ADEXA Fridge Purchase Nightmare

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

You are either a consumer or you aren't and ultimately that would be decided on the balance of probability, what you said

L1BYD said:
It was ordered in my name, with my home address and paid for with a personal credit card and used my personal email address, how much more personal should I be!!! At no point during the order process was o asked to put in business name or any business details otherwise I wouldn't have carried on. Surely if they were legit they would be requesting a business name / Company reg no / VAT no. As a joiner I don't know how we'd get a fridge through our books!!!! 

Supports your position of being a consumer IMO.

Sadly the company think they can get away with: 

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

So it's likely to be fruitless arguing the toss with them and I would skip to sending a letter before action noting you are a consumer, risk passes when the goods come into the physical possession of you (or someone named by you) and as such they are responsible for the damage that occurred during transit. 

It might be worth including a blanked out copy of your card statement to show it was a personal card. 

They might fold, they might not and then you'd have to look at small claims, it would cost £50 to file (for a claim between £300 and £500), I believe there's mediation where they'll try to get each side to settle and then another IIRC £50 to progress to the hearing and you run the risk of paying the other party's costs if you lose (but these are very limited, a figure of around £90 max has been suggested on here before).

Manxman_in_exile

L1BYD said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

L1BYD said:

tightauldgit said:

Is it a business purchase or a consumer purchase though? If it's going to be used in a commercial enterprise then it's not a consumer purchase even if you bought it yourself with your own card. 

It's nothing to do with commercial we are putting a bar into our house and it's just a fridge to store cans / bottles. All personal use.

As has already been mentioned, Adexa have cropped up here before.

Their website and their T&Cs make it clear that they sell commercial catering equipment at a discount and that they only sell to the trade and not to consumers.

That's why you think their T&Cs are a joke.  They are written on the understanding that you are entering into a business contract, not a consumer one.

Have you or your husband made it clear to Adexa that you are consumers and not a business?

Despite their T&Cs they ought to treat you as consumers but don't be surprised if they make you jump through a lot of hoops.

When buying stuff designed for commercial rather than domestic use, ALWAYS check the T&Cs to make sure they don't only sell on a business to business basis.

(TBH I don't have a lot of sympathy for consumers who get themselves into this position when the seller's T&Cs make it clear from the outset that they operate on a business to business basis)

At no point did I make out this was a business purchase!! I googled drinks fridge and Adexa was the main one that kept coming up. I went on the website as I would for any other purchase I'm doing. It was ordered in my name, with my home address and paid for with a personal credit card and used my personal email address, how much more personal should I be!!! At no point during the order process was o asked to put in business name or any business details otherwise I wouldn't have carried on. Surely if they were legit they would be requesting a business name / Company reg no / VAT no. As a joiner I don't know how we'd get a fridge through our books!!!! 

So, to repeat my question:

Manxman_in_exile said:

... Have you or your husband made it clear to Adexa that you are consumers and not a business?...

In case it's not clear, I'm asking you whether - since the fridge went wrong - you have told Adexa that you purchased the fridge as a consumer and that you did not realise that Adexa mainly supplied to the trade.  If you do so and apologise for not realising you might find that:

Manxman_in_exile said:

... Despite their T&Cs they ought to treat you as consumers but don't be surprised if they make you jump through a lot of hoops..

L1BYD

Manxman_in_exile said:

L1BYD said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

L1BYD said:

tightauldgit said:

Is it a business purchase or a consumer purchase though? If it's going to be used in a commercial enterprise then it's not a consumer purchase even if you bought it yourself with your own card. 

It's nothing to do with commercial we are putting a bar into our house and it's just a fridge to store cans / bottles. All personal use.

As has already been mentioned, Adexa have cropped up here before.

Their website and their T&Cs make it clear that they sell commercial catering equipment at a discount and that they only sell to the trade and not to consumers.

That's why you think their T&Cs are a joke.  They are written on the understanding that you are entering into a business contract, not a consumer one.

Have you or your husband made it clear to Adexa that you are consumers and not a business?

Despite their T&Cs they ought to treat you as consumers but don't be surprised if they make you jump through a lot of hoops.

When buying stuff designed for commercial rather than domestic use, ALWAYS check the T&Cs to make sure they don't only sell on a business to business basis.

