Shed purchase

storeyboy10

Hi,

I am after some advice please!

I purchased a shed from a company about a month ago. The shed was made to order, and it cost me £1100. The company advertised free installation on all sheds, but that there would be a delivery charge - £130, which I duely accepted.

No paperwork was provided at the point I placed my order, which was over the phone.

I was asked if I had a flat shed base - which I answered it wasn't perfectly flat, but we agreed it would probably be good enough.

I was told I would pay cash on delivery for the goods.

The shed arrived last week, the guys went to put it up but then said that the base wasn't flat enough, and they would not be able to "sign off" the shed as installed because of it, and as such I would not get any guarantee with it. I asked them to just leave the shed in a pile in the garden, and they offered to come back at a later date to construct it, once I had relayed the base. They made no mention of any cost associated with this.

I paid the full balance and got a paper receipt for the cash (a stub, no details of the actual product and no terms or conditions.)

I phoned the company next day, who said that to come down and install the shed for me would cost me £200 - as they needed to pay their installers, fuel costs etc.

I argued this should have been explained to me at the point they left - but this didn't help. I asked to speak to the manager, who eventually offered to do it for me for £150.

My issue is I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Nowhere on the website does it state it would cost £200 to have the shed constructed. Similarly, I haven't to date received any documentation stating the terms of the warranty I have been verbally provided. I also cannot find anything on the site which talks about exactly what a level base is, and how this is defined.

I asked if they could come and remove the shed and get me a full refund - this was refused and said it wasn't possible.

I asked if I could construct the shed myself - they said yes, but it would invalidate any warranty (though I don't even know what the warranty is meant to cover!) - and when asked to provide details they have dodged the question.

Do I have any leg to stand on in this case - or is it all simply my "fault" because I have ordered from an outfit who with hindsight, seem a little "light" on their written documentation and after sales support?

Any advice welcomed before I let them know what I am doing!

Thanks,

Chris.

cono1717

I'm not entirely certain what warranty one can provide on a shed in any event you could reject the shed under CCR since you haven't purchased it in the store - though waiting a month could prove a bit tricky.

Alternatively if you are happy to why not just build it yourself? Get enough people to help so you don't snap any panels or anything.

shaun_from_Africa

cono1717 wrote: »

in any event you could reject the shed under CCR since you haven't purchased it in the store - though waiting a month could prove a bit tricky.

This might not be possible for a number of reasons.


1/The OP stated that the shed was made to order and depending on exactly how the order process went, it may class as a customised order, hence the right of cancellation might not apply.


2/ It could be argued that the contract wasn't concluded at a distance as the OP had a face to face meeting before paying for the shed.


3/ The seller of the shed might not have a formal distance sales arrangement. If they only make infrequent sales at a distance then the right of cancellation doesn't apply.

unholyangel

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

This might not be possible for a number of reasons.


1/The OP stated that the shed was made to order and depending on exactly how the order process went, it may class as a customised order, hence the right of cancellation might not apply.


2/ It could be argued that the contract wasn't concluded at a distance as the OP had a face to face meeting before paying for the shed.


3/ The seller of the shed might not have a formal distance sales arrangement. If they only make infrequent sales at a distance then the right of cancellation doesn't apply.

I know what you're trying to get at with number 3 but theres no exemption for infrequent sales. Its whether the retailer has the set up to accept orders via distant means - not how often they're used.

Although I do agree with number 2 - that theres a strong possibility it won't be covered as a distance sale. Although if OP would be unable to cancel the order prior to delivery, imo that would indicate the contract had already been concluded prior to delivery. But that will only help if OP picked from the retailers standard range and did not make any special requests.

OP while not helpful here, in future...I would always try and make larger purchases by card (preferably credit card - even if you pay it off straight away). That way if things do go wrong, you have a few other avenues open to you that you don't by paying cash.

wealdroam

unholyangel wrote: »

I know what you're trying to get at with number 3 but theres no exemption for infrequent sales. Its whether the retailer has the set up to accept orders via distant means - not how often they're used.

Although I do agree with number 2 - that theres a strong possibility it won't be covered as a distance sale. Although if OP would be unable to cancel the order prior to delivery, imo that would indicate the contract had already been concluded prior to delivery. But that will only help if OP picked from the retailers standard range and did not make any special requests.

OP while not helpful here, in future...I would always try and make larger purchases by card (preferably credit card - even if you pay it off straight away). That way if things do go wrong, you have a few other avenues open to you that you don't by paying cash.

