GRO certificate cancelation

eccentricbadger2

I recently ordered a certificate from GRO (general registrars office) but later realised I don't need it and want to cancel. However, there doesn't seem to be any facility to cancel or detail about cancellation at all on the GRO pages that I could find. In addition, on gov.uk it states "Once an order has been placed, there is no facility to either cancel or amend the application as all orders feed directly into our production process."

Is this a breach of consumer rights? As far as I understand consumers have the right to cancel and the right to a fair refund.

ArbitraryRandom

I'm not aware of any specific exemptions that might apply and I can't see anything in the T&Cs which would remove your right to cancel (if they want to charge you for work done before you cancelled for example they need to tell you/for you to agree at point of sale)... https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/faq.asp

So it might be worth an email quoting the regs (29 and 30 the most relevant) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/contents/made 

But realistically it's not likely to be worth a huge amount of stress or effort given the low cost (unless you bought a whole bushel of cirts?) 

eccentricbadger2

ArbitraryRandom Thanks a lot, this is helpful. I'm currently on paternity leave, so I have the time. Basically it's about time they update their service and provide a mechanism for cancellation. It really shouldn't be that difficult.

user1977

I would say the supply of an official extract certificate is "the supply of goods that are made to the consumer’s specifications or are clearly personalised".

ArbitraryRandom

Good shout, but I'm in the mood to argue if this counts as bespoke  

IIUC, the customer identifies an existing record which is then printed on a standard template and posted - On a smaller scale, selecting a range of designs to be printed on a standard product is not excluded (as selecting from a pre-determined list is not considered sufficiently personalised). 

How many options are needed for something to be a pre-determined list vs clearly personalised I wonder... 

PHK

But this isn't really a purchase. It's an application for a copy of a record for which a fee is payable. 

eccentricbadger2

PHK said:

But this isn't really a purchase. It's an application for a copy of a record for which a fee is payable. 

I'd argue i'm purchasing a copy of an official certificate.

km1500

it has been a while since I used the GRO but from memory it was very clear at the time of ordering that once you pressed the button the order was uncancellable and unchangeable so you would have known this at the time of order

whether this is legal or not is another matter I have no idea

ArbitraryRandom

PHK said:

But this isn't really a purchase. It's an application for a copy of a record for which a fee is payable. 

I'd argue that would make it a 'service'... which as per the will writing is cancellable within 14 days unless the customer explicitly agrees otherwise  

eccentricbadger2

First email, got the expected "It says you cant cancel response". Replied with the references etc. Will see what happens next.

eccentricbadger2

Here is the response verbatim

"Thank you for your recent enquiry, advising that you requested a refund/cancellation of your order.   

The Consumer Contracts Regulations section 30(2) of The Marriage Act 1949 and the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 places a statutory obligation on the Registrar General to issue a certified a copy of a certificate and gives a statutory right to any person wishing to have a copy certificate provided on payment of a prescribed fee.

This relationship between the Registrar General and the person interested in the certificate is statutory not contractual.

As a result legislation such as the Consumer Credit Act, Sale of Goods Act, The supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 along with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations do not apply to our transactions.

We are, therefore, not bound by this legislation to provide a refund to customers.

Furthermore, in consumer law there is no right to cancel in respect of goods that are made to the consumer’s specifications or are clearly personalised, such as in the case of birth, marriage and death certificates."

As some users speculated, the "customisation" was mentioned, but the statutory point is the dealbreaker. Regardless I still think its terrible customer service, and their excuse that it's in their production system is poor (as a software engineer, I reckon I could implement a 'delete the request' function fairly easily).