Rolex watch purchase problem

rigsby1208

Hi
I ordered an expensive Rolex watch, as an investment, through a well respected and established jewelers. I paid up front on my credit card. Delivery was stated to be 3-6 weeks as they were ordered from Switzerland.
3.5 months later I still dont have a watch, the shop is saying it is having problems sourcing the watch and cant give me any indication of when it will be possible to supply it. They are very keen to refund my money or sell me the same watch in a different colour, but for a 30% increase in the price.
I suspect they are not trying to source my watch at all and are just waiting for me to give up and ask for my money back. I believe the exchange rate changes means there suppliers prices have gone up and they will lose money if they supply my watch at the price I paid. Hence they want to return my money or sell me the same watch at a significant increase in price.
Do I have any rights here? have we not entered into a contract for them to supply the watch? Its not exactly a rare watch. Is it legal to charge a big mark up to supply the same watch in a different colour?.
Any help appreciated, as I feel I am being shafted by them.

cono1717

If they can't get the watch they can't get the watch. They have offered you a way to get your money back which is all you would be entitled to if you took it to court. Edited for response below - though I still wonder if it's worth all the hassle vs just getting a refund

Edit - It's also likely if you bought it online the ToS states the contract is only formed upon delivery confirmation.

naedanger

rigsby1208 wrote: »

Hi
I ordered an expensive Rolex watch, as an investment, through a well respected and established jewelers. I paid up front on my credit card. Delivery was stated to be 3-6 weeks as they were ordered from Switzerland.
3.5 months later I still dont have a watch, the shop is saying it is having problems sourcing the watch and cant give me any indication of when it will be possible to supply it. They are very keen to refund my money or sell me the same watch in a different colour, but for a 30% increase in the price.
I suspect they are not trying to source my watch at all and are just waiting for me to give up and ask for my money back. I believe the exchange rate changes means there suppliers prices have gone up and they will lose money if they supply my watch at the price I paid. Hence they want to return my money or sell me the same watch at a significant increase in price.
Do I have any rights here? have we not entered into a contract for them to supply the watch? Its not exactly a rare watch. Is it legal to charge a big mark up to supply the same watch in a different colour?.
Any help appreciated, as I feel I am being shafted by them.

Yes, assuming you have a contract, which is likely to be the case if you bought the item in a physical store. Google "loss of bargain". Unfortunately you may have a bit of a fight to enforce your rights.

(As an aside an expensive watch is seldom a good investment as the watch's second-hand value usually has to increase considerably before it exceeds the retail value because of the high mark-up on such luxury items. If you are buying it to enjoy, while expecting it to retain in value a significant proportion of it original purchase price that is different.)

rigsby1208

cono1717 wrote: »

If they can't get the watch they can't get the watch. They have offered you a way to get your money back which is all you would be entitled to if you took it to court.

Yes, but I believe they can get the watch, however they dont want to supply it now, as it will not be profitable for them due to the exchange rate changes. Its a watch which is available in jewelers up and down the country.

rigsby1208

This is the email confirmation after ordering and paying the price on the website...
its says no payment will be taken until the order is dispatched.



Dear XXX XXXX,
Thank you for your order, placed on 4 July 2016, 15:26. Your order reference is refxxx, and the order status is "Payment Received". You will receive a further email when we have fulfilled your order and passed it over to our carriers to be delivered to you.
XXXXX will not remove any funds from your payment provider until your order has been dispatched.
We hope you enjoyed your experience shopping at [FONT=&quot]XXXXX Jewellers.[/FONT]
Order Reference: refxxx
Order Status: Payment Received
Payment Method: Credit or Debit Card

naedanger

rigsby1208 wrote: »

This is the email confirmation after ordering and paying the price on the website...
its says no payment will be taken until the order is dispatched.



Dear XXX XXXX,
Thank you for your order, placed on 4 July 2016, 15:26. Your order reference is refxxx, and the order status is "Payment Received". You will receive a further email when we have fulfilled your order and passed it over to our carriers to be delivered to you.
XXXXX will not remove any funds from your payment provider until your order has been dispatched.
We hope you enjoyed your experience shopping at [FONT=&quot]XXXXX Jewellers.[/FONT]
Order Reference: refxxx
Order Status: Payment Received
Payment Method: Credit or Debit Card

It is not clear you have a contract. What precisely do their terms and conditions say about when the contract is formed? If it is when they take payment you should be fine.

If it is when the item is dispatched, or worse still delivered, then I don't think you have a contract, since the item has not been dispatched. They may have made a mistake taking your money but I don't think that entitles you to demand that the contract has been formed. I think the remedy will be to return the money.

rigsby1208

naedanger wrote: »

It is not clear you have a contract. What precisely do their terms and conditions say about when the contract is formed? If it is when they take payment you should be fine.

If it is when the item is dispatched, or worse still delivered, then I don't think you have a contract, since the item has not been dispatched. They may have made a mistake taking your money but I don't think that entitles you to demand that the contract has been formed. I think the remedy will be to return the money.

Thanks
I can't seem to find anything on their website about when a contract is formed, they are mainly a shop based jewelers. If I get a refund, I will in effect be £1000 out of pocket. All the prices at other jewelers have increased at least this amount since I placed my original order.

cono1717

rigsby1208 wrote: »

Thanks
I can't seem to find anything on their website about when a contract is formed, they are mainly a shop based jewelers. If I get a refund, I will in effect be £1000 out of pocket. All the prices at other jewelers have increased at least this amount since I placed my original order.

Will you be out of pocket because the watch was (in effect) £1000 cheaper from them than any other jeweler? If so then I don't believe you have a lot of wiggle room - can you post the website / company name so we can try to take a look at the ToS?

rigsby1208

cono1717 wrote: »

Will you be out of pocket because the watch was (in effect) £1000 cheaper from them than any other jeweler? If so then I don't believe you have a lot of wiggle room - can you post the website / company name so we can try to take a look at the ToS?

Yes I will. The price retailers are charging for this watch have increased drastically over the last 3 months due to the exchange rate. They buy the watches from Switzerland and the pounds collapse has meant the prices they pay have gone up 30%.
I could have ordered the watch from a different supplier 3.5 months ago for the same price, however all suppliers prices have gone up by approximately £1000.

rigsby1208

Browns Family Jewelers

cono1717

Hmm this does make for interesting reading.

When you place an order you will receive an email from us confirming receipt of your order. Please check that all details are correct. If not please contact us immediately. Whilst all items are offered for sale in good faith occasionally, for reasons beyond our control, we may not be able to fulfill your order.

Therefore a sale agreement will only exist between yourself and brownsfamilyjewellers.co.uk when you receive an email confirming your order has been placed. Funds will not be deducted from your payment provider until your order has been dispatched.

They have left themselves quite wide open to a loss of bargin claim I guess?