Crocodile Verandas - No Cancellation Rights for Bespoke Product?

wesleyad

I's agree with the OP that it's a bit cheeky. The rules for bespoke products are obviously there to protect the seller from making products that cannot be resold due to their individual nature.

However as the survey has not been done, there is no way the seller can have reached this point yet, and really should be treated as a normal contract until that point. I doubt the law agrees with me, but that seems like common sense.

Doesn't seem any different to cancelling a builder before he started.

DoaM

OP can breach the contract by cancelling, whereby the seller can sue the OP for costs incurred OR (possibly) loss of profit (not both). They cannot force the OP to continue with the contract irrespective of what that term says.

Inflatable_Armadillo

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Is that clause given the same prominence as the other preceding clauses, i.e. same size print? If so, and if it's the last clause above where your wife signed, then it cannot be claimed to have been hidden away.

If that's the case, I think you're stuck. There was an opportunity to baulk at signing having read the contract and that clause.

Yes exactly the same size text, but the last clause. It is however on the rear of the contract, not above where she signed. He also didn't point anything out about cancellation at all, so neither did he say you could or could not cancel or draw her attention to this clause specifically.

pmduk

I'd check that legally, I didn't think there could be additional clauses below the signatures, but others may know for certain.

Inflatable_Armadillo

DoaM wrote: »

OP can breach the contract by cancelling, whereby the seller can sue the OP for costs incurred OR (possibly) loss of profit (not both). They cannot force the OP to continue with the contract irrespective of what that term says.

Yes, it is a long time since I studied contract law as part of my Civil's degree, but that would be my understanding too. If we cancel, which does breach 'our' contract, then they would only be able to claim liquidated and ascertained damages at the point of breach? They would need to demonstrate costs against the deposit they hold, you can only claim under contract law for real damages (costs), so they must be able to demonstrate what they have actually spent, or a true estimate of loss. So, the way I see it, the worst possible case scenario is that we loose the deposit, because I think they will struggle to claim a true estimate of loss of a £1000 or more.

waamo

Given they have been rather underhand with explaining the contract it wouldn't surprise me if they could show a massive outlay on their part. It would be very difficult to disprove.

unholyangel

It is NOT a contract for the sale goods, it is a contract for provision of a service and therefore the bespoke exemption does not apply.

From CCRs:

!!!8220;service contract!!!8221; means a contract, other than a sales contract, under which a trader supplies or agrees to supply a service to a consumer and the consumer pays or agrees to pay the price.


!!!8220;sales contract!!!8221; means a contract under which a trader transfers or agrees to transfer the ownership of goods to a consumer and the consumer pays or agrees to pay the price, including any contract that has both goods and services as its object;

!!!8220;goods!!!8221; means any tangible moveable items, but that includes water, gas and electricity if and only if they are put up for sale in a limited volume or a set quantity;

A veranda is not moveable.

That means its the rules/cancellation rights that apply to services. Now DoaM asked a relevant question about starting the works early because:

36.!!!8212;(1) The trader must not begin the supply of a service before the end of the cancellation period provided for in regulation 30(1) unless the consumer!!!8212;

(a)has made an express request, and
(b)in the case of an off-premises contract, has made the request on a durable medium.

Now if they're saying the OP cant cancel at all, they haven't provided OP with their rights to cancel under the contract and as such, the cancellation period is:

31.!!!8212;(1) This regulation applies if the trader does not provide the consumer with the information on the right to cancel required by paragraph (l) of Schedule 2, in accordance with Part 2.

(2) If the trader provides the consumer with that information in the period of 12 months beginning with the first day of the 14 days mentioned in regulation 30(2) to (6), but otherwise in accordance with Part 2, the cancellation period ends at the end of 14 days after the consumer receives the information.

(3) Otherwise the cancellation period ends at the end of 12 months after the day on which it would have ended under regulation 30.

Even if OP had made an express request in a durable medium, they'd only be liable for the costs incurred up until they informed the trader of their decision to cancel:

(4) Where the service is supplied in response to a request in accordance with paragraph (1), the consumer must (subject to paragraph (6)) pay to the trader an amount!!!8212;

(a)for the supply of the service for the period for which it is supplied, ending with the time when the trader is informed of the consumer!!!8217;s decision to cancel the contract, in accordance with regulation 32(2), and
(b)which is in proportion to what has been supplied, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

And lastly:

6) The consumer bears no cost for supply of the service, in full or in part, in the cancellation period, if!!!8212;

(a)the trader has failed to provide the consumer with the information on the right to cancel required by paragraph (l) of Schedule 2, or the information on payment of that cost required by paragraph (n) of that Schedule, in accordance with Part 2, or
(b)the service is not supplied in response to a request in accordance with paragraph (1).

TLDR: OP can cancel and since it looks like the company haven't provided the necessary information, they can cancel free of charge.


They may need to take legal action to get that refund though.

unholyangel

OP send them an email confirming that you want to cancel (if you haven't already done so in a way you can later prove if need be).

In addition, send them a letter before action for the refund of the monies you paid. Give them 14 days to refund and inform them if they haven't refunded by that date, you reserve the right to start legal proceedings without any further communication or warning, at which time you will be claiming any reasonable costs incurred in addition to the refund.

waamo

If a veranda isn't moveable how do they get it there?

Not only that why is it not possible to take it down and move it?

unholyangel

waamo wrote: »

If a veranda isn't moveable how do they get it there?

Not only that why is it not possible to take it down and move it?

Build it in situ.

Moveable doesn't mean that its a physical impossibility to deconstruct and move it. I'm trying to think of the best way to word it.

Its the difference between buying a standalone firepit from B&Q versus paying a company to design & build a fixed/built in firepit in your garden. In theory, you could move both. But only one is actually designed to be easily moved while the other is supposed to be fixed.