Can I cancel a sofa order?

Deepseadennis

Hi Guys. 

I ordered 2 new sofas on the 26th September last year. They were due on the 15th of January, this time came and went with no contact from the shop. I contacted them at the end of January to be told there were brexit/covid delays and they were at the port and I should get them in a couple of weeks or so, but they would find out and update me. Another month passes and no contact again from the shop. Emailed them at the end of February and now they are saying they should be here week commencing 23rd March, due to a worldwide shortage of foam. This will be some 6 months since I ordered them. I have now told them that time is of the essence as my old sofas are going next week to a friend who has moved. Am I within my rights to cancel the order as I have at no point been kept updated and have no faith that I will be kept updated or that they will arrive 23rd March! I have paid a £1000 deposit and have £1000 left to pay.
Any advice greatly appreciated 

JJ_Egan

You can cancel but they may want to try to keep your £1000 paid .

Deepseadennis

Mmmm, not the answer I was hoping for
Thank you though 

68ComebackSpecial

Deepseadennis said:

Hi Guys. 

I ordered 2 new sofas on the 26th September last year. They were due on the 15th of January, this time came and went with no contact from the shop. I contacted them at the end of January to be told there were brexit/covid delays and they were at the port and I should get them in a couple of weeks or so, but they would find out and update me. Another month passes and no contact again from the shop. Emailed them at the end of February and now they are saying they should be here week commencing 23rd March, due to a worldwide shortage of foam. This will be some 6 months since I ordered them. I have now told them that time is of the essence as my old sofas are going next week to a friend who has moved. Am I within my rights to cancel the order as I have at no point been kept updated and have no faith that I will be kept updated or that they will arrive 23rd March! I have paid a £1000 deposit and have £1000 left to pay.
Any advice greatly appreciated 

Where are you planning on sourcing a new sofa from within the next week as this sounds highly unlikely to be achievable? Why can't your friend wait an extra two weeks? He could always source one via Freecycle or similar until you actually receive your new sofas.

Aylesbury_Duck

I'd be delaying your donation to your friend.  If you cancel, I very much doubt you're going to get sofas any more quickly from anywhere else.

Deepseadennis

It’s more to do with the complete lack of customer service to be honest, I could make my friend wait, but why should I? We’ve waited long enough already. I have other options available to me as my dad is an upholsterer and has sourced other sofas for me which are more than suitable for us. We had the same issue with a bed we ordered at the same time, a month late, no update. And when I called them the second time they told me it had been there 2 weeks and they just hadn’t hit round to delivering it, or letting me know! So I went straight down and collected it......So the question is whether I am within my rights to cancel, and not whether I should wait. 

Thanks for your replies people ☺️

Aylesbury_Duck

Deepseadennis said:

It’s more to do with the complete lack of customer service to be honest, I could make my friend wait, but why should I? We’ve waited long enough already. I have other options available to me as my dad is an upholsterer and has sourced other sofas for me which are more than suitable for us. We had the same issue with a bed we ordered at the same time, a month late, no update. And when I called them the second time they told me it had been there 2 weeks and they just hadn’t hit round to delivering it, or letting me know! So I went straight down and collected it......So the question is whether I am within my rights to cancel, and not whether I should wait. 

Thanks for your replies people ☺️

Because you'll possibly be sitting on the floor or deckchairs for while if you don't 

If you have other options, then cancel.   You are within your rights to do so but you should check your contract to see what charges apply in the event of cancellation at this stage.  None of us can say whether they apply without seeing your contract.  If there are fees, you'll have to weigh up whether it's worth it.

Deepseadennis

I have nothing in writing,to do with terms and conditions, at least not on the purchase invoice. I have emailed the shop twice, with no reply. I then rang them on Saturday and left a message, at which point they rang back an hour later and said a manager will deal with my query tomorrow. The same manager that hasn’t kept me updated the whole time. Hopefully find out the answer tomorrow. Just wanted to get ahead of the conversation that we will have.
I will let you know how it pans out.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, much appreciated ☺️

unholyangel

Unless agreed otherwise, delivery of goods needs to be within 30 days. 

If the trader fails to deliver within the agreed time (or, if no agreed time, the 30 days) and time was not of the essence (either because you specifically told them this or because of the circumstances) then you need to give them a further period to deliver. 

If they still do not deliver (if I've read your post right, this is where you are), you can treat the contract as at an end and would be entitled to a full refund. 

However, they've told you two conflicting stories. How could a foam shortage have affected your order when the month before they told you they were at the port? Do they build them on the voyage over? 