I agree with all that except that don't off-premises sales now have the same cancellation rights as distance sales?

In other words, it really doesn't matter whether it was a distance sale or an off-premises sale - it was definitely one or the other.

OK. we still have the unknown about whether the shed was constructed to the OP's specification or not, and that needs to be determined.

shaun_from_Africa

unholyangel wrote: »

I know what you're trying to get at with number 3 but theres no exemption for infrequent sales. Its whether the retailer has the set up to accept orders via distant means - not how often they're used.

Both the OFT and Trading Standards stated that an infrequent sale at a distance was unlikely to be covered by the DSR's if the retailer didn't normally sell goods this way, so it's possible that the same would apply to the CCR's, which is why I mentioned the need for a formal distance sales setup.

There are a few websites that basically state the same thing.
http://www.businesscompanion.info/en/quick-guides/consumer-contracts/consumer-contracts-distance-sales

There must be an organised distance scheme for selling goods and/or services so the Regulations are unlikely to affect a business that sells a product at a distance as a one-off. For instance, a knitting wool shop that does not normally sell at a distance would not fall within the definition of a distance contract when a customer rings to ask for a ball of wool to be posted to him because he is unable to call into the shop - this is unlikely to be classed as an 'organised' distance selling scheme

storeyboy10

Hi all thanks for the replies. Company does take orders online through very basic site but my order was placed over phone. Company is based 100 miles from where I am. Order was for a standard shed off their website with the only "custom" bits being which side the doors open on and how many windows - both of which were standard options selected. It's not a fully bespoke shed if you see what I mean.

Said company are denying any responsibility and saying I am on my own - even putting a deadline of end of today on letting them know whether or not I will pay £150 for them to erect the shed.

I am reluctant to do this so am likely to do myself. They will offer no guarantee if I go down this route. What if I put it up and realise there is a manufacturing fault with it?

wealdroam

storeyboy10 wrote: »

They will offer no guarantee if I go down this route. What if I put it up and realise there is a manufacturing fault with it?

Then you point out the defect at your earliest opportunity.

Whether they offer a guarantee or not, The Sale of Goods Act still applies and the shed must be supplied without defect or defects put right.

Someone, not me I hasten to add , might even suggest that you should hope to find a fault before or during erection, as that may give you an opportunity to reject the goods for a full refund.

But having paid in full and in cash, you are not in a strong position.

cattermole

I am somewhat confused by this tbh.

What does their "alleged" warranty cover?

Surely on a shed a warranty is against either the wood rotting if it is wood which I assume it is for a certain period of time, does the construction make any difference to that?

Fair enough it might not hold together if it was constructed on an uneven base but surely any warranty claim would be based on this regardless? Either the wood rots or it doesn't, if it has a gap because it wasn't constructed properly as a consequence of the base would that affect the wood rotting?

We have a shed which is metal, and it is guaranteed not to rust for 10 years but does the construction make any difference to this? No.

Very few shed providers particularly at distance offer an installation service, so clearly this was built into the initial price.

I would ask to see the T&C's of this warranty as clearly they haven't provided them to date and that was the reason they gave you as to why they advised against installing it...i.e. it would invalid the warranty.

So are they saying if "they" constructed it they would give a warranty that meant there were no leaks etc.?

Buzby

Is seems you bought a shed, and it was delivered. It was to be errected for an additional fee by a sub contractor, and they turned up to complete the task but had to abandon the task due to issues not of their making.

There can be no complaint that the cost of erection will be charged again - the workers still have to be paid, and the only person deemed responsible for this would be the purchaser, even if the original price included erection.

I agree customisation is not an issue as the location of panels would be up to panel selection and construction, anf the warranty issue would be on the treatment of the wood with anti-rotting agents. If you erected yourself, loss of the warranty would not be a big deal (Really). Indeed if in your shoes, I would get a local guy (see RatedPeople) to prepare the ground and build.

pinkshoes

Buzby wrote: »

Is seems you bought a shed, and it was delivered. It was to be errected for an additional fee by a sub contractor, and they turned up to complete the task but had to abandon the task due to issues not of their making.

There can be no complaint that the cost of erection will be charged again - the workers still have to be paid, and the only person deemed responsible for this would be the purchaser, even if the original price included erection.

of course the workers should be paid again, but the shed could not be erected due to the base not being flat enough.

The OP was asked a the point of order if there was a flat base, stated it wasnt completely flat, and the seller said it was flat enough. The person selling the shed made the mistake, so should be paying for someone to come and build it.