Getting deposit back on cancelled work

andrewpmoore

Last year we bought a fireplace from Artisan fires in brighouse. It was quite expensive and when they came to fit it there was lots of extra work required (such as flue work - even though they'd checked the flue) which meant it ended up costing a lot more.

We've had some changes done to the house this year and wanted a modification to the fire. We chose to speak to them again as they supplied all the fire parts and they quoted the work would cost between £500 and £1000 but they would need our builders to knock out the back of the fire to be sure.

We then ended up getting a quote for £1650 and when speaking to them they claimed they have never quoted the prices they had, he said he even had £1500 as the price in his diary from when he visited. We wouldn't have got the builders to knock out part of the fire if we'd known it would cost that much.

They said we'd need to put down a deposit of £250 to secure a booking date for the work doing which I (maybe foolishly) paid.

To cut a long story short, we decided we didn't want to go ahead with the work and phoned to cancel. They said we wouldn't get the deposit back as stated in their Terms and Conditions, but we'd only ever had a scanned quote which didn't reference any terms (I get a feeling they were probably on the back of the quote form they'd scanned so we weren't supplied with them).

I asked them to follow that up and today we've had a letter stating that they don't have a cancellation policy and they have ordered parts for the job so we can't get the money back.

We know this isn't true as we'd only spoken to them recently to see if we could get the parts supplied and get another person to fit it (as they had a long lead time that didn't fit with our plastering) and they said they'd check and get back to us as it'd still take two weeks from then as they'd have to order the parts.

I'm not really sure where I stand, but given we've not signed anything and not being given any T&C's it seems a little unreasonable to not be able to get the deposit back (which was supposed to be just to confirm a booking for the job).

Any advise if there's anything I can do?


In addition to this, before we'd even said we wanted the work doing, they'd told our builders to throw out some parts of the fire as they'd all be getting replaced (even though there was no need to as there was nothing wrong with them)

unholyangel

What are the dates involved? Was the contract entered into after 13th June?

andrewpmoore

unholyangel wrote: »

What are the dates involved? Was the contract entered into after 13th June?

We paid the deposit on 2nd September

unholyangel

andrewpmoore wrote: »

We paid the deposit on 2nd September

Then in that case - yes they should have given you certain information among other things.

These two pages/documents may provide useful reading to you. But essentially, off premises contracts now have a 14 day cooling off period except in very limited circumstances (still getting to grips with the new legislation but if memory serves, your scenario doesnt fall into these limited circumstances)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310044/bis-13-1368-consumer-contracts-information-cancellation-and-additional-payments-regulations-guidance.pdf
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/contents/made


And if you read the legislation one, there is a part that states it is for the retailer to prove they have complied with the provision of information - not for the consumer to prove they havent.

andrewpmoore

unholyangel wrote: »

Then in that case - yes they should have given you certain information among other things.

These two pages/documents may provide useful reading to you. But essentially, off premises contracts now have a 14 day cooling off period except in very limited circumstances (still getting to grips with the new legislation but if memory serves, your scenario doesnt fall into these limited circumstances)

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310044/bis-13-1368-consumer-contracts-information-cancellation-and-additional-payments-regulations-guidance.pdf
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/contents/made


And if you read the legislation one, there is a part that states it is for the retailer to prove they have complied with the provision of information - not for the consumer to prove they havent.

Thanks for the information, I'm trying to work my way through it now. I've only just read the actual letter this evening when I got home from work and they state they've already ordered and received certain parts for the fire which they said they couldn't order until they'd done a site visit to get the dimensions, so that's quite clever of them.

In the letter today they've actually included the terms and conditions for the first time. I can't tell from reading that 2nd linked document if that means we've 14 days from now to change our mind. (section 31)

unholyangel

andrewpmoore wrote: »

Thanks for the information, I'm trying to work my way through it now. I've only just read the actual letter this evening when I got home from work and they state they've already ordered and received certain parts for the fire which they said they couldn't order until they'd done a site visit to get the dimensions, so that's quite clever of them.

In the letter today they've actually included the terms and conditions for the first time. I can't tell from reading that 2nd linked document if that means we've 14 days from now to change our mind. (section 31)

Its tricky to explain.

Essentially they shouldnt start work until after the 14 days are up - unless you have expressly requested that the work start sooner (and in an off premises contract...this request needs to have been made in a durable medium - for example by letter, email or fax).


They cannot say that you are in a legally binding contract THEN supply you with terms and conditions. This would almost certainly amount to a breach of unfair terms in consumer contract regulations and unfair contract terms act. A basic requirement of contractual fairness is for the parties to read and understand the terms and conditions before being bound by them and the legislation prohibits binding consumer to hidden terms.


I'd personally be tempted to write back and say something along the lines of.....thank you for supplying the terms and conditions which would apply if we choose to continue with the contract, unfortunately we do not agree with your terms and conditions and therefore I am exercising my right to cancel penalty free as permitted by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

andrewpmoore

unholyangel wrote: »

Its tricky to explain.

Essentially they shouldnt start work until after the 14 days are up - unless you have expressly requested that the work start sooner (and in an off premises contract...this request needs to have been made in a durable medium - for example by letter, email or fax).


They cannot say that you are in a legally binding contract THEN supply you with terms and conditions. This would almost certainly amount to a breach of unfair terms in consumer contract regulations and unfair contract terms act. A basic requirement of contractual fairness is for the parties to read and understand the terms and conditions before being bound by them and the legislation prohibits binding consumer to hidden terms.


I'd personally be tempted to write back and say something along the lines of.....thank you for supplying the terms and conditions which would apply if we choose to continue with the contract, unfortunately we do not agree with your terms and conditions and therefore I am exercising my right to cancel penalty free as permitted by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Thanks I really appropriate the response, I think I'll give that a try and see if we can make some progress.

unholyangel

andrewpmoore wrote: »

Thanks I really appropriate the response, I think I'll give that a try and see if we can make some progress.

Let us know how you get on/if you need anything further and good luck!