Ombudsman rejected S75 Claim for £12,250.What next?

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  • powerful_Rogue
    powerful_Rogue Posts: 7,516 Forumite
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    onyx911 wrote: »
    Just a further question if anyone is still following. What if I take the original kitchen from them, minus the 4 curved units that are not available and get those made by a good carpenter. That would work wouldn't it? Surely the kitchen company has to supply the kitchen then without making us take an alternative more expensive product or setting an expensive price on a cheaper product They could even keep the money for the curved units that are not available. .

    Can they say no? Is it breach of contract if they refuse to supply?

    This is what you should be asking your barrister.
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 24,660 Forumite
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    onyx911 wrote: »
    Just a further question if anyone is still following. What if I take the original kitchen from them, minus the 4 curved units that are not available and get those made by a good carpenter. That would work wouldn't it? Surely the kitchen company has to supply the kitchen then without making us take an alternative more expensive product or setting an expensive price on a cheaper product They could even keep the money for the curved units that are not available. .

    Can they say no? Is it breach of contract if they refuse to supply?

    Say that reduces the price you pay the kitchen company by £4k, but it costs you £8k? What then?

    And will it ever match properly?
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • onyx911
    onyx911 Posts: 108 Forumite
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    GDB2222 wrote: »
    Say that reduces the price you pay the kitchen company by £4k, but it costs you £8k? What then?

    And will it ever match properly?

    I don't anticipate it will cost £8k to make 4 units.

    I called the manufacturer this afternoon to see if there was any way they would special make the units that have been discontinued. They said no but they did give me a paint code. It wont be an exact match obviously as the colour can vary between batches.

    The price of those units was roughly £2.5k so allowing the seller to keep that money should cover the cost of increase - it would represent a 10% increase for the rest of the units for us.
  • Nodding_Donkey
    Nodding_Donkey Posts: 2,738 Forumite
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    Surely the original building contractor is the one you should be suing for the increased price?
  • Manxman_in_exile
    Manxman_in_exile Posts: 8,380 Forumite
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    Nodding_Donkey wrote: »
    Surely the original building contractor is the one you should be suing for the increased price?


    Already answered I think. The OP reached an agreed settlement with the original builder, but the terms of that settlement excluded OP from any further claims. Unfortunately, OP did not know at that point that the kitchen was now unavailable.
  • Manxman_in_exile
    Manxman_in_exile Posts: 8,380 Forumite
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    edited 9 June 2017 at 4:46PM
    onyx911 wrote: »
    Just a further question if anyone is still following. What if I take the original kitchen from them, minus the 4 curved units that are not available and get those made by a good carpenter. That would work wouldn't it? Surely the kitchen company has to supply the kitchen then without making us take an alternative more expensive product or setting an expensive price on a cheaper product They could even keep the money for the curved units that are not available. .

    Can they say no? Is it breach of contract if they refuse to supply?


    I think that if I were in your position I would be seriously considering this. You get the kitchen (more or less) that you want, without losing the deposit. It'll cost a bit more than you originally bargained for, but may be worth it if you get (more or less) what you originally wanted.


    But make sure you get a good joiner/carpenter. (Do your research. It's the sort of decision I hate having to make. I'd go with personal recommendations, but I think you said earlier the original builder had been recommended!)


    Good luck


    (Edit: but if you have faith in your barrister - you've used them in the earlier settlement? - see what they think about this idea)
  • bris
    bris Posts: 10,548 Forumite
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    The problem you have is that the financial ombudsman are not just pen pushers denying claims. There is legal due process they go through and the courts will have a similar understanding of the circumstances.
    The extra costs are down to a significant delay that could have constituted a breach on your part. Have you stopped to think that they could have forced you to conclude the contract much earlier? Significant delays don't just go one way.


    They will see this significant delay as a contributing factor to the rising costs, outwith the sellers control. It's not as if they are just sticking the extra on for profit.
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 24,660 Forumite
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    onyx911 wrote: »
    I don't anticipate it will cost £8k to make 4 units.

    I called the manufacturer this afternoon to see if there was any way they would special make the units that have been discontinued. They said no but they did give me a paint code. It wont be an exact match obviously as the colour can vary between batches.

    The price of those units was roughly £2.5k so allowing the seller to keep that money should cover the cost of increase - it would represent a 10% increase for the rest of the units for us.

    Radius work is quite expensive, but it's probably a bit easier if it's being painted. Certainly, my woodworking skills wouldn't be up to it. (LOL)

    Any chance the factory will give you some of the paint batch they use for your main units?
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • onyx911
    onyx911 Posts: 108 Forumite
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    GDB2222 wrote: »
    Radius work is quite expensive, but it's probably a bit easier if it's being painted. Certainly, my woodworking skills wouldn't be up to it. (LOL)

    Any chance the factory will give you some of the paint batch they use for your main units?

    That's a good point. I will ask if we go down this route. Thank you
  • onyx911
    onyx911 Posts: 108 Forumite
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    bris wrote: »
    The problem you have is that the financial ombudsman are not just pen pushers denying claims. There is legal due process they go through and the courts will have a similar understanding of the circumstances.
    The extra costs are down to a significant delay that could have constituted a breach on your part. Have you stopped to think that they could have forced you to conclude the contract much earlier? Significant delays don't just go one way.


    They will see this significant delay as a contributing factor to the rising costs, outwith the sellers control. It's not as if they are just sticking the extra on for profit.

    This is not strictly true. Just based on what the case worker told me on the phone yesterday. Under S75 they can only consider breach of contract or misrepresentation by the seller. Obviously that's not the case here so I accept their decision and I'm not using their route of appeal. My complaint was that the seller requiring us to complete the contract on an alternative product at a price they specify may be unfair under the specific clauses of the CRA i set out in the original post. The case worker said they can't consider the contract terms and whether they are enforeable but suggested I see alternative advice such as CAB or OFT.

    The case workers are not solicitors. They make an assessment based on their training and if I don't agree then it can be escalated to an Ombudsman. That can take a few months as there are many case workers but not as many ombudsman.

    Out of interest, where is it you think I have breached the contract? There was no completion date and no one has ever suggested a breach on our part so I'm interested.
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