LouiseR

Fair Trading are great . I bought a camera from Dick Smith in July and in September it just stopped working, kept freezing and the lense wouldn't retract and other things. I took it back to Dick Smith with all the orginal packaging, receipt and asked for a refund as the item wasn't fit for purpose and they would not give it to me. Told me the 1 year warranty didn't apply to cameras how convenient!

Rang the Office of Fair Trading and they told me go back in and tell them that FT had told me that they were talking crap and hey presto refund there and then!

TiddlyPom

When I told FT the situation and what he'd said, she just laughed.

But there's no response to the email this morning. We're dropping a hard copy into the premises tonight just to be on the safe side.

TiddlyPom

Thanks. I'm sure I will.

I actually think he hasn't got the money to give back to me. Someone told me that he's really struggling. But that's not my concern really, so I await a response from him. I've given him 2 days to put the money back in so he's got until tomorrow afternoon to do it, before I register my tribunal application.

Mr Grumpy

This is why so many small businesses fail, cause they have no understanding of their legal responsibilities. Don't worry you will win ,you just need to go through the formal process now. This will hurt him more than you, he will be out of business if he maintains this kind of response. He will eventually be fined and if he really causes problems he can have his business licence stripped.

TiddlyPom

Thanks Mr G. Yes, FT have assured me he doesn't have a leg to stand on. It's a bit sad really but he can choose how to proceed.

Still no response to the email, but he has until tomorrow afternoon to put it right, so we'll wait until then, check the bank balance and then proceed.

TiddlyPom

He's come back with a strongly worded response, saying that we have simply 'changed our minds' which of course, is incorrect. He's offering us a $3 refund.

Lucky I took screen shots of all the correspondence I have had with him via his work site on FB.

Swerv-o

A whole $3? Wow! I'm surprised he didn't offer you $2.97 so he could screw you on rounding too...


S

Jen1977ni

D!CK! :curse:

TiddlyPom

Yeah, $3.

I have put together a response for each of his issues and shown the entire time scale as it exists, with his self proclaimed non start on the 1st October, a whole month of doing nothing with no explanation, plus all the other stuff.

They say that because we have just 'changed our minds' that Trading standards will see it this way too and that they require the amount of the money in full.

They've also increased the original quote... Get this, it's gone up from the price we discussed to $920 more.

Wow!

I've done a 25 point letter and will email it back to them. If there's no resolution from it, we go to Trading standards.

Jen1977ni

$920 more!? Where'd he get that from?!?!?!

TiddlyPom

We have no idea but we've added it to the response letter, which when TS look at it, will wonder too.

I've worked out that he did nothing for about 40 or so days whilst he had the deposit. His explanation for this nothing is that I didn't answer my phone.

So, sigh, let's see where we go from here.

TiddlyPom

OMG, this is priceless. I worked out why he's overcharged me. He's lost the original quote and has no idea what he charged me so he's made it up!
I know this because he showed me the mock up of the product and he'd done it the wrong size by two sizes. He blamed me...
And I thought, that's odd. ... I have one of these at home which has fitted like a glove for 20 years...

So he got the product size wrong and the cost because he'd lost the information... and he didn't have the balls to tell us.

We may save this snippet for the tribunal.

Dreamy

That possibly explains the delay also? He couldn't find the order/quote, he misplaced it, he forgot it.. and its only when you got back in touch that he thought he could bullshit his way out of the problem and try to turn the blame round on to you?

TiddlyPom

No, we've been in contact re another business matter so he had ample time.


This morning we recieved an email which hasn't tackled ANY of our complaints in the letter back. It merely states that we can either buy the item, lose the deposit or take them to tribunal, so they're calling our bluff.

So hi ho, hi ho, it's off to tribunal we go.

TiddlyPom

Ok, the issue has been referred to Fair Trading. I filled the online thing in, nice and easy. Cost me nothing.

A rep will get back to us in 24 hours.

We received a letter by email this morning, from the business concerned.
They addressed none of the issues I had raised. In fact, they completely ignored everything I had said.

Their letter says if we're having trouble paying (nope) that they will hold the item, or we can pick it up on Sunday this week.

I specifically asked them to cease work on the item. However, this new letter states that they are finishing the product, without my consent.

They say we can pick it up, or go to tribunal. They say that they'll sell the item if we don't take it.
So they're planning on taking my deposit, which paid for the materials, and then selling the item full price again in their business if I don't take it.
So they're double dipping, in effect.
They also said no further correspondence will be entered into, even though I'd like to keep talking.

Anyway, it's all with Fair Trading now.