help please non paying customer. anyone understand the consumer rights act?

[djbobbins]

From what I remember of contract law, the basics are offer, acceptance, exchange and reward, i.e.:

 

Offer - you have got to be willing

Acceptance - the buyer has got to be willing

Exchange - something has got to be done

Reward - there has got to be some kind of reward (not necessarily monetary)

 

Once you have got those four elements in place, even if it was only verbal, it's a contract. Verbal is obviously harder to prove as it's usually one person's word against the other.

 

In your case if you have got an email trail, you are on stronger ground, unless there was a conversation within which a specific delivery deadline was agreed, beyond which it was made clear the items would not be required.

 

Not been down that route myself (am 'fortunate' to work for a big company with in-house tame lawyers) but I say small claims court.

[se7enthdevil]

well this is what the act says forms the contract.

How is the contract made?

 

The essential element in forming a contract is the agreement (consisting of an offer and acceptance). At least two parties are required (such as the trader and the consumer). One of them (the offeror) makes an offer, which the other (the offeree) accepts. An offer is an expression of willingness to contract made with the intention that it shall become binding on the offeror as soon as it is accepted by the offeree.

 

When a trader displays or advertises goods (for example, by displaying them on a shelf in a shop alongside a price ticket) it is usually giving consumers what is referred to as an 'invitation to treat'. The consumer can then make an offer to buy the goods. At this point the trader is under no obligation to accept the offer - a contract is made if and when the trader accepts.

 

Sometimes, the process works the other way round - that is, the trader makes an offer to the consumer and a contract is made when the consumer accepts the offer.

 

Under the contract, the consumer will agree to pay the trader a sum of money and/or do something else in return for the goods the trader supplies. This commitment is known as the 'consideration' in the contract. If there is no consideration (that is, if a trader offers to supply goods completely free of any charge or other obligation) there is no contract at all.

 

what i meant was no seperate contract needs to be drawn up. the contract is the email requesting the order and my acceptance in a reply.

 

at least that's how i understand it although i'm probably wrong which is why i started this thread in the first place.

 

in his email (his part of the contract) he does not mention that it need be done by a deadline

[Xaltu]

I am not fully up to speed on the changes so I did a bit of reading. The important part as I see it is covered in the General Section of the Distance Selling Regulations where you have to specify certain information. The important part in this case being L & O:

 

You must give consumers the information listed below in a way that is clear, comprehensible and appropriate to the means of distance communication before they enter into a contract with you. In addition, if you provide this information on a durable medium you must make sure that it is legible.

 

A durable medium is defined as paper, email or other medium that:

 

allows the information to be addressed personally to the recipient

enables the recipient to store the information and access it for future reference (this includes you placing the information in your customer's personal account area of your website, which he can access by logging in)

allows unchanged reproduction of this information

The information that you are required to give is as follows:

 

a the main characteristics of the goods, services or digital content - you must give as much information as the means of communication allows

b your identity - such as your trading name

c the geographical address where you are established and, where applicable, a telephone number, fax number and email address to allow consumers to be able to contact you quickly and efficiently*

d if you are acting on behalf of another trader, their identity and geographical address*

e if you, or the trader who you are acting for, have a different address for consumer complaints this must also be given*

f the total price of the goods, services or digital content inclusive of tax (such as VAT). If this cannot be calculated in advance you must say how this will be calculated

g all delivery charges or any other costs - if these cannot be calculated in advance you must state that they are payable

h the monthly, or billing period, costs of open-ended contracts or subscriptions

i any additional costs for using a specific means of distance communication to make the contract - for example, if you make an extra charge for buying by phone as opposed to online*

j the arrangements for payment, delivery or performance and the time that you will take to deliver the goods, perform the services or supply the digital content*

k if you have one, your complaint-handling policy. Providers of services should have a complaint-handling policy in place as required by the Provision of Services Regulations 2009. In addition TSI approved codes of practice and some trade associations and professional bodies will also require a policy to be in place, which must be made available to consumers*

l the conditions, time limits and procedure for exercising a right to cancel, if there is one (the next section covers cancellation in detail). This information may be provided by correctly filling in and providing the 'Model instructions for cancellation' provided by the Regulations

