Windows installer issue

julius1973

My wife agreed a price of £10.5k to have windows installed at our home, which were specifically mechanically jointed.  This was itemised on the quote.  We agreed the price, signed the agreement and paid a 25% deposit back on July 2. 

The company in question have now informed us that their quotation was incorrect and did not include mechanically jointed windows due to an error on the part of the manufacturer (it clearly does include them) and we can either pay and additional £2500 for their mistake or they will cancel the contract.

I would like to know if we have any legal recourse (offer an acceptance torts) due to the fact this error was theirs and we entered into a contract in good faith.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

cx6

You can sue them in the courts for specific performance ie they must carry out the contract, but that is likely to be expensive and time consuming.

Or you can cancel the contract, buy elsewhere, and sue them for any extra costs and expenses eg if the price of the alternative windows has gone up in the interim, extra phone calls and postage etc ie your losses.

However, look at the cancellation section of their T&C first and see what it says about cancellation. I would bet they have covered themselves for these kind of eventualities.

julius1973

Thanks for the reply.  This is the cancellation part of their T&C's

10. Cancellation

10.1. Where the Customer is a Consumer, the Customer has a statutory right to

a “cooling off” period. This period begins once the Agreement is formed

and ends at the end of 14 calendar days after that date.

10.2. The cooling off period does not apply to any bespoke goods or materials

made to measure ordered by the Customer.

10.3. If you wish to cancel the Agreement within the cooling off period, you

should inform us immediately by post or email to the contact details

provided with our Quotation. You may use our Model Cancellation Form,

but you do not have to. You will meet the cancellation deadline as long

as you have sent your cancellation notice before the 14 days have expired.

10.4. If you cancel within the cooling off period, you will receive a full refund of

any amount paid to us under the Agreement. Any refunds will be made

within 14 days after the day on which we are informed of the cancellation,

using the same method used to make the payment, unless you have

expressly agreed otherwise. In any case, you will not incur any fees as a

result of the refund.

10.5. If the start date for the works falls within the cooling off period, you must

make an express request for the Services to begin within the 14 day

cooling off period. By making such a request, you acknowledge and agree

to the following:

10.5.1. If the Services are completed within the 14 day cooling off period,

you will lose the right to cancel once the works are completed;

10.5.2. If you cancel the Agreement after the Services have begun, you will

be required to pay for the Services and Materials supplied up until

the point at which you inform us of your wish to cancel. The

amount due will be calculated and refunded or deducted in

proportion to the total Quoted Fee and the actual Services already

provided.

11. Cancellation of Contract After the Cooling Off Period: Where the

Customer is not a Consumer, or should any Consumer Customer cancel

the Agreement with us after the expiry of the cooling off period above,

the Customer shall remain liable to pay for any such part of the work as

has been completed and we reserve the right to levy reasonable

cancellation charges, including but not limited to, any administration

costs, procurement costs and loss of profit, against the Customer and

these shall fall due for payment immediately. Any monies already paid to

us shall be non-refundable. Should cancellation take place after the

purchasing of any Materials, payment for such Materials and any

expenses incurred will be required to be paid to us by the Customer.

cx6

That seems very reasonable and points to them being a good company to deal with. 

It's your choice - how does their increased price compare with elsewhere? If the same or less you might as well stick with them. If not, then cancel and go to an alternative company.

The choice is yours, although might be worth factoring in any hassle factor.

You might try negotiating a goodwill discount.

julius1973

Many thanks for the reply.  We are looking at alternative prices now.  This quote of £10.5k was about £3k cheaper than alternatives and I suspect they used this cheap price to entice buyers only to 'discover their mistake' after.

I emailed my local trading standards office I know (I run an online Ecommerce store)

It appears **** have realised they have made a mistake with the quote for the windows, therefore, they are arguing the contract is frustrated and everyone should be returned to where they were on the 1st July.  However, you is saying there hasn’t been a mistake therefore the contract is not frustrated and should go ahead.  I haven’t come across this type of dispute before.  I suspect it would be for a Court to decide if the contract is frustrated or not.  If it isn’t, I think the solution is a specific performance order where **** have to supply and fit the windows but I don’t know what happens if they refuse.  



I will see what can be done and thanks again

Jenni_D

What's the significance of "mechanically jointed" windows?

Manxman_in_exile

It's pure speculation on your part that the window supplier has done this deliberately.  If they had done it's doubtful they would have offered to cancel the contract.

If what you've posted there is from Trading Standards (it's impossible to tell as you haven't said that that is their reply or put it in quotes) it's of no help to you whatsoever as it is a completely unhelpful and non-committal response and supports neither your position nor the window supplier's. Mistake can be a perfectly valid reason for treating a contract as at an end and putting the parties back in the same position as they had been before - with neither party gaining nor losing.

Personally I think you have little hope of getting an order for specific performance as courts are very reluctant to make such orders where parties can just be restored to their original positions.  I also suspect you'd need legal representation with associated costs to make a successful argument for specific performance.

And, if you want to go down the specific performance route, you have to ask yourself do you really want to force somebody to work on your house who doesn't want to?  Especially someone who you think has deliberately put you in this position to "trap" you into paying more than you agreed, and someone who you have taken to court to force them to carry out the contract after they've made what they will see as an honest mistake? 

The firm (or their manufacturer) has made a mistake.  You also say that their original quote was about 30% lower than others.  The mistake was either an honest one (in which case I don't think the supplier should be penalised) or it was a dishonest one and they are a bunch of cowboys.  They've offered to cancel the contract at no cost to you.  Personally, I'd accept their offer, get more quotes, and I wouldn't necessarily go with the cheapest - which I think is where you made a mistake too... 

(The cancellation clause you quoted applies to you cancelling the contract, not the supplier.  AIUI you have said that they will cancel the contract if you want to proceed.  If you end up in court note that contract law does not deal with torts - they are entirely separate branches of law.)

theonlywayisup

Jenni_D said:

What's the significance of "mechanically jointed" windows?

It is a type of joint.  Easier to show you a welded joint v a mechanical joint for you to see the difference.  Much more pleasing to the eye IMHO.

Jenni_D

Thanks. So I guess the one on the right is the mechanical joint, and it probably has dowels or protuberances/slots to give mechanical strength to the joint?

Manxman_in_exile

I think the diagonal joint on the left looks better...

(Although I suspect the joint on the right is stronger)

bris

I suppose it's a bit like a shop mistakenly underpricing an item that is obvious, they can refuse to honour an obvious mistake.

£2.5k is not small change so they can argue this point. If you had other similar quotes you might have had a slim chance but with you next cheapest quote 3k dearer you are struggling with this one.