Sale contract rights

Suited72

Mornin mse'ers


I Purchased an item online and a sale contract was formed to supply the goods. This unfortunately I have to apply to court to proove which i am going to do.


What i would like to know, if anyone has experience of it, is what amount to claim for?


Its an oven from B&Q which was sold for £279 but will cost me £679 to buy the same item now that theyve cancelled and refunded after 6 weeks waiting for the delivery.


Do you claim the difference of £400 + Court fees? Or is there a different court system for demanding they supply the item? This is all i want them to do, but its starting to take considerable time.

Which leads to next question - Can time or inconvienience be claimed for?


Cheers.

System

Generally a contract will be formed once the goods are dispatched. If you can claim anything via court I would expect it to be the actual cost only.

vuvuzela

What do B&Q's terms say about when the contract was formed ?
Most large companies nowadays say that contract formation is on despatch, to cover for this situation.

shaun_from_Africa

As vuvuzela & CHRISSYG rightly stated, no order has been accepted by B&Q until they dispatch the goods:

3.3.1 subject to clauses 3.3.2 and 3.3.3, where you place an order via the Website, we accept your order when the Products are despatched to you or at the point the Products are collected by you in store (as the case may be)

http://www.diy.com/customer-support/policies/terms/
This sort of term is pretty standard with web based sellers and it is perfectly legal for them to state this.
As you have already been refunded your payment, there is no point in attempting legal action as you will just end up losing money.

Your best option would be to write a polite letter to the B&Q head office to explain what has happened and asking them if they could reconsider selling you the oven at the sale price.

lucy03

Suited72 wrote: »

Mornin mse'ers


I Purchased an item online and a sale contract was formed to supply the goods. This unfortunately I have to apply to court to proove which i am going to do.


What i would like to know, if anyone has experience of it, is what amount to claim for?


Its an oven from B&Q which was sold for £279 but will cost me £679 to buy the same item now that theyve cancelled and refunded after 6 weeks waiting for the delivery.


Do you claim the difference of £400 + Court fees? Or is there a different court system for demanding they supply the item? This is all i want them to do, but its starting to take considerable time.

Which leads to next question - Can time or inconvienience be claimed for?


Cheers.

If you were pursuing a claim for damages for loss of bargain you'd claim the extra sum you have spent fulfilling the contract, plus the court fees. You could try and claim for any provable losses, such as phone calls, in addition. The value would be fine for the small claims track.

However the big caveats here are that a contract probably hasn't been formed because of the retailer's terms and conditions and taking legal action for loss of bargain isn't the easiest in any event.

Suited72

Thanks,


B & Q gave a delivery day and a time slot of 2:45-3:45pm. I was waiting in for the delivery when I got a phone call to cancel.


According to trading standards consumer information a contract was formed.


http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_different_ways_of_buying_e/consumer_buying_by_internet_mail_order_or_phone_e/how_a_distance_sale_contract_is_made.htm


specifically step 4 of the example
"Step 4
You receive an email a week later to say your goods have been sent to you.
Acceptance has taken place and you have a finalised contract."

They point blank refuse and state their terms but terms have to comply with SOGA else they cannot be enforced. Im taking them to court based on that, i cant see how they would have a chance of winning. I just dont know what is reasonable to claim in time. Ive probably spend 4 hours on it thus far (searching my rights, how to apply to courts etc), plus the time set aside for the delivery.


Your thoughts welcome!

zaax

It needs to go before a court. Money claim on line is a good one. Start with a letter before action, but get your ducks in line before you start.

Suited72

Also of note, my payment was taken 6 weeks prior. They had my money for all that time and had plenty of time in which i would have happily accepted cancellation and apology. And its not like i didnt need it, ive still got a kitchen with no oven. Admittedly the house is empty, but it is delaying things.


Am I also right in saying that the contract cannot overstep the point of delivery? Otherwise the money and goods were exchanged prior to the contract being formed when its reaqson for being is to make a commitment by both parties. I understand lawyer written terms of large corps have pushed this back to the extreme legal limits of its reason for being there.


Anyway i intend to test it. Just as much help for a professional approach to what and how to claim would be appreciated and ill update here how it goes.

Suited72

zaax wrote: »

It needs to go before a court. Money claim on line is a good one. Start with a letter before action, but get your ducks in line before you start.

B&Q and myself have been communiacting over email. I replied to their email with subject "Notice of intent to start legal proceedings within 14 days of this email"


They replied with
"Thank you for your email, our stance remains the same, our terms and conditions are clear in that in the case of a mis price we can choose not to accept the order and cancel."
They went on to give the company details and address with which to apply for a legal claim.

Is that what you would deem a letter before action?

System

Suited72 wrote: »

Thanks,


B & Q gave a delivery day and a time slot of 2:45-3:45pm. I was waiting in for the delivery when I got a phone call to cancel.


According to trading standards consumer information a contract was formed.


http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_different_ways_of_buying_e/consumer_buying_by_internet_mail_order_or_phone_e/how_a_distance_sale_contract_is_made.htm


specifically step 4 of the example
"Step 4
You receive an email a week later to say your goods have been sent to you.
Acceptance has taken place and you have a finalised contract."

They point blank refuse and state their terms but terms have to comply with SOGA else they cannot be enforced. Im taking them to court based on that, i cant see how they would have a chance of winning. I just dont know what is reasonable to claim in time. Ive probably spend 4 hours on it thus far (searching my rights, how to apply to courts etc), plus the time set aside for the delivery.


Your thoughts welcome!

You are missing the point that the law allows online sellers to vary the point at which the contract is deemed to have been accepted B&Q have done this in their T&Cs by stipulating the point of delivery being the order acceptance point and therefore the formation of a contract. , By accepting their T&Cs whether you read them or not you have accepted this .

System

Suited72 wrote: »

Is that what you would deem a letter before action?

See http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_taking_action_e/consumer_legal_actions_e/consumer_going_to_court_e/consumer_taking_court_action_e/step_one_write_a_letter_before_action.htm for what it should contain. Does it?



Best of luck. You are going to need it