REFUND ON GARDEN ROOM CANCELLED DUE TO CANCER

Undervalued

Jenni_D said:

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.

If, despite reasonable efforts, they can't find other work their losses are the profit they would have made on this project after all costs. Again they have a duty to minimise costs, e.g laying off casual labour, trying to sell any perishable materials etc.

HeatherShuff

I've accepted that we've lost the 3k but it seems crazy to me that they are allowed to demand the rest of the Deposit after advising that they won't be ordering materials or starting any construction until the rest is paid

I'm assuming now we will end up in Court?

Undervalued

HeatherShuff said:

I've accepted that we've lost the 3k but it seems crazy to me that they are allowed to demand the rest of the Deposit after advising that they won't be ordering materials or starting any construction until the rest is paid

I'm assuming now we will end up in Court?

See the post I made (just above) whilst you were writing yours.

m0bov

If you can't or won't pay, yes. Hence, you need to get itemised list of their reasonable losses. You can't just "let" it go to court, the costs to you would be massive. If you can't pay due to your illness, then that's another avenue to look at. 

BTW sorry for your diagnosis.

Jenni_D

neilmcl said:

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.

The 14-day cooling off period (for an off-premises - i.e. in-home - contract) will absolutely apply here - bespoke or not. The only way it wouldn't apply was if the OP knowingly signed a waiver to the cooling off period.

@HeatherShuff can you tell us the date that you placed the (in-home) order? Are you still within 14 days of that?

Aylesbury_Duck

HeatherShuff said:

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.  

I'd get the kettle on and set some time aside to do so.  With the magnitude of money at stake, it would be time well spent.

Best wishes with this, and your health.

leonj

They sound like cowboys to me, it's not really a deposit if it hasn't been deposited yet is it

neilmcl

Jenni_D said:

neilmcl said:

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.

The 14-day cooling off period (for an off-premises - i.e. in-home - contract) will absolutely apply here - bespoke or not. The only way it wouldn't apply was if the OP knowingly signed a waiver to the cooling off period.

@HeatherShuff can you tell us the date that you placed the (in-home) order? Are you still within 14 days of that?

The rules regarding bespoke goods or goods made to the customer's specification applies to off-premises contracts just as it does to distance contracts.

There is also the matter of the following to be aware of:

"

Limits of application: general

6.—(1) These Regulations do not apply to a contract, to the extent that it is—

(a)for—

(i)gambling within the meaning of the Gambling Act 2005(1) (which includes gaming, betting and participating in a lottery); or

(ii)in relation to Northern Ireland, for betting, gaming or participating lawfully in a lottery within the meaning of the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985(2);

(b)for services of a banking, credit, insurance, personal pension, investment or payment nature;

(c)for the creation of immovable property or of rights in immovable property;

(d)for rental of accommodation for residential purposes;

(e)for the construction of new buildings, or the construction of substantially new buildings by the conversion of existing buildings;

(f)for the supply of foodstuffs, beverages or other goods intended for current consumption in the household and which are supplied by a trader on frequent and regular rounds to the consumer’s home, residence or workplace;

(g)within the scope of Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours(3);

(h)within the scope of Directive 2008/122/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts(4).

(2) These Regulations do not apply to contracts—

(a)concluded by means of automatic vending machines or automated commercial premises;

(b)concluded with a telecommunications operator through a public telephone for the use of the telephone;

(c)concluded for the use of one single connection, by telephone, internet or fax, established by a consumer;

(d)under which goods are sold by way of execution or otherwise by authority of law.

(3) Paragraph (1)(b) is subject to regulations 38(4) (ancillary contracts) and 40(3) (additional payments)."

Manxman_in_exile

Aylesbury_Duck said:

HeatherShuff said:

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.  

I'd get the kettle on and set some time aside to do so.  With the magnitude of money at stake, it would be time well spent.

Best wishes with this, and your health.

I think I'd want to pay a solicitor to look at the contract too.  (The OP has not only already paid £3k which they may or may not get back, but may also have to shell out £14k more.  I'd want proper paid for professional advice for that sort of money)

ThumbRemote

m0bov said:

If you can't or won't pay, yes. Hence, you need to get itemised list of their reasonable losses. You can't just "let" it go to court, the costs to you would be massive. If you can't pay due to your illness, then that's another avenue to look at. 

BTW sorry for your diagnosis.

Absolute rubbish. This relies on the company actually taking them to court (unlikely), then the company winning (very unlikely) and the company winning costs (microscopically unlikely)