Garden Rooms Great Offer

photome

Anyone else heard from CD or trading standards, I have had an email from both and a phone call asking me to ring them.

This is one paragraph from CD

Please rest assured that we have notified the appropriate Trading Standards authorities of this complaint, as misleading price indications are potentially a criminal offence. They can also look at the terms of the contract, to see if they feel them to be unfair.
Should they need any further information, they will contact you directly.


this from trading standards

they cannot mislead consumers over pricing, under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 Misleading Price Indication.

In view of this I will forward the details to my colleagues in Hertfordshire Trading Standards, who deal with B&Q Head Office.

dawnp_2

my response from CD is somewhat different........

Prices quoted can be deemed in law as an “invitation to treat” and as is the case with this purchase would become legally binding when contract is formed and in Terms and Conditions of sale the contract becomes effective at point of despatch. As goods were not sent then contact was never binding and trader must then return consumer to their pre-contractural position i.e. full refund of all payments.

A claim of mis-leading prices may be the case occasionally but as price was considerable less than correct price (actually only 10% of correct price then this should be obvious to consumer that decimal place was in wrong place by incorrect data input on web site) This is re-inforced by pricing of other similar items G2 /G4 Garden rooms which are both priced at over £3000

The trader may have been naïve in reasons given as to why the order was not sent but if pursued further would have a strong case to show a genuine error had been made (know as “mistake”) and the difference in price should have been obvious.


I have replied to them and await their response......

NETTYB3

Here is my response from CD although I think they have got a little confused as I did not tell them they were demanding any more money. I will be e-mailing them back with further info. plus more questions relating to what has come to light since and then report back with any futher e-mails they send back:-

Upon making an order such as this you formed a contract with B&Q for those particular goods at that particular price. If the trader then states that they cannot supply the goods at this price then they will be in breach of contract. The usual remedy will be to seek a refund of anything you have already paid. The trader will be entitled to do this at the very least. However you will struggle to argue that the trader will need to fulfil the original contract but you will not be liable for any further payment that they are now demanding.

Another option is to sue the trader for 'loss of bargain'. If you can demonstrate that you have missed out on other summer house orders from other traders you can try and sue the trader for the difference in cost that you have incurred. However it is always a struggle trying to prove this comprehensively.

I would advise sending the trader a recorded delivery letter making the complaint and giving them a 14 day deadline to refund your money in due to the breach of contract. You may also wish to follow the 'loss of bargain' claim if you wish. If there are any other problems with the claim then do not hesitate to call again

Netty x

NETTYB3

photome wrote: »

Anyone else heard from CD or trading standards, I have had an email from both and a phone call asking me to ring them.

This is one paragraph from CD

Please rest assured that we have notified the appropriate Trading Standards authorities of this complaint, as misleading price indications are potentially a criminal offence. They can also look at the terms of the contract, to see if they feel them to be unfair.
Should they need any further information, they will contact you directly.


this from trading standards

they cannot mislead consumers over pricing, under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 Misleading Price Indication.

In view of this I will forward the details to my colleagues in Hertfordshire Trading Standards, who deal with B&Q Head Office.

Mine have not forwarded to TS so I will ask them to do so or do it myself!
Netty x

Hello1234_2

Dropped by here because I'd been tipped off that the site might have some guidance about how to deal with my useless insurance company. What do I find? Twenty-five pages about a shed!! Quite enthralling actually.

I know this might make me unpopular by writing something contrary to common opinion but the bottom line is probably this. Do you expect B&Q to honour the agreement quietly? No. Then are you prepared to sue? Dunno about that. It's not a painless experience and not usually cheap.

MSE Wendy has given her opinion, and as she writes on behalf of Mr Lewis, there's a fair chance she's right about how this looks to be going. Before anyone else says this, I know the point she makes about online contracts being concluded when goods are delivered isn't quite right. This is a misconception as the major players often build it into their terms to avoid exactly this sort of discussion, e.g. Amazon etc.

The contract is concluded once offer, acceptance, intention, capacity and consideration are in place. Most of you HAD concluded contracts when the email communicated acceptance and your cards were charged (re the terms), but there's two important issues:

(a) the terms allowing B&Q to cancel are not unfair. Because the same right is given to the customer. There is no imbalance here as you may equally cancel, for any reason, under the Distance Selling Regs.

(b) there is enough written evidence here to imply that many suspected a mistake, and that would present a strong case for B&Q to rescind. Next time I'd avoid posting your suspicions of mistake or sentiments of "too good to be true but I tried my luck anyway" in a public forum.

Even if B&Q get told off by Consumer Direct for being careless, that doesn't mean you get a shed. It just means B&Q get a slap on the wrist.

Whatever the legality, perhaps B&Q have not acted fairly towards their customers? Maybe it's worth writing that letter of complaint and asking for a £10 voucher, at least that's a couple of paint brushes next time you do up the lounge.

Don't hold out for much more. Deep down I think you really do know it's a non-starter.

P.S. Once this has died down, if anyone knows how I can get my insurance company to pay out what they owe me I'd be much obliged for a point in the right direction.

photome

Hello1234 wrote: »

Dropped by here because I'd been tipped off that the site might have some guidance about how to deal with my useless insurance company. What do I find? Twenty-five pages about a shed!! Quite enthralling actually.

