im being refused a refund on a service I didnt get!

[nickholl]

hi there. we recently received delivery of a new cooker that we ordered from BHS direct along with installation that we additionally payed £119 for. The cooker arrived and the fitter arrived later on...

On arriving to our house the fitter said he was unable to fit the cooker due to the fact that our gas pipe had the wrong type of fitting and he was unable to fit the cooker. On leaving our house he said that we may be eligible for a refund (I should hope so too!)

 

On ringing up BHS Direct to ask for a refund, they informed us that the fitters had left a note on our order that they were unable to fit due to and 'error at our end' and flatly refused to give us a refund - I even said that we would be willing to pay for a call our charge......

 

 

They said that they would not give us a refund as it was due to 'an error at our end' that the installation couldnt be carried out and this is stated on their website. We adhered to every point in the T&Cs, the only one they could possibly call us up on is 'No carpentry or plumbing work will be undetaken' but this seems VERY vague and frankly unreasonable as it is not something that we ourselves would be able to tell, and nowhere do they actually state exactly what type of fitting they require. We have a working gas pipe in the kitchen and as far as we are concerned, if we pay £119 for an installation, that should cover most eventualities!

 

Am I being too naive to think I am allowed a refund and it is totally legal to shaft somebody like this or is there anything I can do?

 

many thanks for any help you can give!

[Conniff]

What date was the delivery nickoll ?????

[nickholl]

was 2 days ago

[Conniff]

You can reject it under the Distance Selling Regulations and send the whole lot back. You, unfortunately, will have to pay the return cost. You must give notice in writing, email or letter, by the end of the 7th working day which starts the day after you received it.

 

How much was the delivery charge?

[nickholl]

delivery charge was nominal (£20ish) Im not going to go through all the hassle of sending the oven back when there's nothing wrong with it. But to charge us £120 installation when nothing was done is outrageous!

 

It seems to me that the 1 clause I highlighted is unreasonable... its tantamount to saying "if we dont have the correct tools for the job and we cant do it - we wont give you a refund"!

[rebel11]

Hi nick

 

Welcome to CAG

 

So £119, for connecting two hoses together, something, if that is the case you could of done. Something the delivery guys could have done.

Write a Formal Letter of Complaint, mark it as such. Explain whats happened, how you have been let down and what you want them to do.

 

Send it to:-

Ian Grabiner, Chief Executive

ian.grabiner@arcadiagroup.co.uk

 

Some tips:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1242161/How--write-letter-complaint.html

[nickholl]

Hi there rebel11 - thats what I will ultimately do.

 

I was really hoping that I could find some legal information to back me up with my claim rather than simply pleading with them & hoping they're kind enough to refund me.

 

You're right though - if all they were going to do is connect a hose - £119 is a total rip off! - we phoned another CORGI guy and he said he could reposition the pipe - change the fitting - do EVERYTHING for £110!

 

thanks for your advice guys...

[rebel11]

Hi nick

 

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/supply-of-goods-and-services-act/

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1982/29

[nickholl]

Thanks for those! So do their T&Cs' not mean much then? All they've kept doing is referring me to those and saying that we didn't comply. I cant see anything in the Sale of Goods act that says anything about them not doing the job due to something WE havent done to comply with their needs.

 

thanks again!

[Conniff]

You don't have to send it back, I was just pointing out the option.

 

If this was a respectable fitter, he would have had the connection in his bag. It has changed from bayonet to screw so a five minute job. I wouldn't leave it like that either.

 

You can get a local fitter to give you a price for fitting so you know what the real price of connection is.

 

Without any forwarning that this might happen, I believe you have a claim under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations.

 

You could mention a court claim to them as well. A claim in the small claims is very inexpensive for that amount and you would get that back of course.

[nickholl]

thanks guys - its nice to hear that I have a case. It annoys me so much how these companies can talk to us as if they're right and we have no rights at all. Its not even as it they're a small company.

[rebel11]

Don't let them off the hook, they should expect to do some work for their £119 charge and complete it to your satisfaction. The 'Fitter' didn't go on training courses just to push two hoses together, remember this isn't the 'delivery' guys couldn't do.

 

thanks guys - its nice to hear that I have a case. It annoys me so much how these companies can talk to us as if they're right and we have no rights at all. Its not even as it they're a small company.

[nickholl]

oh for sure - the fitter actually did the usual thing of saying he could do the work 'privately' when he spoke to us on the phone. When he got to our hosue however he said it would take him an hour or so to change the fitting.

 

I think what they were 'expecting' was a pipe with a bayonet fitting at the end that like you say, they could just stick a hose on. Nowhere did they tell us what specifications our pipe needed to adhere to. Here are the T&Cs if you're interested Ive left of the http as Im not allowed to post links yet bit.ly/zXCIvj

 

thanks!

[Conniff]

The only bit I can see there that would stop them is "gas supply, within one metre of the connection site " and I'm sure it was ??

 

There is absolutely nothing whatsoever about not having the correct connection, just that is must be within 3 feet and accessable.

[nickholl]

yep - over the phone the girl kept mentioning the need for an 'existing connection' but I cant see that written anywhere. The only one I could think they would refer to is the 'no carpentry or plumbing'. The fact that our pipe needed a different connection that they would need to fit would violate that one. But the point is that there is no way that we could know what connection was needed without them first saying -

 

sorry for going on

[andydd]

Sue em..the little buggers !.

 

But best go through complaints process first, in writing and get them to point out which T&C they are relying upon ?.

 

If no joy, send a Notice Before Action then file a claim at court, this is really a simple process and with any luck they'd pay up before hearing.

 

Andy

[nickholl]

yeah, i'll fight them as far as I can on this (hopefully it wont take too much of my time) - Im hoping/guessing they say these things because they know most people will give up, and a letter will do the trick.

[Conniff]

Get all you will rely on together first, measure how far away the gas pipe is etc and get it all in order.

 

I would suggest that you do not contact them on the phone any more but use a durable means ie email or letter, you need this unless you can record their phone calls. If you should record the phone calls, you do not have to inform them that you are doing so.

[nickholl]

okedoke thanks - Ill form a dossier

[stu007]

Hi

 

In your Formal Complaint I would also point out that although you paid cost for installation and as you are neither a "Qualified Plumber" or "Gas Engineer" you were unaware that their would be a issue with the installation due to the connections and if you had been imformed of this at time of ordering would have made alternative arrangements.

[LaughingGirl]

How much?! The same guy who does our gas safety check fitted ours for £20! I know that's mates rates, but i can't imagine he gave us that much of a discount!

[nickholl]

thanks for that! that sums up my feelings exactly -- am just writing the letter now

[nickholl]

Hi Rebel11 - I noticed you recommend I write to the arcadia group? This is not the address they told me to write to -- do you think I should write to both?

 

many thanks for all of your advice

[nickholl]

Hi there - Ive now sent a letter to them and am awaiting a reply. I have in the meantime received a reply from Consumer Direct (thinking they may be of some help) . this is what they said...

 

-------

 

From the details you provide, there is some onus on you to check through the terms and conditions prior to installation to see if they are able to install the appliance and it is compatible with our gas pipe. If the trader has met their terms and conditions, you would not be able to argue breach of contract.

 

------

 

Am I just being dumb or something - but how can the onus be on ME to do something that isnt actually stated in the terms and conditions! - If in the T&Cs they told me to check the type of pipe I had, THEN the onus would be on me surely?

 

Its hardly the email of assurance that I was hoping for

[nickholl]

ok... I just phoned them up - the guy I spoke to totally agrees with me - so Im not sure what the emailer was on about!