Consumer rights delays to building materials

persrp

I ordered wooden cladding in February this year. The estimated time for delivery was 6-8 weeks. Having waited 10 weeks for delivery, my most recent conversation with them I was told to expect at least another 8 weeks, due to supplier delays.

What are my consumer rights here? I've been told that a) they consider the materials a 'bespoke' order, as they have to order materials in advance from the supplier in order to make them. Although I presume they order in bulk prior to machining it. b) in their terms and conditions they have the following: "...create bespoke products to the customers' specific requirements subject in all cases to raw material delays and availability. ...must pay the mill in advance to secure the volume, size and species of the material required, therefore the order cannot be cancelled, and the customer will be duty bound by ### terms to accept the product.

My guess is that they were aware of the delays prior to me ordering the product, and they did not make me aware of it any any phone calls or emails. If I had known about the potential delays at the time I would not have ordered.

What is my best way to approach getting a refund or would it be difficult with those terms and conditions?

Aylesbury_Duck

Which retailer have you ordered from?

How bespoke is the cladding?  Have you specified unique dimensions, or selected lengths, etc. from a drop-down list?  The former is probably bespoke, the latter isn't.

persrp

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Which retailer have you ordered from?

How bespoke is the cladding?  Have you specified unique dimensions, or selected lengths, etc. from a drop-down list?  The former is probably bespoke, the latter isn't.

I selected a width from a list, the lengths are random lengths, and the wood and finish are all specified options in their product catalogue. So the only ‘bespoke’ choice was the quantity, which i think probably stretches the definition of bespoke.

Aylesbury_Duck

persrp said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Which retailer have you ordered from?

How bespoke is the cladding?  Have you specified unique dimensions, or selected lengths, etc. from a drop-down list?  The former is probably bespoke, the latter isn't.

I selected a width from a list, the lengths are random lengths, and the wood and finish are all specified options in their product catalogue. So the only ‘bespoke’ choice was the quantity, which i think probably stretches the definition of bespoke.

I agree, I don't think that qualifies as bespoke.

The other hurdle you may have is if they (the retailer) have already incurred costs by paying the supplier.

Which retailer is it?  Was this a purely online transaction?  Are you a private individual, or a tradesperson ordering materials for a job?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

This comes under delivery of goods:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/28

(4)In this section—

(a)an “agreed” time or period means a time or period agreed by the trader and the consumer for delivery of the goods;

(b)if there is an obligation to deliver the goods at the time the contract is entered into, that time counts as the “agreed” time.

(5)Subsections (6) and (7) apply if the trader does not deliver the goods in accordance with subsection (3) or at the agreed time or within the agreed period.

(7)In any other circumstances, the consumer may specify a period that is appropriate in the circumstances and require the trader to deliver the goods before the end of that period.

(8)If the consumer specifies a period under subsection (7) but the goods are not delivered within that period, then the consumer may treat the contract as at an end.

(9)If the consumer treats the contract as at an end under subsection (6) or (8), the trader must without undue delay reimburse all payments made under the contract.

Bespoke or not is academic, you have to give them another timeframe that is "appropriate in the circumstances" and if they don't meet that they need to refund.  

persrp

Aylesbury_Duck said:

persrp said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Which retailer have you ordered from?

How bespoke is the cladding?  Have you specified unique dimensions, or selected lengths, etc. from a drop-down list?  The former is probably bespoke, the latter isn't.

I selected a width from a list, the lengths are random lengths, and the wood and finish are all specified options in their product catalogue. So the only ‘bespoke’ choice was the quantity, which i think probably stretches the definition of bespoke.

I agree, I don't think that qualifies as bespoke.

The other hurdle you may have is if they (the retailer) have already incurred costs by paying the supplier.

Which retailer is it?  Was this a purely online transaction?  Are you a private individual, or a tradesperson ordering materials for a job?

Yes, they have already stated they incurred costs by ordering the wood from the supplier. Although again, I’m assuming they just buy an enormous amount of the material from the supplier in an bulk order, not specific to mine. But they’ve said the wood has to be prepared (ie heat treated) which is bespoke, but again, treated softwood is hardly bespoke.

Im a private individual not a contractor, and the supplier can be googled by copying the bottom few sentence of the terms and conditions I posted above (just wary of naming them here).

I’ve politely asked for a refund over email and they’ve refused, so I guess I’m just trying to understand what my next option is, because it has cost me a significant amount of money and the delay will also cost me a significant amount of money (due to having to find new builders etc)

persrp

Thanks for pointing me towards this.  What is an “appropriate in the circumstances” timeframe here? Two weeks? 30 days?

Are there instances where section 28 doesn’t apply (eg there isn’t an ‘agreed date for delivery’, it was just estimated at 6-8 weeks, I haven’t told them I absolutely need the timber on x date).

Tucosalamanca

I can't see that you'll be able to get a refund based on those T&C.
They've been upfront and made it clear that there could be delays.
They don't carry an inventory of manufactured products as they make each order individually, I think it's reasonable to describe that as bespoke and can see why they can't refund once materials have been ordered.

Sadly, supply chains are not reliable. They're far better than 2020-22 but still not perfect.
I've had items with an eight week lead time take over a year to be delivered, and had items sat in a UK port for three months waiting customs clearance. It is what it is and can rarely be anticipated in advance.

As many suppliers would say 'don't start your project until all items have been delivered'.
In construction, it's just a fact of life (and often causes inconvenience, additional costs or worse).

If your project is time critical, the best course of action would have been to choose an alternative product that was available within a few days (and where the supplier knew that physical stock existed).
There's always a risk with extended lead times, as you've unfortunately found out...

Bradden

Did they give you the T&C's in a durable format? If not that would help your case. To be fair to them if they did supply the T&C's they have been upfront with potential issues.

persrp

Bradden said:

Did they give you the T&C's in a durable format? If not that would help your case. To be fair to them if they did supply the T&C's they have been upfront with potential issues.

No, they did not. To be fair, on the invoice it does state 'Terms apply, please see website', but I do not have any email or physical materials with the T&Cs attached. The first time I was directed specifically to the T&Cs on their website was when I asked to cancel my order. They have also been upfront about the issue when it became clear that a delay might first happen, and have always been polite and professional. My main gripe is that each time I speak to them the delay gets further and further away, and when I spoke to their sales team prior to my order I specifically asked them if there were any delays and was told that my order would be in the next shipment (ie which I now realise was a clever way of not admitting to a known delay).

Alderbank

Tucosalamanca said:

They don't carry an inventory of manufactured products as they make each order individually, I think it's reasonable to describe that as bespoke and can see why they can't refund once materials have been ordered.

That's not what the regulations say.

Reg 28(1)(b) says,'the supply of goods that are made to the consumer’s specifications or are clearly personalised'

The OP said,'I selected a width from a list, the lengths are random lengths, and the wood and finish are all specified options in their product catalogue.'

...so the goods are made to the trader's specifications as offered in their catalogue.

If they offer a choice of 100mm or 200mm and you choose 100mm that is is not making to your specifications.

The CCR regs are silent about the provenance of the goods - whether they are made individually or by the dozen, whether they are made by the trader or a subcontractor, whether they are made in the UK or in China, etc. so none of those factors can apply to the contract.