Benchmarx kitchen + appliances breach of contract

Swanseaparker

Hi,

I have read the sticky and some posts but unable to find a similar case so far, I will try to keep it brief.

• Had a kitchen designed and priced by Benchmarx in December, kitchen and appliances were priced separately
• They offered discount to pay for kitchen + appliances before end of 2022 so we did this (approx £9k total)
• Changed our minds on the appliances (as we were advised we could) asked them to cancel their products, but they advised they could price match anywhere else, I thought this may be a better option as perhaps they could get products cheaper at trade price and align delivery fees/dates
• Emailed a list of makes, models, prices and websites where appliances were available (hob, oven, cooker hood, fridge freezer and dishwasher) end of Jan 2023 and phoned on same day to ensure they could price match those products as many were on special offer or low stock. Spoke to assistant manager at local branch who confirmed they could and "not to stress, we will sort it"
• Phoned me last week to say they are limited to the brands they can order and couldn't order those in my email (including Zanussi and Beko)
• After me raising my frustration through our kitchen fitter, Assistant Manager of Benchmarx branch phoned again last week to say they could order all Bosch products at the prices in my email (for non-Bosch products)
• Assistant manager emailed me specs of Bosch products along with the text "please ignore the prices, as discussed I will get these price matched to your previous email"
• Kitchen fitter rings Benchmarx today, Assistant Manager is away for the week but Manager said they cannot honour this, after kitchen was delivered and fitted yesterday

Where do I stand here? The price difference between the Bosch products on their website and the price they have quoted me is approx £1,600. Manager has said either I can pay that, or I can order my own list which I'd emailed them, however many products have gone back up in price or are out of stock. Before I realised the kitchen had been fitted today (living in rented accommodation at the moment) I told my fitter that I would cancel my order with Benchmarx and arrange a design with Howdens instead. I spoke to Citizen's Advice who said this could fall under breach of contract, but wanted thoughts/experience of anyone with a similar situation. The outcome I hope for is essentially for Benchmarx to honour the writing in email, as they have given incorrect advice and delivered the kitchen unit aspect in the meantime, before changing the price.

Thanks,
Swanseaparker

tacpot12

Seems clear that the Benchmarx offered to supply the goods for a price, and you agreed and crucially paid for the goods, so you have a contract that they have breached by not providing the goods. You can certainly get your money back, but forcing them to provide the goods you ordered when they cannot get them anywhere (because they are out of stock) is going to be impossible. A judge would expect you to negotiate with them, and would no doubt award you some money for having to live with a kitchen that has no appliances in it. 

If you have home insurance, check to see if you have legal expenses cover. If you do, call the Legal Helpline and ask that they get involved. If you don't have the legal expenses cover, you will need a solicitor to advise you whether you have a case that is worth taking to court. You need a solicitor specialising in civil litigation.  

Swanseaparker

Thanks for the quick response tacpot12. When you say "you can certainly get your money back" I assume you mean for the appliances and not for the kitchen units (which unfortunately have already been fitted). This isn't really beneficial as we knew we were entitled to a refund for those products anyway as they had not been delivered and told us we could cancel if we changed our minds. The slight issue with this is that we had originally paid for entry level products (mainly Neue products) but wanted to upgrade them to a different list I had provided (Zanussi, Beko etc.), so never actually paid for the Bosch products. Would it still constitute part of the contract as I only decided to proceed with the purchase of the units because the assistant manager offered me the large discount on the Bosch products, realising it was his mistake. I certainly wasn't expecting them to supply products that aren't in stock, not sure if I've caused some confusion in my explanation there. I agree that perhaps as it is not straightforward, I may need to involve a solicitor. I will check my home insurance and perhaps ring Benchmarx in the morning to see if they are able to provide a solution that we are both happy with.

HillStreetBlues

What solution would you be happy with?

sheramber

Changed our minds on the appliances (as we were advised we could) asked them to cancel their products, 

That would imply the appliances not the whole kitchen.  

Did you make it clear that the supply of the kitchen depended on getting the appliances at eh price you wanted?

Do you have anything in writing/ recorded  about the offer to supply Bosch products at the same price?

Would you get the appliances at the reduced price by ordering a new kitchen from Howdens?

Why not wait and speak to the assistant manager when he returns.

Swanseaparker

Thanks for your additional comments.

HillStreetBlues - there are a few I'd be happy with. The ideal outcome would be what they have promised (Bosch at discounted prices), but I have others I'm open to discuss with the Manager.

sheramber - yes, we only wanted to cancel the original appliances (mainly Neue), not the units. I didn't make it clear that the kitchen was dependent on appliances, because unfortunately that conversation didn't happen.  The Assistant Manager acknowledged his error and offered the Bosch appliances at a big reduction as a resolution. It wasn't even in question that this offer would not go ahead, or would be an issue. I have in writing twice (both email) that the Assistant Manager would supply the Bosch products at the same price as the others (Zanussi, Beko, etc.). It's too late to order from Howdens unfortunately, the kitchen fitter had fitted the units before the Manager at Benchmarx decided to overule the Assistant. Also we are in rented accommodation currently and based on time frames, it is possibly too late to try to return Benchmarx units (if at all possible) and look elsewhere. This is also the case for waiting for the Assistant Manager to return as I suspect it won't change much anyway, with the Manager deciding to decline.

I'm waiting for a call back from the Manager, didn't happen today despite me calling them twice. Will keep you posted.

Thanks again!