Getting an international refund (Spain)

Help1234

Hello,

I ordered a wedding cake for my wedding in Mallorca. My wedding went ahead as it was on the green list at the time and everything went perfectly, aside from the cake. The cake was a complete disaster (melted and collapsed upon arrival/delivery). I paid via international bank transfer. I have emailed the supplier who it turns out was actually in another country at the time so must have got someone else to bake it. I have requested a full refund and provided pictures as evidence. I just wondered what the next step will be if she declines to refund or doesn't even respond. I do have wedding insurance, will need to check if this is covered, but feel the supplier should refund me as compensation. Is there legal steps to getting money back from abroad? Thanks

tacpot12

I think the steps could depend in part what law governed the transaction. You could be protected by Spanish Consumer Law. How did you find the supplier and how did you agree the work that they would do? 

Offering to settle for a partial refund can work in such cases as the supplier may accept that  there was a problem and that they are liable but not be able to take the hit of providing  a full refund. Doing so might keep you out of the  equivalent of the Small Claims Court, which is probably a good idea as having to deal with courts in a foreign language is harder than dealing with them in the UK (although I would venture that the difference is not that great!)

Help1234

I found the supplier online just through searching. I agreed the work they would do via social media messages and emails, all of which I have copies of. I then received references and my caterers who were excellent said they often work with her and have done for years. I guess the issue was she didn't actually bake it because she wasn't in the country! I feel aggrieved to only receive a partial refund. The second tier actually collapsed and fell off the bottom tier. All the fondant was dripping down and bulging, it really was a complete disaster. 

tacpot12

I think the next step would be to make a complaint to the "OMIC"  (which stands for "Oficina Municipal de Información al Consumidor") in the local municipality. They will have a claim form that you will need to complete and send back to them. I understand that they can act as a mediatior and should tell you what your next steps are if they can't broker an agreement on a refund. Needless to say the form will have to be completed in Spanish, and translations of any messages in English between you and the baker provided to the OMIC.  

You might also consider becoming a member of CAB Spain : https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/  in case you need more help. 

Sandtree

Who specified the cake to be fondant? Was that your idea or theirs? What were the temps on the day? Was cold storage provided to keep the cake in before it was brought out?

powerful_Rogue

What happened to the cake? Did it get binned or eaten?

Help1234

The baker specified it would be fondant. The cake arrived already in a state. My florist tried to save it after the 6 inch tier collapsed and fell on its head, she got it back up and covered all the melted swelling bits with flowers and it was just about acceptable from one small angle and they quickly got it in a fridge. It was obviously a hot day - it was Mallorca, but the baker is based in Mallorca and works with these temperatures daily. 

The cake was brought out for 5 mins after spending hours in a fridge but we couldn’t cut it in case it collapsed as it still wasn’t that stable and had lots of swelling, so we faked the cutting just basically posing next to it with a knife, then it was taken away and cut in pieces and these were eaten. It was also bright blue when bridal white was specified.

powerful_Rogue

Help1234 said:

The baker specified it would be fondant. The cake arrived already in a state. My florist tried to save it after the 6 inch tier collapsed and fell on its head, she got it back up and covered all the melted swelling bits with flowers and it was just about acceptable from one small angle and they quickly got it in a fridge. It was obviously a hot day - it was Mallorca, but the baker is based in Mallorca and works with these temperatures daily. 

The cake was brought out for 5 mins after spending hours in a fridge but we couldn’t cut it in case it collapsed as it still wasn’t that stable and had lots of swelling, so we faked the cutting just basically posing next to it with a knife, then it was taken away and cut in pieces and these were eaten. It was also bright blue when bridal white was specified.

In which case at most all you would be looking at is a partial refund, if that. As they say, 'you can't have your cake and eat it'.

Help1234

Due to the cake arriving in a complete state, melting, collapsing, falling head over and being a completely different colour to what I ordered, I’m going to attempt to get my money back. Perhaps I won’t be able to but I’m going to try and will be grateful for any advice that would help me reach this outcome. I will follow the advice helpfully outlined above.

JJ_Egan

What does Spanish Consumer laws state ??

UK advice/ laws may well not apply .

 The legal steps would be Spanish legal steps  and they may differer from UK legal steps .

Help1234

It’s hard because everything I look at talks about EU small claims court which UK consumers can no longer apply to post-Brexit.