Binding contract - no scope for second thoughts?

Abestar111

Any advice would be welcome.

My daughter has had second thoughts about her wedding dress for which she has recently signed a binding contract that clearly states an          un-refundable deposit of 50%. The rest is payment upon receipt of order. There appears to be no possibility of any cancellation. Neither is there any mention of a cooling-off period.

The order completion, from date of order is given as 7 months, so it is extremely unlikely that any work has been started by the overseas manufacturer, though I imagine there could be some associated costs involved.

The dress is referred to as ‘made to order’. The shop collection is described as ‘off the peg’ to the nearest the standard size. The relevance is that the dress is not made-to-measure (i.e to her specific measurements) so would ultimately still be saleable.

The contract states:

“We regret refunds or exchanges cannot be considered other than within your statutory rights.”

The current situation : Although order date given as 16/6/21 no money has exchanged hands as yet. I have yet to release the funds and would like to explore options.

Sandtree

Bought in person or online? Ever been to their shop/boutique?

Abestar111

Sorry, it was a boutique. 

theoretica

You say no money has changed hands?  So they do not have the un-refundable deposit?

Abestar111

Correct. She signed on the day. 

Sandtree

Abestar111 said:

Sorry, it was a boutique. 

Then there is no statutory right to cancel for change of mind.

For breach of contract however they can only claim their losses not an arbitrary 50%

Manxman_in_exile

So your daughter has ordered etc the dress from the shop, but they haven't taken a deposit yet?  Are you sure they haven't?  Do they have her card number?

k3lvc

Sandtree said:

For breach of contract however they can only claim their losses not an arbitrary 50%

Presumably as the boutique is only supplying, not manufacturing, then they'll have a subsequent contract with an overseas supplier and terms within that contract. The 50% probably only covers the manufacture/supply of dress and the boutique will have no cancellation clause with supplier

Sandtree

k3lvc said:

Sandtree said:

For breach of contract however they can only claim their losses not an arbitrary 50%

Presumably as the boutique is only supplying, not manufacturing, then they'll have a subsequent contract with an overseas supplier and terms within that contract. The 50% probably only covers the manufacture/supply of dress and the boutique will have no cancellation clause with supplier

There are a lot of ifs, buts and maybes but yes, its possible the manufacturer is a third party and the boutique will have lost 50% of the sales price in their contract with them.

Abestar111

Thank you for your observations. 

I’m not sure about next steps. Obviously, I can’t stay silent for long, it’s not fair on the owner. 50% was on the contract - so whilst I might think it as arbitrary too, they say in writing that it is a binding contract. 

The tricky thing is I am responsible for the payment but my daughter is the buyer. So technically she would be the one that is sued. 

What is meant by a binding contract? If so , that 100% of some not even made yet. 

Any thoughts on a way forward ? 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
 

Sandtree

Abestar111 said:

What is meant by a binding contract? 

Nothing, its like saying wet water or cold ice... contracts are by their nature binding once executed even if they contain clauses that allow termination.

First of all, your daughter needs to tell them they are cancelling as soon as humanly possible so any future costs can be avoided. As she hasn't paid yet the boot is then very much on the bootique's foot as they will be the ones out of pocket and unpaid.