Wholeslaer dilemma

[richy3333]

Just wondered what peoples views might be on this. I've kept it in the Arms given the nature of the story.

At the beginning of March a wholesaler (who will remain nameless, but a large business) was supposed to order a multi-tariff heating board for me. The rewire was slow for various unconnected reasons that aren't important. After first fix I chased the wholesaler for the board as it hadn't been delivered They fudged a load of nonsense about not knowing why this was the case and were 'on it'. Upon 'investigation' by me the manufacturers said they'd never had the order. The wholesaler ordered the board again but now the manufacturer were having manufacturing difficulties with metal-clad boards. In total it took 13 weeks for me to get the board.

The customer has been fair but has said that due to having to say in rented accommodation longer she will be looking to me to pay a contribution towards the rent (1 month/£500). I've told the wholesalers that I will be settling my account less £500 which they are refusing to accept. The manufacturers are saying that had the board been ordered in March it would have been before their problems and as such supplied. The manager at the wholesalers wrote to me on Friday to say that the original order was never placed and he lied to me (his words in writing) but maintains that the manufacturers couldn't have supplied the board anyway.


Its all a bit FUBAR'd but I'm wondering if a national wholesaler would like to be named and shamed to the press (not on forums) that they lie to their customers and then admit it in writing?!

 

[Darkwood]

I have recently had a similar issue where penalties were threatened because an un-named wholesaler had lied to me to win a contract, it turned out a distribution system they said had a 3-weeks lead time on it took 14weeks and nearly lost me a customer, the order was chased several times and I eventually asked them to provide me with manufacturers gaurantee of delivery, the manufacturer refused to forward any such agreement, this shocked me from a well known brand but they knew they would get into a legal tangle at this stage if they committed.

I eventually found out the 3weeks I was told was my wholesaler guessing and he was unaware that due to demand the lead time of my equipment was several times that, he then tried to cover his tracks by consistantly blaming the failure of the manufacturers to meet their committments until I contacted the manufacturer myself and found out the true state of affairs - it took all my email corrospondants forwarded to my customer for him to see my dilema and give me the room I needed, I worked through xmas to sort this ball up out.

Now on any orders that are tied to jobs with specified schedules and possible financial penalties I ensure I have E-mail confirmation from either the manufacturer or wholesaler of the lead time, now tbh if its a little late this can be expected but like in my case where it was 11weeks late I could have taken legal action for losses incurred had I had all the correct paperwork to confirm the ETA of goods.. I couldn't go to any other Wholesalers as they all went to the same manufacturer and had the same delay to contend with but the difference is they told me up front the truth where this said wholesaler lied to win the order off me.


In you situe' its a difficult case and depends on any agreements and contract clauses you have with your customer, a good clause to get in the contract would be regarding unforseen delays on materials due to supply issues. If you have no contract in place as such then it can all get messy, if the work was subject to a schedule and this was agreed then your customer may have a claim, again if all this is just vocal agreement then it all gets messy again and might not be worth the hassle of a legal battle at the risk of big financial costs.

I'm no legal advisor here and these are just my opinions but its your call whether to ask for legal advice which is ultimately my recommendation but it comes down to hiring a ducatti to chase down a moped... is it worth all the hassle?

 

[gutterball]

I find individual branches within the same companies can vary from excellent to totally hopeless. Is there another branch near you you could use instead. I know it won't help with your current problem but might next time.

 

[GEOFF S]

This is the importance of contracts, without one you may end up without payment and not a leg to stand on, not that this helps now.

I doubt you will have a leg to stand on, personally i would be looking for alternative options.

Cheers

 

[tazz]

IMO I think you actually have a small claims case, due to his letter. I`m no lawyer, but would enter a small claims order at local court or online.....the company will receive a summons in 3 days, stating your intentions.
For around £40-£50 court fees, I`m think they would settle up out of court once they receive the summons.

 

[ruston]

I tend to agree with tazz. I doubt they will want such bad publicity.

 

[ian.settle1]

Be warned though that if they do settle out of court they may ask you to sign a disclaimer not to make this public after they have paid you otherwise they could take you to court.

 

[ruston]

I bet everyone here knows who they are already.

 

[richy3333]

Thanks for the comments guys. I've just had an email chasing for my monthly account payment so I've written back to the accounts department giving them the bad news that I won't pay £500 of it. It will be interesting to see what happens...

 

[ruston]

Good luck.:smiley2:

 

[baldelectrician]

When you write I would suggest you let them know you may pay 'under protest' and sue them through the small claims court (as Tazz suggested)
This could get messy.

 

[richy3333]

Weirdly it could get more messy but I can't explain why at this time as it would give away the location and the wholesaler.

im not stressed as ultimately I'll write to every trade magazine, write in every forum etc to tell as many people as I can who they are and what they did. 'National wholesaler admits in writing that they lied to a customer' should grab some attention!

 

[edrobbo8]

I used to use a well known nationwide wholesaler who would regularly give you a price for things over the phone, then when the invoice came in at the end of the month the price quoted would and the price charged could be 50%, 100% more expensive.

I then stopped using them for this reason, then was stuck for a certain brand of RCD and went in and put it on a cash sale, the manager of the branch asked who to make the invoice out to and I told him my company name, he said you have an account with us and I said I will pay on cash as I had told your firm to close the account!

I steer well clear of the big brands now and use a local wholesaler who offer much better service, are much more personable and are very competitive on price!

 

[baldelectrician]

I used to use a well known nationwide wholesaler who would regularly give you a price for things over the phone, then when the invoice came in at the end of the month the price quoted would and the price charged could be 50%, 100% more expensive.

I have had this one or two times over the years- my mobile records calls (they know that) and an email of the conversation with them soon 'refreshes their mind'

 

[Midwest]

Re the CU order thing, I ordered a simple multi tariff A3 CU, via my wholesaler, from Wylex. It was in their catalogue, so not bespoke one. Wylex told my wholesaler 10 days for delivery (I was there whilst they were on the phone), which I accepted. Nearly seven weeks later, and only after constant weekly phones from me, did the thing turn up. In the meantime I had ripped out the old CU, thinking it would be along in a week, and the customer didn't need his storage heaters in the summer. Lesson learnt.

 

[shanky887614]

Re the CU order thing, I ordered a simple multi tariff A3 CU, via my wholesaler, from Wylex. It was in their catalogue, so not bespoke one. Wylex told my wholesaler 10 days for delivery (I was there whilst they were on the phone), which I accepted. Nearly seven weeks later, and only after constant weekly phones from me, did the thing turn up. In the meantime I had ripped out the old CU, thinking it would be along in a week, and the customer didn't need his storage heaters in the summer. Lesson learnt.

your better online sometimes because there are places that have these things on the shelf and you could have had it within a couple days

 

[Midwest]

Mostly prefer to order such things locally mostly, from a business point of view, just in case something's wrong with the product. However, don't think you'll get any of these non-standard A3 CU's online, any quicker at the moment.

 

[richy3333]

I prefer to support my local wholesalers. I don't use screwfix or toolstation etc. my complaint is the wholesaler didn't even order the board and lied to me.

 

[Midwest]

Kinda agree with you, but when my local (national) wholesaler charges me more for my brand sockets, I go to screwfix.

 

[shanky887614]

Kinda agree with you, but when my local (national) wholesaler charges me more for my brand sockets, I go to screwfix.

i agree completely, i cant rate the swa crimper i grabbed enough. ive only used it on 10mm lugs but its easier than crimping red through crimps