Delivery Rights - BoilerJuice

biddlesby

Hello everybody!

I recently ordered some heating oil using BoilerJuice, and paid a £25 early delivery fee. The delivery was not made, and I later found out that the suppler claimed that their standard-size vehicle could not fit down our lane. We have however had heating deliveries for the last twenty years to our house, and never had this problem. BoilerJuice then informed me that they were passing on a £20 failed delivery levy. I asked if they would refund the £25 early delivery fee. They pointed me to their terms and conditions, which state that they are an agent which establishes a contract between consumers and suppliers, but are not liable for the delivery itself:

3.9 The Contract for the supply of the Goods is between you and the Supplier. You acknowledge that we are not responsible for the Goods or their delivery, including (without limitation) any issues relating to the delivery, quality, safety, accuracy and/or volume of the Goods, all of which are the responsibility of the Supplier (except to the extent that any of such matters are your responsibility as set out in these Conditions).

5.4 When you order Goods you will be contracting with the Supplier on the Supplier Conditions. We give no warranties as to the quality or suitability of any Goods purchased through BoilerJuice and whilst we may agree (at our discretion) to assist in resolving any issues which have arisen in connection with an Order, any claims you may have with regard to the Goods or the delivery (or non-delivery) of the same are as between you and the Supplier and to be addressed to the Supplier under the Contract.

I was surprised because I was expecting that BoilerJuice were playing the role of a seller, not an intermediary.

My first question is: do BoilerJuice's terms and conditions hold up here? Do they have any duty which they have not been fulfilling? I tried to find advice on the internet and could not.

My second question is: do I have a case to claim back both the £25 early delivery charge and the £20 failed delivery fee, either from BoilerJuice or the supplier?

Thank you for your help!

Deastons

Have you asked why the delivery failed? Were there terms on their site informing you of the size of the delivery vehicle, minimum width of gates etc?

The fact you've not had a problem before would make me question the validity of their claim.

pinkshoes

You need to look carefully through their T&Cs. Are there any mentions of minimum widths etc...?

stephen.biddle

Hi, Thanks to my son Harry for looking after this as I was out of the country. The (non) supply company was NEW ERA FUELS LTD, they texted to say they were 0.1 miles away and I assumed they had delivered. It was not until a few days later that I had an email from my wife saying the oil had run out. They did not inform us that they had failed to deliver. After complaining to Boilerjuice I got a delivery from a different company in a standard tanker, as has always been the case. If the driver had a problem he/she could have walked the 0.1 miles to inform us.

Stephen

MataNui

Had similar issues with Boiler Juice. I paid over £100 above standard price (for only 500l) for a next day oil delivery which actually took 4 days. Same excuse that the truck couldnt get to me. No refund. Pretty sure someone needs to take these clowns to account over it. To my mind if you pay for something then you dont get it then you are entitled to a refund regardless of BS T&Cs.

biddlesby

Hello everybody,

Thank you for your help! After pressing BoilerJuice they have refunded the early delivery fee and have also not passed on the failed delivery charge .

So we are not out of money, although it did cost an awful lot of time on the phone.. However, I am still concerned that BoilerJuice are abusing their position, using a clause that they are acting as an "agent" whereas in reality they are in all intents and purposes actually a seller. For example, it doesn't seem possible for me to even access the details of the contract between the actual heating oil supplier and me through their website.

Pinkshoes: I found Terms and Conditions of New Era Fuels on their website, and they make no mention of road widths, or even fees for failed delivery. In fact, their T&Cs include a clause that they are liable to fines of 10% if they fail to deliver on time. I am now pressing to recover this fine.

ukoilman: Thank you for the tweet! Previously we used CPL Norwich 2, who delivered without issue.

sheramber

MataNui wrote: »

Had similar issues with Boiler Juice. I paid over £100 above standard price (for only 500l) for a next day oil delivery which actually took 4 days. Same excuse that the truck couldnt get to me. No refund. Pretty sure someone needs to take these clowns to account over it. To my mind if you pay for something then you dont get it then you are entitled to a refund regardless of BS T&Cs.

Why is that someone not you?

sheramber

biddlesby wrote: »

Hello everybody,

Thank you for your help! After pressing BoilerJuice they have refunded the early delivery fee and have also not passed on the failed delivery charge .

So we are not out of money, although it did cost an awful lot of time on the phone.. However, I am still concerned that BoilerJuice are abusing their position, using a clause that they are acting as an "agent" whereas in reality they are in all intents and purposes actually a seller. For example, it doesn't seem possible for me to even access the details of the contract between the actual heating oil supplier and me through their website.

Pinkshoes: I found Terms and Conditions of New Era Fuels on their website, and they make no mention of road widths, or even fees for failed delivery. In fact, their T&Cs include a clause that they are liable to fines of 10% if they fail to deliver on time. I am now pressing to recover this fine.

ukoilman: Thank you for the tweet! Previously we used CPL Norwich 2, who delivered without issue.

Who did you pay?

Does the payment go to Boilerjuice or to he supplying company?

TW1234

sheramber wrote: »

Who did you pay?

Does the payment go to Boilerjuice or to he supplying company?

Does it matter who you paid? If I give my wife some money to buy me a shirt, she is not the person responsible for the quality of theshirt.
Many of these intermediary companies have confusing T&C that avoid their having responsibility for the good sold.

stephen.biddle

FYI I paid Boilerjuice, when I complained I got a reply which in summary was "It's not our fault, we only took your money". Harry has taken a more tactful and detailed approach with them than I was inclined to.

Stephen

stephen.biddle

On a more considered approach, there is a difference between a subcontractor or re-seller who supplies goods and an agent who puts you in touch with a supplier for a fee. I think the grey area here is what Boilerjuice appear to be and how they place themselves contractually. Then we need to look at whether that contract is reasonable and enforceable under law, which is a minefield.

Stephen