Am I entitled to a refund?

Aylesbury_Duck

e_ryman said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

e_ryman said:

Haha!  I wasn’t expecting the building work to be done for nothing.  All I wanted to do was return the awnings as I don’t want the building work done.  It’s a bit like if you went to the dentist for a crown.  They did the prep work and by the time you went to get it fitted your tooth broke.  You could either have further work done to the tooth and the crown fitted or the tooth removed.  If you had the tooth removed, you would not expect to pay for the crown right?  Same here, no one assessed the building correctly so goods were supplied that can’t be fitted unless a load more work is done that I wasn’t warned about so I shouldn’t have to pay for the awning or am I missing the point? 

Wrong.  Your analogy actually works against you!  In the procedure you've outlined, the dentist has done the prep work, which includes taking an impression of the tooth to be crowned, then that impression goes off to the lab and the crown is manufactured.  If your tooth is broken and removed, you still owe them for the manufacture of the crown, even if you won't pay them to fit it.  They can't use it on someone else because it's unique to the setting.

It's actually a very good analogy of your awning situation, but perhaps not one to use to bolster your case.

I am actually a dentist and I wouldn’t charge for the crown as I would assume an incorrect assessment regarding the quality of the remaining tooth had been done if the patient opted for the extraction so I think the analogy works 

Can I sign up to your practice, please? 

GeordieGeorge

Diamandis said:

GeordieGeorge said:

If it’s to supply and fit, and it was a quote rather than an estimate then it’s really his problem if he’s under-quoted on the job, and if he’s now choosing to decline to carry the work out then he needs to refund you.

Was there definitely nothing said such as “subject to survey”? If not you are right to require they are fitted or you are refunded, but it’s quite likely to be an uphill struggle.

How did you pay? If on a debit or credit card your bank may be able to help

They paid for the supply and fit of awnings, not any building work. What your suggesting is ridiculous,  it would be like buying a carpet and expecting the carpet fitter to fix issues with your floorboards.

Not at all. They paid for them to be supplied and fitted, the job was checked over first, and now the supplier is saying that he’ll not do the agreed work. If he’s choosing not to do it then the customer can’t be charged for the guy messing up and not correctly checking that the job could be done.

pbartlett

It's the old package holiday versus buying separate flights and hotels analogy

what was your contract?

 was it to supply and fit for a certain price - in which case either they do that all they refund your deposit.

Or was its separate contracts - one for supply and the other for fitting

pinkshoes

e_ryman said:

I should’ve said he inspected the property beforehand and the quote was to supply and fit the awnings.  He then has a guy that dies the installation for him.  

If the company inspected the property, quoted to supply and fit based on their visit, and then have since discovered that they missed something (e.g. the wall not being structural), then they need to either complete the work* or offer a full refund of money paid.

*the issue you have is it says estimate which means that the price can fluctuate depending on other circumstances.

BUT... the crux of the matter is that THEY made a mistake. I would argue that determining whether a wall is structural or not is a fundamental part of their business, so to miss something like this would mean they should refund.

e_ryman

pinkshoes said:

e_ryman said:

I should’ve said he inspected the property beforehand and the quote was to supply and fit the awnings.  He then has a guy that dies the installation for him.  

If the company inspected the property, quoted to supply and fit based on their visit, and then have since discovered that they missed something (e.g. the wall not being structural), then they need to either complete the work* or offer a full refund of money paid.

*the issue you have is it says estimate which means that the price can fluctuate depending on other circumstances.

BUT... the crux of the matter is that THEY made a mistake. I would argue that determining whether a wall is structural or not is a fundamental part of their business, so to miss something like this would mean they should refund.

Thanks for that.  The thing is, I wouldn’t have minded paying out for extra work because I really do want the awnings fitted.  However, the work required is extensive and it isn’t going to be as aesthetically pleasing.  I am also not sure if it is even possible as I haven’t consulted a builder yet.  The crux of it is I don’t want to be stuck with £4k worth of awnings that can’t be fixed to my property!  

e_ryman

To update you all.  I contacted Citizen’s Advice and they have said it would be reasonable to expect them to assess the suitability of any walls to which the awning was to be fixed so therefore I am entitled to a refund.  I have yet to tell the awning guy so wish me luck 😬