Bathroom - Work Not Started - Refund Rights?

trevormax

Hi, I'm looking for some advice please on my rights to a refund of a deposit.

Late 2022, I went to a bathroom fitting company and arranged for a bathroom to be supplied and fitted by them in May 2023. I carried out checks of this company before contacting them, and they had good reviews and had been around for a while.

I paid a deposit, and received a letter/pack in the post a few days later detailing the work ordered, the materials, labour etc and an invoice stating fit date is May. In the first week of May, I had not heard anything from them about a start date, so I sent an email asking when the work would begin. A few days later, they replied saying they were running a few weeks behind due to staff shortages, and that they would contact me in a couple weeks to update. 
End of May, I still had not heard anything, so sent another email requesting an update, which has not been replied to.
Start of this week, I sent a further email asking for either a date for work to start (within a month), or for a refund of the money paid so far. I gave them until today to respond, but have not heard anything, not even an "we're sorry for the delay, a date will be available soon".

My next action was going to be to send a letter before action, and request a full refund. I now no longer trust this company to carry out the work, and don't wish to proceed with them as they have shown them selves to be untrustworthy/unreliable.

My question is, am I entitled to a refund? Much of the information I have seen online says that a deposit is non-refundable if the customer cancels. In this situation however, I feel that the company has failed to complete its contractual obligations and that they are responsible for the job being cancelled. 

Also, would a small claims court action work if they fail to respond to my letter or refund the money paid? This is in Wales. 

Thanks.  

km1500

you can of course go ahead with your action but I think the world we are living in at the moment is that you're lucky if things aren't delayed by two or three months

this is just the way things are at the moment.

born_again

How did you pay?

p00hsticks

trevormax said:

Also, would a small claims court action work if they fail to respond to my letter or refund the money paid? This is in Wales. 

Thanks.  

It depends on what you mean by 'work'. You can certainly submit a small claims action, but if found in your favour you then face having to get the decision enforced and your money actually refunded, which isn't always straight forward. 

elsien

km1500 said:

you can of course go ahead with your action but I think the world we are living in at the moment is that you're lucky if things aren't delayed by two or three months

this is just the way things are at the moment.

That’s fair enough, but you at least expect people to communicate with you what is going on, as a minimum. Simple courtesy and good customer service. 

sheramber

Are they still in business?

pinkshoes

I'm assuming you still need a bathroom? 

It's only a few weeks behind and delays happen due to materials supplies. 

We booked a bathroom fitter in November for May who told us nearer the time he was 2 weeks over schedule due to material delivery delays in other jobs.

It's all done now and he did a fab job so final balance paid. His  ext availability to do the other bathroom March 2024!!!

So if he is good, be polite!

trevormax

born_again said:

How did you pay?

Hi,  I paid with a debit card transfer. I am kicking myself for not paying with my credit card though as at least I'd have s75 protection then.

trevormax

elsien said:

km1500 said:

you can of course go ahead with your action but I think the world we are living in at the moment is that you're lucky if things aren't delayed by two or three months

this is just the way things are at the moment.

That’s fair enough, but you at least expect people to communicate with you what is going on, as a minimum. Simple courtesy and good customer service. 

This is pretty much the crux of the matter for me. They've gone completely silent and are not replying to my messages, yet they are still on business, still trading, and even only a couple days ago posting updates to social media about how they are expanding their business.

It all feels like "we've got your money, so there's nothing you can do but sit and wait until we decide to get to you"

born_again

trevormax said:

born_again said:

How did you pay?

Hi,  I paid with a debit card transfer. I am kicking myself for not paying with my credit card though as at least I'd have s75 protection then.

Do you mean with just your debit card, or transfer via their sort code & acc details.

Makes a lot of difference. As a debit card payment has chargeback rights.

Although if you want the bathroom doing, you may find that no one else can do it sooner.

Brie

I would definitely be checking if they are still in business as the first step.  If they are on line does it look like they're still taking orders?

And then I would ring them to find out what's going on.  The phone will be answered (or not) but hopefully you'll get through to a human who might be able to answer some questions for you.  Emails are very easy to overlook/avoid/delete.