Chances of a successful chargeback

CFELH

I recently ordered 12 square metres of kitchen tiles and 4 bags of tile adhesive and paid by credit card. The order was to an online company. The order was defined as 148 items (144 tiles and 4 bags of adhesive), so no chance of a chargeback. Nonetheless, 40% of the tiles arrived cracked and all the adhesive is over a year out of date (it only has a 6 month shelf life from date of manufacture). I notified the supplier within one hour of delivery and over the past two weeks have followed up their damaged delivery process on four separate occasions.  It's obvious I'm talking to a brick wall; however, I need to get this kitchen finished, so have had to source from another supplier. If the original tile company remain quiet, I have two options, court or chargeback.

What stands the greatest chance of success?

born_again

Can try. But will only be partial on the faulty tiles (can not do others that are OK) & out of date adhesive.

Even if it was actioned, they have 45  days to contest & one of the parts of the chargeback is the goods have to be returned, or if not proof they are being obstructive & not providing details.
No you can not claim return costs either.

So it will not be a quick process & no guarantee of success.
Even if you won, they still could take you to court for the funds. As chargebacks have no legal standing.

eskbanker

CFELH said:

I recently ordered 12 square metres of kitchen tiles and 4 bags of tile adhesive and paid by credit card. The order was to an online company. The order was defined as 148 items (144 tiles and 4 bags of adhesive), so no chance of a chargeback. Nonetheless, 40% of the tiles arrived cracked and all the adhesive is over a year out of date (it only has a 6 month shelf life from date of manufacture). I notified the supplier within one hour of delivery and over the past two weeks have followed up their damaged delivery process on four separate occasions.  It's obvious I'm talking to a brick wall; however, I need to get this kitchen finished, so have had to source from another supplier. If the original tile company remain quiet, I have two options, court or chargeback.

What stands the greatest chance of success?

Go for chargeback first (I think you meant 'no chance of section 75'?) and if that doesn't bear fruit then you still have the option of court.

CFELH

born_again said:

Can try. But will only be partial on the faulty tiles (can not do others that are OK) & out of date adhesive.

Even if it was actioned, they have 45  days to contest & one of the parts of the chargeback is the goods have to be returned, or if not proof they are being obstructive & not providing details.
No you can not claim return costs either.

So it will not be a quick process & no guarantee of success.
Even if you won, they still could take you to court for the funds. As chargebacks have no legal standing.

Phew, returning would be very costly (over 80 kilos). I thought a chargeback would be risky, but didn't think I had any chance of a Section 75.  I thought under current consumer law (whatever that is) faulty goods had to be returned at the sellers cost. Would the small claims route be the same (return goods at my cost)?

Okell

If you are still within 30 days of delivery you need to clearly inform the trader - if you haven't already done so - that you are exercising your short term right to reject* the goods under s20 and s22 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk) for a full refund.  (Tip: don't ask him if you can reject - tell him you are rejecting).

You won't be able to pursue any chargeback or s75 claim before you've done that.

Assuming that you have not already agreed to return the goods yourself, then all you need to do is to make them available for collection by the trader.  Even if you have agreed to return them yourself, the trader must pay the reasonable costs of that return.  See s20(7) and (8) of the legislation linked to above.  (It's different if you originally picked the goods up yourself, but I assume you had these delivered to you?)

If they won't cough up you'll have to sue them


*One thing I'm not entirely sure about and others need to comment on.  AIUI 40% of the tiles were cracked and all of the adhesive was out of date.  I assume that that is sufficient for you to reject everything on the grounds that the goods as a whole were not of satisfactory quality and not as described.  But I'm not sure.  Obviously you need to reject all the tiles, not just the 40% that are damaged.

Okell

CFELH said:

... The order was defined as 148 items (144 tiles and 4 bags of adhesive)...

For certainty, how was this purcahse itemised on the order and invoice (including price)?

ThumbRemote

Okell said:

*One thing I'm not entirely sure about and others need to comment on.  AIUI 40% of the tiles were cracked and all of the adhesive was out of date.  I assume that that is sufficient for you to reject everything on the grounds that the goods as a whole were not of satisfactory quality and not as described.  But I'm not sure.  Obviously you need to reject all the tiles, not just the 40% that are damaged.

Yes, absolutely. 

Consumer Rights Act speaks in terms of contracts. If part of the goods in the contract do not conform, the whole contract can be terminated.

There is a specific section, 21, that gives some limited cases when the consumer may wish to only partially reject the goods, but this is written as exceptions to the general case. 

Alderbank

Yes, section 21 'Partial rejection of goods' says the consumer can choose to reject all or part of the goods if some of them do not conform.

The exception to which @ThumbRemote refers is if any of the goods form a 'commercial unit'.

CRA says they are a commercial unit if division of the unit would materially impair the value of the goods or the character of the unit.

For example if you buy a pair of shoes and one shoe is faulty you could not return that shoe and keep the good one. The logic is that even if the trader could repair that faulty shoe, there isn't much of a market for a single shoe.

The exemption probably would not apply to loose tiles, but it would if together they formed a tiled picture mural.

CFELH

Okell said:

CFELH said:

... The order was defined as 148 items (144 tiles and 4 bags of adhesive)...

For certainty, how was this purcahse itemised on the order and invoice (including price)?

The order notes the type of tile x 144 then the total price of all 144. The same for the adhesive. There is no invoice, just the order and confirmation of payment.  The tiles arrived in 12 boxes (12 to a box forms 1m2). All the items arrived on a pallet.  On their returns information(assuming this process was being followed), it notes I am responsible for packing the goods back on the pallet to be collected. However, I dont have the tools to fix pallet straps etc, so unsure how that would work if more damage to the tiles occured on their way back.

Alderbank

You don't really need packing straps unless the load is more than 400Kg. Below that the stretch wrapping (clingfilm) is adequate if applied properly.
Amazon has a good guide to doing this:
 https://freight.amazon.co.uk/newsroom/how-to-prepare-a-pallet?tag=googhydr-21&ref=pd_sl_DSA

However if you want straps for extra security you can buy a kit of a few metres of tape plus a plastic buckle for less than £2 from eBay. 
If you were packing pallets on an industrial scale the special tool is useful for speed, but for a one-off those tools on the ends of your arms are fine.
Here's how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODubZpabsms

I'm sure though that the pickup driver who expects to collect pallets will have plenty of strapping and buckles in his cab.

Make sure to take pictures of the intact pallet and load being loaded onto his truck.

Okell

CFELH said:

...  On their returns information(assuming this process was being followed), it notes I am responsible for packing the goods back on the pallet to be collected...

Can you give a link to their T&Cs and returns procedure?  That might help to determine whether you are responsible for sending them back or they are responsible for collecting them