I know this might make me unpopular by writing something contrary to common opinion but the bottom line is probably this. Do you expect B&Q to honour the agreement quietly? No. Then are you prepared to sue? Dunno about that. It's not a painless experience and not usually cheap.

MSE Wendy has given her opinion, and as she writes on behalf of Mr Lewis, there's a fair chance she's right about how this looks to be going. Before anyone else says this, I know the point she makes about online contracts being concluded when goods are delivered isn't quite right. This is a misconception as the major players often build it into their terms to avoid exactly this sort of discussion, e.g. Amazon etc.

The contract is concluded once offer, acceptance, intention, capacity and consideration are in place. Most of you HAD concluded contracts when the email communicated acceptance and your cards were charged (re the terms), but there's two important issues:

(a) the terms allowing B&Q to cancel are not unfair. Because the same right is given to the customer. There is no imbalance here as you may equally cancel, for any reason, under the Distance Selling Regs.

(b) there is enough written evidence here to imply that many suspected a mistake, and that would present a strong case for B&Q to rescind. Next time I'd avoid posting your suspicions of mistake or sentiments of "too good to be true but I tried my luck anyway" in a public forum.

Even if B&Q get told off by Consumer Direct for being careless, that doesn't mean you get a shed. It just means B&Q get a slap on the wrist.

Whatever the legality, perhaps B&Q have not acted fairly towards their customers? Maybe it's worth writing that letter of complaint and asking for a £10 voucher, at least that's a couple of paint brushes next time you do up the lounge.

Don't hold out for much more. Deep down I think you really do know it's a non-starter.

P.S. Once this has died down, if anyone knows how I can get my insurance company to pay out what they owe me I'd be much obliged for a point in the right direction.

Isnt that a repeat of your post a few days ago?

photome

I dont expect B and Q to supply a shed to me as I ordered online,but those that bought and paid cash instore and do not have the same T and C should IMO receive the shed.

photome

photome wrote: »

Isnt that a repeat of your post a few days ago?

Do you work for B and Q? 3 posts all saying much the same thing, you say you want insurance company quidance but you have only posted on the Grabbit board..not quite the right place!

NETTYB3

I would also just like to point out that it is not just a 'shed'. It is a garden room and not made of a bit of wood with a window and door in it.

Brand:Palladium Colour:Brown, White Warranty/guarantee:Both Warranty/guarantee details:Palladium garden rooms have a 10 year warranty covering all normal use See www.palladiumgardenrooms.co.uk for further information
Material:Walls are made from PVC composite material, the roof is also made from PVC with sound proofing qualities. Windows and doors are PVCu with double glazed toughened safety glass. Product Type:Garden Offices Roof Type:Roof is made from PVC panels separated by aluminium bars Specific Product Type:Garden Rooms Finish:PVC composite walls, PVCU doors/windows, double glazed throughout with toughened safety glass, to BS6206 standard Construction Type e.g. shiplap:PVC composite walls, PVC roof panels with aluminium bars, PVCu double glazed windows and doors

Sound proof PVC walls and double glazing - Hence - not a shed. If it had been just a general garden shed then it would not have been such a 'loss of bargain' and most people would probably not take it any further.

But, I feel I have 'lost a bargain' so will pursue.

I originally also thought it was a genuine price as it was a 'big sale' and someone on here posted that they had phoned up (although that post has disappeared) and it had been confirmed by B&Q that this was the correct price.

Netty x

Silk

dawnp wrote: »

my response from CD is somewhat different........

Prices quoted can be deemed in law as an “invitation to treat” and as is the case with this purchase would become legally binding when contract is formed and in Terms and Conditions of sale the contract becomes effective at point of despatch. As goods were not sent then contact was never binding and trader must then return consumer to their pre-contractural position i.e. full refund of all payments.

A claim of mis-leading prices may be the case occasionally but as price was considerable less than correct price (actually only 10% of correct price then this should be obvious to consumer that decimal place was in wrong place by incorrect data input on web site) This is re-inforced by pricing of other similar items G2 /G4 Garden rooms which are both priced at over £3000

The trader may have been naïve in reasons given as to why the order was not sent but if pursued further would have a strong case to show a genuine error had been made (know as “mistake”) and the difference in price should have been obvious.


I have replied to them and await their response......

Hi Dawnp,
I hope that you have pointed out in your reply that it seems they have not looked at the T's & C's from B&Q as in :-
Whether or not you receive the e-mail, our acceptance of your order will create a legally binding contract between us.
It is at this point that the contract becomes effective and not at point of despatch.
The T's & C's further go on to say :-
Ownership of the goods shall remain with B&Q and shall not pass to the Customer until the agreed price for them, together with all other sums due from the Customer to B&Q, have been paid in full.
This confirms that when funds have cleared the contract is binding
They also go on to say :-
These terms and conditions and any contract between us shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the English Courts shall have jurisdiction over any disputes between us.
This means the contract has been formed and is binding unless the Courts decide otherwise

It should also be pointed out to them regarding the pricing that it was not "The decimal point was in the wrong place" because the figures do not stack up nor does the decimal point assumption apply to the offer of the vast saving figure.
The remark about checking prices against other models only applies to those of the same size and quality in this case other G3's and they were the same price.After all if you were buying a Ford Focus from a Company you would not price up Fiesta's or Mondeo's would you ?
Perhaps if they were shown examples from the store where they have put up clearance items at vastly reduced prices their remark about "difference in price should be obvious" would be reconsiderd by them.