Furniture Village - long wait for delivery - advice please

angie54321 · 23 March 2019 at 9:45AM

ThumbRemote wrote: »

You need to write to them to make time of the essence. There is an example letter at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/template-letters/letters/problems-with-services/letter-to-make-time-of-the-essence-services/

It deals with a trader carrying out a service, but is easy to modify for your case.

After such a letter, and the passing of the deadline, you are entitled to a refund. Obtaining it may be the difficult part though.

Thanks for this. We paid the deposit on a credit card so I would get them involved when it comes to a refund if it goes that far.

angie54321 · 23 March 2019 at 9:48AM

deethebee wrote: »

The Consumer Rights Act states that you can cancel an order from the moment that it's placed up until 14 days after you receive it. I don't see how charging you a 25% fee is lawful and especially since they have broken their contract with you so they cannot enforce this as the contract is essentially null and void. Their reasons for delay are very poor and it is highly unreasonable to expect you to wait so long for delivery. If you paid by debit card you can use the chargeback scheme if they refuse to refund you in full.

Thanks. I don't think they could legally charge us the 25% cancellation fee because they have failed in supplying the goods in a timely manner. Let's face it, 11 weeks is a long wait for a dining table and chairs - most suppliers quote around the 5-6 weeks as a maximum. We paid deposit by credit card so we will get them involved if we have to cancel.

deethebee · 23 March 2019 at 5:07PM

angie54321 wrote: »

Thanks. I don't think they could legally charge us the 25% cancellation fee because they have failed in supplying the goods in a timely manner. Let's face it, 11 weeks is a long wait for a dining table and chairs - most suppliers quote around the 5-6 weeks as a maximum. We paid deposit by credit card so we will get them involved if we have to cancel.

I also don't see where in their terms and conditions it states that goods cancelled after a certain time will be charged a fee, probably because it's not legal. They can only charge fees that cover their actual losses and they have to prove their losses. If they can re-sell the items then they won't have any losses, so absolutely no reason to charge you a fee. Either way, you definitely have the right to cancel the order any time between the time you ordered and 14 days after receiving them and be able to get a full refund. Those are the Distance Selling Regulations and I'm assuming you ordered them online or over the phone. Even if you ordered in-store, you can still cancel up until the point of delivery.

deethebee · 23 March 2019 at 9:54PM

Fosterdog wrote: »

Where exactly does the consumer rights act state that you can cancel up to 14 days after receiving an order?

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2014 (CCRs) state this but that only applies to distance sales, As OP has been dealing with the store manager it suggests that this was an in store purchase and not a distance sale so the right to cancel you mention does not exist. There is no automatic right to cancel an in store order.

This then leaves OP with the order arriving within a reasonable time frame, the original time agreed was 11 weeks so there is no complaining nor cancelling to be done in that timeframe, then OP agreed to a further 4 week delay so again can't then go back on an agreed delay. They have also now agree to wait until the 25th so can't go back on that agreement either. On top of that as an exact delivery date was never agreed on but an estimate they don't have that to rely on which is why they would need to make the trader aware that time is of the essence and give them a final chance to deliver. Personally I would have done that when they failed the last delivery but OP didn't and agreed to wait until the 25th.

I assumed that she purchased online. You can still deal with store managers when the goods are being delivered from a local store you know, which is often the case when purchasing from retailers who sell both online and in-store and has been quite common in my experience. E.g. You call customer service and they tell you their local store is delivering and tell you to contact them...happened a few times to me in the past. If she did purchase in-store then my mistake.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't have to keep sticking to dates that were agreed on that go beyond the original quotes time frame and that are now months down the line. They said the goods would be delivered by 15th March and it's now gone beyond that so they have broken contract. Even if she agreed to them, they are unreasonable and I'm quite sure that she is well within her rights to now cancel as they haven't delivered within a reasonable time which is required by law.

deethebee · 23 March 2019 at 10:08PM

Found this on Citizen's Advice website:

Tell the seller that what has happened to your order is "a breach of contract under the Consumer Rights Act 2015" if you either:

- told the seller the delivery date was essential and they didn’t meet it
- agreed with the seller a delivery date which wasn't essential, and a second delivery date also wasn’t
met
- didn’t agree a delivery date with the seller and a second chance to deliver wasn’t successful

As far as I can tell, the last 2 items on that list apply to this situation.

deethebee · 23 March 2019 at 10:12PM

angie54321 wrote: »

You're right: I have somehow miscalculated the weeks. We ordered it on the 21st November, so in the week before the Black Friday weekend event. When they calculated in store they said end of January for delivery - possibly earlier.

They're not talking about delivery on the 25th, they are talking about it being available for delivery, so due to the fact they can only deliver in my area one day a week and my work commitments, it will likely be the beginning of April before we get it now. IF the 25th is the date it is actually ready for delivery - I'm certainly not convinced that it wasn't just another date thrown out of fob me off for a bit longer.

I'm so annoyed with them - I love the dining set, and I want it - I don't want to cancel it - I just want somewhere nice to sit to eat my dinner:rotfl:

Thanks for the advice.

If you really still want the dining set, the only real thing for you to do is to send a time is of the essence letter. It doesn't guarantee you'll get the set by the time you want it, but it gives you more rights.

LilElvis · 23 March 2019 at 10:23PM

deethebee wrote: »

If you really still want the dining set, the only real thing for you to do is to send a time is of the essence letter. It doesn't guarantee you'll get the set by the time you want it, but it gives you more rights.

Already recommended as a course of action in posts #5 and #8

deethebee · 23 March 2019 at 10:45PM

LilElvis wrote: »

Already recommended as a course of action in posts #5 and #8

So? Initially she said she wanted to cancel, now she says she doesn't want to cancel, so I updated my advice.

Furniture Village - long wait for delivery - advice please

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