Restocking fee for items not dispatched

cna

I bought some flooring yesterday (5th August) which was going to be delivered on the 27th August.  Today I called them asking for a refund (as I found real wood flooring under the carpet which I want to keep so no longer need the flooring I bought). The company I bought it from said their supplier would charge a restocking fee of 25%. The company I bought it from said their supplier had already dispatched it which is why they charge the restocking fee.  Are they allowed to do that / is it legal.  It's a well known building supply company.  

Browntoa

Yes , if it's clear in their terms and conditions 

It's been dispatched from their supplier on your order, your error not theirs 

GDB2222

Isn’t there a consumer board where the OP may get a more definitive answer?  Does this depend on how the order was made, ie in store or online, for example?

Bookworm105

is this an online transaction with the company you ordered through?

if yes, then consumer law expressly prevents charging a restocking fee (what their supplier charges them is no liability of yours

if no, ie you went into a shop and ordered on the spot then it depends what T&C say about a re-stocking charge

both scenarios are explained in great detail on various webpages 

morally you are without doubt going to cost them money even if they return the goods to their supplier.

Alderbank

The OP does not say that they themselves are being charged a re-stocking fee, they say the trader they were buying from is being charged and they ask whether that is legal.

Yes, it's perfectly legal for a B2B contract to include a re-stocking fee and it is quite common. However as @BookWorm correctly points out it would be illegal for a trader to pass that charge on to a consumer. It's just one of the costs of doing business.

This is not part of the Consumer Rights Act, it is because of s34 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which says that if the consumer cancels the contract 'the trader must reimburse all payments, other than payments for delivery...'
As no delivery has occurred the trader must reimburse all payments.

It is important that the OP must make it clear to the trader that they are cancelling the contract under their right to do so in s32 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013

MysteryMe

The OPs and indeed the traders rights, depend on whether the purchase was made online / offsite or in a traders premises. We don't appear to have been supplied with that information.