Cancellation fees

AW229

I chose a sofa from SCS, and didn’t notice until 3 weeks after order was placed that the sales assistant had ordered the wrong one, a 3 seater instead of a 2 seater. It’s too big for the space I have so I went back to the store to cancel it.  They say that it is a “no cancellation” order after 7 days.  I can reselect a new one (the correct one!) but they will charge me 25% of the old purchase to do that.  That would be £400, just to change an order.  The original invoice also included extras including £99 delivery, £147 insurance, £30 leather care and various other bits, amounting to around £400 all of which will be charged at 25%.  Surely this can’t be right?  I’ve asked them to ignore the extras when calculating the 25% but they say “it’s the rules”.  I’d like to cancel the whole thing really, but the assistant denies getting it wrong and I can’t prove he did. The contract says I should read it carefully before signing it, but I didn’t receive by email it until after the order was placed - and I can only think that when I was asked to click a box on his iPad, that was me actually electronically signing something I hadn’t been provided to read.  Please can anyone advise if I have any rights in this matter, I just can’t afford to pay out £400 for nothing. Thanks.

eskbanker

AW229 said:

I chose a sofa from SCS, and didn’t notice until 3 weeks after order was placed that the sales assistant had ordered the wrong one, a 3 seater instead of a 2 seater.

[...]

The contract says I should read it carefully before signing it, but I didn’t receive by email it until after the order was placed

If you had the opportunity to read and verify the order detail immediately after receiving it, but chose not to do so for three weeks, then I don't think you have a leg to stand on, I'm afraid....

Edit: to clarify, I think you're on the hook for a cancellation/change fee, but there may be scope to challenge its size, if they're seeking a percentage of costs that they won't have incurred.

AW229

Thanks for your reply - I thought that might be the case - but do you think I have a right to demand a cancellation, without selecting another sofa, if I pay their fee?  I really don’t want to buy from them now, especially since I’ve looked at some of their reviews, and now discovered it’s coming from China - but they’re adamant I can’t simply cancel.  That seems odd to me, if I pay the fee they’ve set.

Olinda99

you are bound by the contract and whatever terms and conditions are in that contract as that is what you signed. you can try goodwill but it seems as though they are not going to do that.

Alderbank

I think you are saying that you placed an order in-store, then 3 weeks later you asked to make a change (from 3 seater to 2 seater). The store agreed you can reselect another one instead but there would be a charge. You are querying the size of the charge, saying  'That would be £400, just to change an order.'

If the above is correct I don't think there are any consumer rights involved. It would be for you and the store to reach an agreement.

If your claim is that the goods are not as described then you will have to threaten to take them to court and you would have to be prepared to follow through with this if they don't back down. It would be a simple matter of who the judge believes. You say that a 3 seater would not fit in your home, so that would be useful to support your claim (in my opinion). 

If on the other hand you want to break the contract and cancel the order that is a different matter. You would need to tell them very clearly that you are cancelling and cancelling the whole lot, and since it is a consumer purchase they can only charge you their actual costs.