can also be liable for more than just the original purchase price.