Can some help me with this predicament

havetoquit

Does anyone know the correct procedure to follow in the following scenario please: A bathroom and flooring business in Wexford has closed without any warning to customers. I am owed a delivery of tiles which in replacement for a pack of tiles which were defect. The sales person dealing with the issue had reassured me that the said tiles were ordered and dispatched from the suppliers and that he would call me when they were ready for delivery.

It was only after numerous calls and no response that I realised that something must be wrong and have since learned of the closure.

In such cases, I need to know what my rights are in relation to having the above mentioned delivery arranged from one of the company's other branches.

Many thanks if anyone can shed any light on this issue.

RadioRetro

According to stories on BTW in the local papers, you need to contact head office. A couple of customers are quoted as saying they've done that an been told to collect their tile orders from Naas.

havetoquit

Thank you so much for such a prompt response. I called the Naas office, who has taken all my particulars and said they would look into my situation and get back to me. The guy in charge was not available, but I have to say the assistant I spoke with did not fill me with confidence, nor could she reassure me that the tiles would be delivered from their branch.

It is almost impossible to conceive that the salesperson at the store in Wexford had no idea of the situation when speaking with me last week. He confirmed quite categorically that our tiles were ordered and in the process of being dispatched. He also had our contact number, so there is no excuse for not contacting us and leaving me to make numerous calls to a shop that was closed.

I was under the impression that legally when a store is about to close or go into liquidation, whatever, that they have a duty to their existing customers to inform them of that closure and to advise them further as to their rights regarding goods purchased and paid for. When a customer has purchased goods to the value of a large sum of money and entered into an arrangement that should there be any defect items, that they will be replaced without issue, the shop manager surely has a duty to contact the customer to offer a solution, such as a refund for the said number of tiles. That at least would have provided me with the means of purchasing them elsewhere.

In my own case, thankfully, it is only a matter of the defect tiles, but dread to think of those who have paid in full for items and not received them.

Again thanks a lot for your message.

havetoquit

Forgot to mention that as a disabled person, there is no possibility for me to travel all the way to Kildare to collect tiles. I see it as their duty to customers who have paid to honor the arrangement and deliver their goods.

It is of course a positive and reassuring to note that at the very least customers will receive goods paid for, but it is the delivery aspect that would worry me.

St Senan

Mod Note
havetoquit. I started a new thread and moved your posts from the weekly paper thread as your topic has nothing to do with whats in the weekly papers.

IrlJidel

Did you pay by credit card? Looking at http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=2233 indicates you could get money back from credit card company

vicwatson

Navarre wrote: »

Mod Note
havetoquit. I started a new thread and moved your posts from the weekly paper thread as your topic has nothing to do with whats in the weekly papers.

On the ball Navarre, on the ball.

OP, I imagine you want the goods delivered now after going through the whole process as opposed to getting a refund??

It is almost impossible to conceive that the salesperson at the store in Wexford had no idea of the situation when speaking with me last week. He confirmed quite categorically that our tiles were ordered and in the process of being dispatched. He also had our contact number, so there is no excuse for not contacting us and leaving me to make numerous calls to a shop that was closed.

I would insist that they keep the deal as agreed and have the goods delivered to you as already promised by them.

They've set out an arrangement with you, up to them to keep it. If you are at all unhappy with any part of the deal, tell them to take a hike and arrange a refund via your credit card provider (if you paid that way), although I'm sure you'd prefer the tiles.

I would be INSISTING they deliver the tiles to you.

havetoquit

Thank you all for your kind and helpful responses and I feel it appropriate that I update you, in case anyone else out there is in a similar position;

The manager of the Naas office has contacted me and assured me that he will arrange the delivery of the replacement tiles, so thank goodness the outcome is positive.

Please note that it is vital to retain receipts with the order code etc on it, so that the order and payment can be verified. One also has to be very assertive in these situations and make sure to speak with whoever is in charge, noting down name and details of conversation, as well as requesting that they email you details of the arrangement.

Once we are aware of what our rights are in these situations, it makes the process easier.

allthedoyles

Luckily in your case , the shop you bought from has other branches .

If this was a single shop with no other outlets , you would not be so lucky and would have been in danger of losing out.

see this quote :

If the company goes into examinership, liquidation or receivership, you will be treated as an “unsecured creditor”. A creditor is someone the company owes money to.

You, as a consumer, are deemed a creditor if a company goes out of business and has not delivered goods you have paid for and therefore owes you money.

However, as an unsecured creditor you rank behind other types of creditors, such as Revenue, staff of the company who are owed wages and banks that are owed money by the company

Jengagirl

allthedoyles wrote: »

Luckily in your case , the shop you bought from has other branches .

If this was a single shop with no other outlets , you would not be so lucky and would have been in danger of losing out.

see this quote :

A seperate company actually owns the Wexford Branch (Wexford Ceramics Ltd) - are BTW a franchise of some sort?

havetoquit

Yes, indeed and a good point. It is vital nowadays, given that any business can suddenly go into liquidation, that one never ever pays up front for anything. If the company is reputable, then they will have no issue with this.

I think that given the situation, it is even risky to pay a deposit, unless by credit card, where there is some chance of retrieval.

Now that we are all that bit more aware, I guess we even need to be sure that there are other branches of the company other than the one we are dealing with, if we want to be more secure in our purchasing, as some branches are closing and ones in larger towns and cities are not.

Thanks again and safe purchasing.

havetoquit

Is it absolutely clear if all Irish Banks will refund credit cards for items not received and does it also apply to Visa debit.

Sorry, question mark key broken.

vicwatson

havetoquit wrote: »

Is it absolutely clear if all Irish Banks will refund credit cards for items not received and does it also apply to Visa debit.

Sorry, question mark key broken.

Yes, you can tell them you want what's know as a chargeback to your card. You have 120 days in which to claim a chargeback (with Visa Credit anyway)

havetoquit

T






Thank you very much for that..good to know.