Missing parts and T&C's

jimmy55

I bought 2 self assembly storage racks from Adexa Direct. I started assembling the first one after a few days and found one small but crucial part missing Which means I cant join the top and bottom halves together. I reported it to the company with a photo within 48 hours but there response is that unless reported within 24 hours the best they can offer is £10 refund ( Which they state is apparently in their terms of sale ). I have bought 4 of these over time and spent nearly £500 and am livid at their attitude. Each set weighs approx 40kg. Can they honestly expect you to open and examine the parts within 24hours? I'd be very interested on my rights regarding their ridiculous Ts & Cs. Many thanks.

Gavin83

Is this a business purchase or were you buying it for yourself?

jimmy55

For myself Gavin.

Aylesbury_Duck

They can't hold you to those terms, because no retailer's terms can undermine your consumer rights.

Tell them if they won't supply the missing part, you'll dismantle the whole lot and return it for a full refund.

Manxman_in_exile

@jimmy55 -  As stated above, no retailer's T&Cs can take away your statutory consumer rights if the goods are faulty, or not fit for purpose, or are not as described etc or don't otherwise conform to the contract.

Quote the law to them which is s31 from here:   Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)

(Are they perhaps unaware that you are a consumer?)

jimmy55

A day of emails back and forth. Polite request for part....You have agreed to our terms and conditions on point of sale...... sent copy of Section 31 as above ........You have agreed to our terms and conditions on point of sale. ......... stated that item is not fit for use, please collect ........ Appologies. You have agreed to our terms and conditions on point of sale.

Kind Regards

Megan

Customer Care Associate 

Adexa Direct


Now I will have to go through the charge back route with the bank. I wish I'd paid attention to Trustpilot before placing the order. I'm not alone.

It has been a textbook exercise in how to turn a happy, returning customer into a very unhappy one who will spread the news. Thanks all for the suggestions. J

Manxman_in_exile

Hmmm.

I see looking at their T&Cs that they only sell commercial equipment to businesses and 1.1 says that all purchases are treated as business to business and that buyer doesn't have consumer protection.

Terms & Conditions (adexa.co.uk)

Were you aware that Adexa Direct only supply to the trade and did you inform them that you were not a trade customer?

I always think these situations are tricky.  I'm not sure if Adexa can rely on these terms or not.  I'm sure others will have a view.

The problem - from your position - is that they appear to clearly state that they only enter into B2B contracts and not consumer contracts.  If you don't make it clear that you are a consumer, how are they meant to know?

One of the reasons "trade purchases" offer such good value is because the buyer doesn't get any statutory protection.  Some people might think that to take the benefit from trade prices but try to assert your consumer rights is having your cake and eating it...

You could try to persist with Adexa, or try claiming from your card provider.  Problem is, if it's a chargeback, there's nothing to stop Adexa trying to sue you if they think they are in the right.

born_again

One for the experts.

How does this from the T/C stack up?
https://adexa.co.uk/terms

1. Goods being Sold

1.1 Every sale is considered a business to business contract. If you are making a personal purchase for yourself please note that you will not be covered by the consumer Distance Selling Regulations (DSR’s). Therefore we are not obligated to offer refunds or accept returns even if items are unused

jimmy55

Surely public or business if there is a part missing which stops it being used there is some obligation to sort it out. I cant support the top half of the rack with the £10 they offered! Some customers on Trustpilot bought whole commrcial kitchens and were expected to unwrap and check it within 24 hours of delivery.

Manxman_in_exile

jimmy55 said:

...Some customers on Trustpilot bought whole commrcial kitchens and were expected to unwrap and check it within 24 hours of delivery.

Commercial or trade customers are expected to be "big boys" and to be able to look after themselves when buying from other commercial concerns, and to be bound by the seller's T&Cs.

If you don't like the T&Cs, then commercial customers are expected to buy elsewhere or to negotiate better terms.

Consumers and "private" buyers, on the other hand, are considered to need special protection - hence statutory consumer protection laws.

Business customers can still have protection under Sale of Goods Act, and it might be you are covered too.

Presumably you did not tell them you were not a trade customer, so you didn't give them an opportunity not to do business with you?  (They are not, of course, obliged to sell to private consumers if they only want to sell to the trade).

MarvinDay

born_again said:

One for the experts.

How does this from the T/C stack up?
https://adexa.co.uk/terms

1. Goods being Sold

1.1 Every sale is considered a business to business contract. If you are making a personal purchase for yourself please note that you will not be covered by the consumer Distance Selling Regulations (DSR’s). Therefore we are not obligated to offer refunds or accept returns even if items are unused

Personally, I would say that by having that in their T&C's they are admitting that they are allowing consumers to purchase from them and because of that are thus required to abide by the requirements of the CRA and other consumer related legislation.

They can't have it both ways. Either they are strictly B2B only in which case they should state that no consumer related purchases are permitted or as their T&C's clearly indicate, they allow B2C sales in which case they have to follow consumer laws.