m if you are expecting consumers to pay the costs of returning the goods after cancellation you must tell them, or if the goods cannot normally be returned by post (they are too large, for example) you must advise consumers of the cost of returning them. This information may be provided by correctly filling in and providing the 'Model instructions for cancellation' (see link above)*

n if you are offering a service contract that a consumer can expressly ask you to start within the cancellation period, you must tell him that he will be required to pay you the reasonable costs of the service that you have delivered up to the time of his cancellation within the cancellation period. This information may be provided by correctly filling in and providing the 'Model instructions for cancellation' (see link above)*

o if there are no cancellation rights for specific goods, services or digital content that you offer or there are circumstances in which consumers will lose their right to cancel you must inform them of this*

p if you are selling goods you should remind consumers that the goods you sell must be in conformity with the contract - for example, you might say: 'It is our responsibility to supply you with goods that meet your consumer rights. If you have any concerns that we have not met our legal obligations please contact us'*

q if you offer any after-sales consumer assistance, services or guarantees you must make consumers aware of this and any applicable conditions*

r if you are a member of a code of conduct you must inform consumers how they can obtain a copy of the code - for example, by providing a link to the code sponsor's website*

s if the consumer will be entering into a contract of a fixed duration, he must be informed what this is. If the contract has no fixed length, or can be extended automatically he must be informed of the conditions under which he can terminate it

t you must inform consumers if there is a minimum duration under a contract - for example, a minimum period for a mobile phone contract*

u if consumers are required to give deposits or other financial guarantees you must inform them of this obligation and any applicable conditions*

v digital content functionality - this includes information about its language, duration, file type, access, updates, tracking, internet connection, geographical restrictions and any additional purchases required*

w digital content compatibility - information regarding both hardware and other software*

x the existence of any alternative dispute resolution schemes that you are subject to and how to access them*

[Marko]

Sounds like you are involved with a tyre kicker at best or possibly a 'bad un'. The only thing you have in your favour is that you are still in possession of the (high value) goods. I can easily see a scenario where, if you pushed it, you might end up with no money and no skittles.

Put it down to experience and spend the time and effort making sure your contract terms & deposit are a bit more clearer rather than loosing sleep over a numptee.

[matelot]

Does this guy stay near to you?

 

I think the way a small claims court works is that it is held at the court where you lodge it. If the other guy stays miles away he would have to take a day off work to contest it. If he doesn't attend you win the case.

 

In this day and age he could struggle to get a mortgage or loan if he has had a claim against him.

 

IMHO, if you have a email confirming the order you've a good chance of getting the money through a small claims court.

 

Does your local university have a law department that could help?

[Mark Bolam]

Just go and see him.

You're a six and a half foot ginger brick shithouse.

I bet you get your cash.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[se7enthdevil]

i like your thinking mark but i'm only 6'3".

 

having spoken to a mate and obviously reading some of these helpful posts i'm going to bide my time on this one.

 

i have the pins and balls and it is possible that the balls would be the only sicking point when it comes to resale as they are a bit more specific to this customer. the pins are a more standard size so i should be able to sell them on if nothing comes of this.

 

 

he is going to ask his captains if they mind taking the pins one week in to the league so i'll wait for that info first.

[Richard 1234]

i like your thinking mark but i'm only 6'3".

 

 

 

having spoken to a mate and obviously reading some of these helpful posts i'm going to bide my time on this one.

 

 

 

i have the pins and balls and it is possible that the balls would be the only sicking point when it comes to resale as they are a bit more specific to this customer. the pins are a more standard size so i should be able to sell them on if nothing comes of this.

 

 

 

 

 

he is going to ask his captains if they mind taking the pins one week in to the league so i'll wait for that info first.

 

 

Are the balls bigger or smaller than normal?

If bigger could you reduce them for another order or would that not work?

[se7enthdevil]

Are the balls bigger or smaller than normal?

If bigger could you reduce them for another order or would that not work?

 

it would work but one of the sets is lignum vitae and this is not being imported anymore so i am keen to keep them at the size they are now as you can't put it back once you remove it.

 

if they don't pay up then i won't lose money because of this it's just that it would be simpler if the customer just paid for them and then i can forget about it...

[AHPP]

Monsieur Bolam is correct (as usual) but if you want a more formal approach, matelot's suggestion of a university law clinic is good for this sort of situation. They'll be back from summer hols and in need of clients in a couple of weeks.