Imo that lie indicates potential cash flow problems of the business. So, how did you pay for your order? 

Deepseadennis

These are the terms and conditions that I have just been sent. I have been told it is too late to cancel the order. Thee only thing I can see is in DELIVERY section, paragraph C
any advice appreciated 😊

1. These conditions override any conditions of the Customer

2. Bentley & Hall (B&H) will not be bound to supply the goods where there is a failure on the part of the

manufacturer/supplier to provide the goods.

3. Any representation or warranty made during the pre-contractual negotiations on the behalf of B&H will be of no effect

unless it is in writing on the face of this order.

4. All prices are strictly nett and are inclusive of vat at the prevailing rate at the date of order. The final charge payable by

the Customer will take into account any subsequent increase or decrease in the tax rate applicable.

5. If the required deposit has not been paid to B&H no order will be placed with the manufacturer until it is received.

6. Balances must be paid in full when the goods are available for delivery. Cheques require 5 days to clear before delivery.

7. In the event of an unsuccessful credit application by the customer B&H will not be bound to supply the goods.

8. In the event of the cancellation of this contract by the customer B&H reserves the right to retain any deposit paid. In

such circumstances B&H will be entitled to resell the goods without any notice whatsoever and will be entitled to recover any loss and expenses it incurs from the customer.

Payment Methods

1. B&H will ask for a minimum deposit of 30% on confirmation of order.

2. The balance of the total amount to be paid will become due before delivery.

3. Payment methods may include cheque, bankers draft, credit card, debit card or cash. We do not accept cheques as

payment on the day of delivery but are pleased to receive them in advance so that the funds are cleared by the day of fitting. Failure to pay the outstanding balance will entitle B&H to charge interest on the balance at a rate of 1% per month compound interest from the due date until payment. The pursuit of consumers who fail to pay on time may lead to professional charges that may be passed on to the consumer.

4. The re-presentation of dishonoured cheques will lead to a payment of £15 charged to the consumer

5. Any credit terms offered to the consumer will be explained in detail and are subject to the terms of the Consumer

Credit Act

6. Any additional payments for extra items will be shown separately on the invoice and undertaken once the agreement of

the consumer has been obtained for the extra work.

Delivery

a. The delivery men employed by B&H take care to deliver goods you have purchased safely to your door. When the goods are taken into the customers’ home any damage to their property is at the customers’ risk. B&H cannot be held responsible for any breakages of items not moved to safety.

b. B&H will liaise closely with the consumer over delivery and installation dates to ensure that the consumer is not unduly inconvenienced if any problems occur

c. When placing the order the consumer must inform B&H of any ‘critical deadlines’ by which time the project must be completed

d. Manufacturers/suppliers’ delivery dates are quoted in good faith according to the information available at the date of this contract and are, therefore, subject to circumstances outside the control of B&H. B&H will not be liable for any loss or damages from the failure to meet such dates.

e. As storage space is limited, B&H reserves the right to levy an additional charge should the customer not take delivery within 14 days of being notified of their arrival from the manufacturer/supplier. Balances are required to be paid in full once the goods are in stock. Goods will not be dispatched from the B&H warehouse until the balance has been paid in full. Cheques require 5 days to clear before delivery can be scheduled.

f. If, after notice of arrival of the goods from the manufacturer/supplier, the Customer does not take delivery of the goods within 3 months this will be deemed to be cancellation by the customer.

g. B&H regrets that timed deliveries cannot be made.

Force Majeure

1. If the performance of this contract is rendered impossible or affected in consequence of any inability to secure labour, materials, supplies, act of God, war, riot or civil commotion, strike, lock-out, fire, flood, drought, act of government or other causes (whether or not similar in kind to all or any of the foregoing) beyond the control of B&H, B&H will be entitled (without prejudice to any of its other rights against the Customer) by notice in writing to rescind the contract or to elect to impose such variation in the contract as may in the opinion of B&H be necessary.

Notice

1. Notice may be given by B&H to the Customer hereunder by telephone to the number stated on the face of this

unholyangel

Did they give you the terms before you agreed to enter the contract? If not, they can't form part of the contract. 

However some of their terms are unenforceable and potentially amount to a criminal offence, in that they attempt to remove, restrict or mislead consumers about their statutory rights. 

One of those statutory rights is what I based my previous post on.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/28/enacted

There are potentially other grounds for a refund, but I don't think it's particularly needed given the above says in black and white when you can treat the contract as at an end and that the trader must reimburse all payments made under the contract without delay.