Fencing panels - bespoke but not supplied correctly

Okell

Alderbank said:

Fences are very vulnerable to wind pressure.

The beauty of a hit & miss fence is that it gives good privacy with much less wind resistance.

Ah...

That is very helpful

Thanks

CookieSwirl

OK, so sorry as my wifi has been awful to respond! Hit and miss is a privacy fence, with palisades both sides. the gap between palisades should be smaller than the width of each timber, hence a slight overlap, and privacy as you cannot see through the fence. We are not allowed on our self build plot to have close board fence or a wall hence the hit and miss picket. I detailed all of this to the business in my email request, noting the fact that the fence is for privacy and you should not see through it. Hit and miss is very useful in a windy area, and our plot is exceptionally windy! They said it cannot be taken apart as the boards will look terrible after, they cannot add an extra side of palisades as the gaps are wider than the palisades (80mm instead of 70mm) and there will still be 5mm gaps. They sent us basic regular picket fence. I detailed my requirements in my emails to her, she then replied with the actual order detail. Her order detail does not include the words 'hit and miss' even though this is what we had discussed all along, and so the lady who took the order says it is my fault the order is incorrect.

Okell

As a previous poster asked, why did you approach a supplier who didn't know what a hit and miss fence was as opposed to a supplier who listed such fence panels?

I think whether you have any comeback is going to depend on how clearly and accurately you communicated the idea of a hit and miss fence to the supplier - if they didn't know what one was.

Something like:  a type of fence panel where the pales or boards are fitted alternately to the front and back of the panels in a stepped overlapping arrangement such that the panels still afford privacy but allow the wind through.

But without a diagram or a photo of an existing fence I think it's difficult to explain both fully and accurately in an email

Incidentally, I can now see the point of such a fence, but can't it be seen through from an oblique angle?

I have recently seen a couple of fences locally that I couldn't understand their purpose.  Like yours they only have pales on one side of the panel and gaps between them, making them useless for privacy puposes.  I can't see the point of them

MyRealNameToo

CookieSwirl said:

she then replied with the actual order detail. Her order detail does not include the words 'hit and miss' even though this is what we had discussed all along, and so the lady who took the order says it is my fault the order is incorrect.

And what did you do when the order form arrived with the wrong details on it?

Okell

MyRealNameToo said:

CookieSwirl said:

she then replied with the actual order detail. Her order detail does not include the words 'hit and miss' even though this is what we had discussed all along, and so the lady who took the order says it is my fault the order is incorrect.

And what did you do when the order form arrived with the wrong details on it?

I'm not sure he ever saw the order form before the panels arrived.

[Edit: Ah.  Looks like the the OP did see the order - " I detailed my requirements in my emails to her, she then replied with the actual order detail. Her order detail does not include the words 'hit and miss' even though this is what we had discussed all along, and so the lady who took the order says it is my fault the order is incorrect."

So what did the OP do to correct it, and does the supplied fence conform to the order?]

And I'm not sure who "she" is.  I presume an employee of the fencing supplier.

I don't think I would have used a supplier who obviously didn't know what I meant by "hit and miss".  I didn't know what it meant but I assume anybody in the fencing trade should know and not need to have it explained to them

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

CookieSwirl said:

Their website states bespoke items won't be refunded, but I did not accept the delivery and returned them to their factory. Thanks in advance.

Then send a letter before action and proceed via small claims, the trader is the expert in their field, if they make fences for a living but don't know what hit and miss means they turn the customer away (or seek clarification).

If the customer specifically asks for hit and miss fencing and an employee fails to note the information down correctly I don't see it's the customer's obligation to scrutinise an "order form" and wonder whether the company know what they are doing, again they make fences for a living, they are the expert! 

Boohoo

OP this has been asked before.

Do you have a link to the companies fence that you ordered from to show us what you thought you were buying?

Also do you have a photo of the fences they delivered.

If the OP got the last email from the firm without the word "hit and miss" and then went ahead and paid for the order I think the OP should of picked up on this before paying and not expect the company to take the hit 

Okell

Boohoo said:

... Do you have a link to the companies fence that you ordered from to show us what you thought you were buying?... 

But the point AIUI is that the firm the OP bought from didn't offer hit and miss fencing and that's why he had to describe by email what he wanted?  Because it wasn't something that that supplier routinely sold.

The question is why he didn't go to a supplier who sold what he wanted.

Boohoo

Okell said:

Boohoo said:

... Do you have a link to the companies fence that you ordered from to show us what you thought you were buying?... 

But the point AIUI is that the firm the OP bought from didn't offer hit and miss fencing and that's why he had to describe by email what he wanted?  Because it wasn't something that that supplier routinely sold.

The question is why he didn't go to a supplier who sold what he wanted.

Until the OP comes back with a link to said firm I/we are just guessing.

Yes why did OP not go to someone who knew what they sell and what the customer described they wanted.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Boohoo said:

If the OP got the last email from the firm without the word "hit and miss" and then went ahead and paid for the order I think the OP should of picked up on this before paying and not expect the company to take the hit 

If I order a blue widget online and get an email saying green widget I don't think I should be the one spotting that.

Either the CRA says the goods are not as described or contract law says the order email was a counter offer requiring my acceptance. 

@Okell might correct me here, but I don't think acceptance can occur through inaction and as the online process is automated there would be no action on my part as acceptance. 

If OP received the order form and then paid I think that could be acceptance but then we look to misleading actions and to discuss on thing but then send over an offer for another would very likely be viewed as a misleading action that would alter the transactional decision of the average consumer. 

I appreciate it is a mistake but that is only a defence against it being an offence, mistake or not the consumer's right to redress, starting with treating the contract at an end, kicks in.

If @CookieSwirl can confirm the exact step by step process that occurred (discussion > order form > payment but in what order) that would probably be helpful.