Can I cancel an order

Tortoise8

Hi,
Please could I have some advice on my entitlement to cancel an order.

Back on the 13th September I placed an order online for an expensive (almost £1000) bespoke shed for my guinea pigs. At the time I was told 12-16 weeks for delivery.
Unfortunately my pets passed away just before Christmas, I emailed the company and found out they hadn’t even started to build the shed. I then request they cancel and refund my order, they refused as it was a bespoke order. Now 5 months after placing the order, they still haven’t started to make it.

Do I have any rights to cancel my order? I paid via PayPal from my credit card.

Thanks

TeamPlum

I should imagine it depends what it says on your terms and condition.

Tortoise8

Their terms and conditions to do say you can!!!8217;t cancel bespoke orders. I paid in full at the time of ordering.
They don!!!8217;t seem in any rush to make my order, can they just keeping me waiting for as long as they want?

DoaM

What do the terms say regarding expected delivery?

When you say "bespoke" what exactly do you mean? How exactly did you order the shed? Did you give them the dimensions and design, or did you select from options that they offered? (i.e. configured what you wanted based on their configuration options).

The answer is important.

ThumbRemote

16 weeks would have been the start of this year. As DoaM says, what are the terms and conditions with delivery - does it say it's a guideline, or just give that range?

DoaM needs to know the bespoke information to see if you have legal rights to cancel under the Consumer Rights Act. That would be your best bet. Alternatively, you may just be able to claim breach of contract if they haven't done the work yet.

I suspect you are outside any time limit for Paypal by now. Did you send the money as payment for the product, or was it a gift?

Finally, is there no chance you will be owning any more guinea pigs in the future?

Tortoise8

Hi,
Thank you for your replies.
Their website states 12-16 weeks for delivery but may take longer if they are behind on orders.
On their website they sell a range of shed etc for guinea pigs, I wanted one a foot smaller, everything else was as per their website. The order was placed via email not through their website.

DoaM

In that case it does sound like a bespoke order and the Consumer Rights Act/Consumer Contracts Regs cancellation option isn't available.

unholyangel

We're now at 21 weeks I think so 30-75% longer than their initial 12-16 week period.

Firstly I would tell them that they haven't been able to perform the contract within the agreed time of 12-16 weeks and despite you allowing a further 5 weeks, they still haven't delivered so you are now cancelling (and then see what they say before deciding my next move).

They can't really extend the time if they are "behind on orders" because its entirely within their control - thus it would have the effect of making the contract binding on you while allowing them to vary the terms at their discretion.


Side note: they shouldn't have refused to let you cancel. Even where there is no statutory right to cancel without penalty, you can terminate a contract - just not without being liable for the losses incurred by your wrongful termination. But it may be worthwhile making a note of it should it ever go to court as it would show that they failed to mitigate their loss.