County court claim for goods not received 3 April 2019 at 2:03AM edited 3 April 2019 at 7:43AM in Consumer Rights 58 replies 2.8K views

Rachfarn1

I have had a letter from the county court stating I am being sued over an order I placed last June. Order was cancelled within 24 hours of being placed. If I lose the case does the claimant have to give me the goods ordered as he is stating that he wants full payment as they are bespoke and cannot be sold to anyone else ?
EDIT ** I'm not looking for opinions on the court case, I have already sourced help in that department. Purely looking for people's experiences of whether goods will be received if we are made to pay.

deethebee

Would you be able to provide a bit more information to help people best answer your question? My questions would be:

1. What was it that you ordered? Was it personalised and customised to your specific requirements? Or were they off the peg options?

2. What was the sellers cancellation policy? For clearly personalised goods there is no automatic right to cancel, but some do give a window within to do so.

3. How were you able to get a refund? Did the seller willingly give you one or did you go through someone else?

I'm not positive on this, but I don't think they have to provide you with the goods if you lose in court. If it is a custom made item personalised to your requirements and you did not cancel the order within their specific time frame (if they gave one) then you may still be liable to pay for it, whether you want the goods or not. This may be different if they agreed to the refund though. So if it goes to court and it's found in the seller's favour, they probably won't have to give you the goods unless they are feeling generous. If I'm wrong on this, I'm sure someone else can advise.

If it was a personalised item I would pay up before it goes to court and ask the seller to send you the goods. If they've made it specifically for you, they've put time, money and effort into this item you requested that they can't recoup so it's the honest thing to do.

Rachfarn1

The item was never paid for, it's photographs. The seller stated on his terms and conditions that no items are produced without full payment received so we don't know if the pictures were ever printed.
He came to our house to show us the pictures on a memory stick at 8pm and we ordered some to be framed. I then phoned him the following morning at 9.30am to cancel the order. I purchased one picture from him that arrived 3 weeks later that was paid in full.

waamo

Ouch. He would appear to have a very strong case against you. I presume from what you say he also took the pictures?

Why not settle before it goes to court? It would be a much more sensible option.

pinkshoes

Rachfarn1 wrote: »

I have had a letter from the county court stating I am being sued over an order I placed last June. Order was cancelled within 24 hours of being placed. If I lose the case does the claimant have to give me the goods ordered as he is stating that he wants full payment as they are bespoke and cannot be sold to anyone else ?

Obviously if you pay they have to give you the goods!

Did you invite the seller/business to your house or was it a cold call?

Rachfarn1

Met him at a craft fair, paid a fee for photos to be taken. Photo shoot at local park then viewing of pictures taken at my house. He does not have a business location for viewings.
Why would I settle before court. Order was cancelled, of which I have proof.

waamo

Settling before court will be a heck of a lot cheaper than losing in court. Frankly I don't rate your chances highly in court.

In saying that is it possible to see the t&c's you agreed to?

Rachfarn1

Thank You for your opinion but wasn't the point in question. I asked about the goods not my chances.

Bermonia

Depends how long ago all this was... as would be unreasonable to expect seller to store your items indefinitely at a potential cost to them.

The posts suggest settling in court for a number of reasons, the costs involved, the potential low chance of success plus by settling direct arrangements could be made to have obtain the items you agreed to purchase (if they are still available).

Rachfarn1

The items have not to our knowledge been produced, all he has at present is digital files. Once payment has been received he prints the photos and has them framed.
Settling is not an option at present as he is asking over £1000.
Photos were taken in June 2018.

waamo

Rachfarn1 wrote: »

The items have not to our knowledge been produced, all he has at present is digital files. Once payment has been received he prints the photos and has them framed.
Settling is not an option at present as he is asking over £1000.
Photos were taken in June 2018.

There is nothing to stop you negotiating before court. In fact the court encourages this. Mediation will actually be offered as part of the court process.

Why not open up some meaningful dialogue? Try offering £200 and not having the pictures as an opener and see what he says.