Recinding Confirmation of Cancellation

Alexfwalker81

I hope this is a simple question, but it would be great if someone is able to point me towards the relevant point of legislation to support (assuming that I'm correct, of course).

At the weekend, I bought a roller blind online. As this is made to order, I fully understand that I may not have the right to cancel this if parts have been ordered or production has been started. However, I needed to cancel it, contacted the company (within 15 minutes of placing the order) and received email confirmation within an hour that the order had been cancelled and that I would be refunded shortly.

The company have contacted me today (after I have now purchased a different blind) to say that the blind was in production and cannot be cancelled. Aside from the fact that this is highly implausible given that they must've begun production less than 15 minutes after my online order was placed, I don't think this is actually my problem. Their written confirmation of the cancellation signals to me the end of my contract with them and is, as such, final. This seems reasonable to me, as based on their written confirmation I have now made an alternative purchase.

The question is, am I right? If so, is there a point in legislation which supports the logic that once I have received written (and verbal) confirmation of a cancellation then the company cannot later recind this?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Made to order doesn’t matter as you can still cancel but made to specific sizes where you entered figures required for size may mean the right to cancel doesn’t exist.

Did you give specific sizes for the blind?

powerful_Rogue

Made to order as in you typed into a free text box what you wanted, or did you select options from drop down boxes on their website?

Alexfwalker81

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Made to order doesn’t matter as you can still cancel but made to specific sizes where you entered figures required for size may mean the right to cancel doesn’t exist.

Did you give specific sizes for the blind?

powerful_Rogue said:

Made to order as in you typed into a free text box what you wanted, or did you select options from drop down boxes on their website?

Thanks both - it's not that which I'm querying - it's the fact that they confirmed a cancellation in writing but are now recinding this. I don't believe that's allowed. After all, if you confirm to someone that you've cancelled their order and on that basis they then go and buy something elsewhere then they could potentially end up in some trouble. Fortunately here we're talking about a £150 blind, not a £5,000 bicycle or holiday something!

powerful_Rogue

Alexfwalker81 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Made to order doesn’t matter as you can still cancel but made to specific sizes where you entered figures required for size may mean the right to cancel doesn’t exist.

Did you give specific sizes for the blind?

powerful_Rogue said:

Made to order as in you typed into a free text box what you wanted, or did you select options from drop down boxes on their website?

Thanks both - it's not that which I'm querying - it's the fact that they confirmed a cancellation in writing but are now recinding this. I don't believe that's allowed. After all, if you confirm to someone that you've cancelled their order and on that basis they then go and buy something elsewhere then they could potentially end up in some trouble. Fortunately here we're talking about a £150 blind, not a £5,000 bicycle or holiday something!

We're trying to help you here, it would help if you answered the question as depending on the answer, the advice could change.

Alexfwalker81

powerful_Rogue said:

Alexfwalker81 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Made to order doesn’t matter as you can still cancel but made to specific sizes where you entered figures required for size may mean the right to cancel doesn’t exist.

Did you give specific sizes for the blind?

powerful_Rogue said:

Made to order as in you typed into a free text box what you wanted, or did you select options from drop down boxes on their website?

Thanks both - it's not that which I'm querying - it's the fact that they confirmed a cancellation in writing but are now recinding this. I don't believe that's allowed. After all, if you confirm to someone that you've cancelled their order and on that basis they then go and buy something elsewhere then they could potentially end up in some trouble. Fortunately here we're talking about a £150 blind, not a £5,000 bicycle or holiday something!

We're trying to help you here, it would help if you answered the question as depending on the answer, the advice could change.

Of course - specific sizes typed into a box.

Alexfwalker81

Sorry, I should also say that the company's T&Cs do confirm a right to cancel if the item has not gone into production. I won't post a link as that's equivalent to naming and shaming in some eyes!

powerful_Rogue

How did you pay?

Alexfwalker81

powerful_Rogue said:

How did you pay?

Klarna, pay in 30. 

Also, the expected despatch date was 21st of July. That's not especially relevant to the discussion, but does make it seem even less plausible that it was rushed into production inside 15 minutes on a Sunday evening...

powerful_Rogue

Speak to Klarna, as a credit provider they are jointly liable.

Alexfwalker81

powerful_Rogue said:

Speak to Klarna, as a credit provider they are jointly liable.

Thank you, I appreciate the advice and will contact them if this cannot be resolved amicably.

I would still like to understand, if anyone is able to confirm (or not), whether written confirmation of cancellation from a company is considered to be binding. After all, the consumer must ordinarily confirm cancellation in writing and it does seem odd that once a cancellation is confirmed in writing, that any provider of goods or services could then revoke that cancellation. However, just because that's logical doesn't mean it's the law of course.