REFUND ON GARDEN ROOM CANCELLED DUE TO CANCER

HeatherShuff

Hello Everyone. 
We ordered a bespoke Oak Garage and paid a small Deposit but now need to cancel as I can't work due to a Cancer diagnosis. 
The supplier won't accept this and says if we don't pay the remainder of the Deposit he will take us to Court.
Supplier has confirmed that nothing has been manufactured as yet.
Can they do this?
Many thanks in advance 

[Deleted User]

What do the terms of your contract say? You would expect to pay and forfeit the full deposit for a cancellation.

Undervalued

HeatherShuff said:

Hello Everyone. 
We ordered a bespoke Oak Garage and paid a small Deposit but now need to cancel as I can't work due to a Cancer diagnosis. 
The supplier won't accept this and says if we don't pay the remainder of the Deposit he will take us to Court.
Supplier has confirmed that nothing has been manufactured as yet.
Can they do this?
Many thanks in advance 

They can claim their actual losses (which they have a duty to mitigate as far as reasonably possible) as a result of you breaching the contract. They could be more or less than the amount of the deposit

Sadly (but I am sure you will understand) your medical diagnosis is not their concern. Some companies might show additional goodwill but they are not obliged to.

neilmcl

How much is the full deposit, how much have you paid so far?

I doubt this will ever get to court and even if they did, as mentioned, they have a duty to mitigate their losses and charge you only what they've actually lost themselves, which I'd imagine is pretty minimal.

mattyprice4004

Sorry but it sounds fair enough as long as the T&Cs account for this. 
I'm sorry to hear of your illness - perhaps arrange a payment plan with the company? 

Even though it's not been manufactured, I'm willing to bet the company making it will have bought materials etc for the job and as such will retain some of the purchase price (I'm a buyer as part of my job, and it's normal for suppliers to retain a chunk for B2B orders that are subsequently cancelled). 

Ultimately you're the one pulling out of the deal and while your illness must be devastating for you, it's not their concern and they will expect to be paid the deposit (or another amount) as per their T&Cs. 

HeatherShuff

neilmcl said:

How much is the full deposit, how much have you paid so far?

I doubt this will ever get to court and even if they did, as mentioned, they have a duty to mitigate their losses and charge you only what they've actually lost themselves, which I'd imagine is pretty minimal.

We paid 3k and the balance of the Deposit is 17k.   They advised in writing that nothing has been started.   The total order value was 47k + VAT.  They called it a Garage on the order but it was actually a Garden Annexe.  Salesman was very pushy and got us to sign up to it at our house. Not sure if that makes any difference

HeatherShuff

mattyprice4004 said:

Sorry but it sounds fair enough as long as the T&Cs account for this. 
I'm sorry to hear of your illness - perhaps arrange a payment plan with the company? 

Even though it's not been manufactured, I'm willing to bet the company making it will have bought materials etc for the job and as such will retain some of the purchase price (I'm a buyer as part of my job, and it's normal for suppliers to retain a chunk for B2B orders that are subsequently cancelled). 

Ultimately you're the one pulling out of the deal and while your illness must be devastating for you, it's not their concern and they will expect to be paid the deposit (or another amount) as per their T&Cs. 

They haven't bought any materials. The supplier advised they wouldn't be doing anything until we paid the rest of the Deposit. 

Jenni_D

HeatherShuff said:

mattyprice4004 said:

Sorry but it sounds fair enough as long as the T&Cs account for this. 
I'm sorry to hear of your illness - perhaps arrange a payment plan with the company? 

Even though it's not been manufactured, I'm willing to bet the company making it will have bought materials etc for the job and as such will retain some of the purchase price (I'm a buyer as part of my job, and it's normal for suppliers to retain a chunk for B2B orders that are subsequently cancelled). 

Ultimately you're the one pulling out of the deal and while your illness must be devastating for you, it's not their concern and they will expect to be paid the deposit (or another amount) as per their T&Cs. 

They haven't bought any materials. The supplier advised they wouldn't be doing anything until we paid the rest of the Deposit. 

In which case their losses are minimal ... probably not even the £3k initial deposit you've paid. You can breach the contract, refuse to pay more and they'd need to take you to court to pursue the £14k balance. The only (possible) issue is whether a claim for £14k + costs would fall within the small claims track where costs are limited.

m0bov

You get 14 days I think to cool off?

I would ask them to submit their costs which you would cover, otherwise you'll see them in court. They can't claim £17k when maybe their losses are £500.

neilmcl

m0bov said:

You get 14 days I think to cool off?

I would ask them to submit their costs which you would cover, otherwise you'll see them in court. They can't claim £17k when maybe their losses are £500.

Not necessarily, and particularly not if the goods supplied are truly "bespoke". Whilst this is an off-premises contract the CCRs may not cover the OP here.

HeatherShuff

Deleted_User said:

What do the terms of your contract say? You would expect to pay and forfeit the full deposit for a cancellation.

I don't know as I haven't studied it fully.