(TBH I don't have a lot of sympathy for consumers who get themselves into this position when the seller's T&Cs make it clear from the outset that they operate on a business to business basis)

At no point did I make out this was a business purchase!! I googled drinks fridge and Adexa was the main one that kept coming up. I went on the website as I would for any other purchase I'm doing. It was ordered in my name, with my home address and paid for with a personal credit card and used my personal email address, how much more personal should I be!!! At no point during the order process was o asked to put in business name or any business details otherwise I wouldn't have carried on. Surely if they were legit they would be requesting a business name / Company reg no / VAT no. As a joiner I don't know how we'd get a fridge through our books!!!! 

So, to repeat my question:

Manxman_in_exile said:

... Have you or your husband made it clear to Adexa that you are consumers and not a business?...

In case it's not clear, I'm asking you whether - since the fridge went wrong - you have told Adexa that you purchased the fridge as a consumer and that you did not realise that Adexa mainly supplied to the trade.  If you do so and apologise for not realising you might find that:

Manxman_in_exile said:

... Despite their T&Cs they ought to treat you as consumers but don't be surprised if they make you jump through a lot of hoops..

Yes I have made it clear.  I didn't realise it was even an issue until the response I got today as none of the information provided in my order (apart from my home address) relates to the business.  Adexa have clearly searched Companies House to find our address registered and are using that against us.  If it was for business purposes I would have ordered via the business name and we would have got the VAT back. But its for personal use which I have told Adexa

Manxman_in_exile

If you can't persuade them that you're a consumer you'd best follow the suggestions from @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

If you are ever in a position again where you are making a consumer purchase of an item which is usually intended for commercial rather than domestic use, it's a good idea to check the website and T&Cs carefully to ensure that they do sell to consumers - otherwise it can get complicated when things go wrong.

(If your husband is a joiner I'm sure you'll both understand the point of view of Adexa.  If their business model is that they only sell to the trade and their prices reflect trade discounts etc, they don't want to undermine that by selling to consumers at the same reduced price as they do to trade customers.  I'm sure your husband would rather buy materials etc at trade prices rather than have his customers buy directly from his supplier at the same discounted price that he does.)

boobyd

powerful_Rogue said:

When you went to the checkout, which option did you tick? The T&C's change depending on this, so think maybe you selected business?

Op, you say Consumer but what did you tick

Also you wrote.

 As a joiner I don't know how we'd get a fridge through our books!!!! 

Your husband is in consruction..

When filing the form was it on autofil? Did any details go through showing as a business

Aylesbury_Duck

L1BYD said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Two questions from me.

1. What line of business does your husband operate from the house?

2. Did you or your husband drop it whilst moving it from garage to house?

1 may be relevant if it's obvious it was going to be used in the line of business, and 2 is presumably what they think might have happened and so you'll need to contest that if it didn't.

My husband works in the construction industry doesn't actually work at home. We're just doing up a room in our house putting in a bar and wanted a fridge. Nothing business associated at all. 
No he didn't drop it. We would never have raised a complaint if we were at fault. 

I can see why they're digging their heels in.  Your husband is a joiner and you're buying a commercial drinks fridge from a trade supplier.  It's entirely plausible that he's doing a commercial kitchen job and buying an appliance for it.

I entirely believe you, that it's nothing to do with your husband' business, but I can see why the retailer has taken the stance they have done.

All you can do is follow the earlier advice.  See if your card company will intervene (although they may ask the same questions) or write a letter to the retailer threatening court action if they don't provide a resolution within 14 days.

Bradden

It does seem unfair that they allow you to tick a box for a consumer purchase when they do not accept consumer purchases even if you tick this box. I believe that legally they should reject any order if you tick the consumer box by not doing so I doubt they are complying with the regulations. 

sheramber

Bradden said:

It does seem unfair that they allow you to tick a box for a consumer purchase when they do not accept consumer purchases even if you tick this box. I believe that legally they should reject any order if you tick the consumer box by not doing so I doubt they are complying with the regulations. 

The OP has been asked twice if she ticked 'consumer' but has not answered.

'Business' may be pre filled and she didn't change it.

powerful_Rogue

Bradden said:

It does seem unfair that they allow you to tick a box for a consumer purchase when they do not accept consumer purchases even if you tick this box. I believe that legally they should reject any order if you tick the consumer box by not doing so I doubt they are complying with the regulations. 

They have a different set of T&C's for consumer purchases.

https://adexa.co.uk/consumer-terms-and-conditions

The_Unready

Irrespective of the 'status' of the purchaser, I think that most of us can agree that Adexa's response to this issue and their attempt to deny all responsibility is pretty rubbish (I would have selected a different word there if the decency filter had allowed it)!