Breach of contract?

[diy_dude]

Hi,
I am after some friendly advice.

I ordered some images from a printer and went to collect them today. Due to the printer misunderstanding my requirements they have printed the wrong images - none of the work is now usable by me. When we met we tried to find a resolution I slowly lost confidence that they will ever be able to print them correctly. The guy was clearly not listening to me carefully and continued to make errors when suggesting ways to resolve it.

Can I now cancel my order? If so do I owe them anything? No deposit was requested by the printer. The order value is just under £500 - nothing has yet been paid to the printer and they have possession of the prints. Morally I feel uncomfortable about leaving them out of pocket, but I urgently need these images correctly printed for an exhibition next week.

I have found an alternative supplier who can do the work, but only if I get them the originals today.

As I have a fixed amount of money for this project I cannot be in the position where I owe the money twice. This is private work for a small community group with very limited funds.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[joe-90]

This is one of the most difficult quandaries we've seen in this forum in recent times. It's quite a lot of dosh and I guess it all comes down to instructions. He should have insisted that you wrote them down and then gone through them with you.

You're obviously a decent and caring guy, but on balance I feel the problem is his. If it had been me I'd have gone through it with you and asked you to proof the job before the print run - so his fault.

Do what you have to do and tell him you are going elsewhere, and sadly, you won't be paying him.

 

[diy_dude]

I feel some guilt as looking back at my instructions they are not as clear as they could have been. On the other hand, this is the first time I have worked with a printer and would have expected them to ask me the right questions and clarify if unsure. They knew I was new to this and was given advise about format, etc.

The alarm bells should have started ringing when the quote increased about 50% when I supplied the artwork 'due to human error'. I accepted this increase as the quote was still reasonable - within £20 of the printer I am now planning to take the work to.

I know they will be upset / annoyed about me refusing to pay, but I really really ddon'twant to end up in court over this.

 

[Shytalkz]

There is generally no black or white in cases like this. Just as you say he's not providing what you want/asked for, so he can say that he gave you what he thought you wanted, based on the instructions you gave him. Was anything in writing from either side? Clearly neither side is blameless and it has cost him some money and time to get to this stage.

If it went to court, he would be unlikely to get the whole amount, but a judge would be unlikely to say you owed him nothing, in which case you'd get stuck for costs and interest at 8%.

Best you come to some deal with him, at a reduced figure obviously and get it in writing from him that he confirms to this amount before settling; then send a cheque in full and final settlement. Don't try and palm him off without an agreement beforehand for whatever you see fit as an amount, as he doesn't have to accept it in f&f and can take you to court for the balance. It is a popular misconception that banking the cheque means that he's accepted it as such.

 

[diy_dude]

All communication was by email so I have proof. The main point is that I sent two emails containing artwork, he is claiming to have only recieved one. The email he has recieved said along the lines of please print all files beginning with a... on format x and all files beginning b.. on format y.

Due to the increase of cost I had to cancel all printing for files beginning a. He printed all files beginning a.. on format y as he claims not to have recieved the artwork with files beginning b.

Does this make sence?

 

[Chud]

Sounds fairly straightforward to me -

If you went down to Ford and ordered a vauxhall vectra and a transit and the dealer then tried to give you a Galaxy instead then you wouldn't owe him just because they don't have any vectras.

 

[Shytalkz]

And, equally, he wouldn't have spent time and money creating what he thinks you wanted in the absence of unequivocal instructions.

 

[Shytalkz]

All communication was by email so I have proof. The main point is that I sent two emails containing artwork, he is claiming to have only recieved one. The email he has recieved said along the lines of please print all files beginning with a... on format x and all files beginning b.. on format y.

Due to the increase of cost I had to cancel all printing for files beginning a. He printed all files beginning a.. on format y as he claims not to have recieved the artwork with files beginning b.

Does this make sence?

I can see what you're saying, but, as is often the case with da law, logic and what seems to be black and white is often not so. Remember, they sit in their ivory towers all day, thinking up obtuse and arcane ways of reasoning what some law actually means. Why do you think legal dox have such little punctuation? Not because they're c.rap at it, but so that the interpretion is not fixed in a specific way. And we all know that, with a comma here and a semi-colon there, the entire meaning of a sentence can be changed.

I'm just saying that, because he didn't give you what you wanted, then thinking you can just walk away from it may lead to a nasty shock, if he decides to pursue you. Doesn't make it right and I sympathise with you, but since when did da law serve the common man in this country?

Did you send those emails with delivery dockets and did you keep them, for instance? Proof of postage/sending is not proof of delivery...

 

[megawatt]

Try to agree a compromise as you both must share the blame for where you now find yourselves.

Maybe agree to cover their outlay in terms of materials and pay no labour charges etc.

If you simply refuse to pay them they are unlikely to return your originals ... Stalemate and the inevitable court case.

Compromise is the key here

MW

 

[Alison556]

All communication was by email so I have proof. The main point is that I sent two emails containing artwork, he is claiming to have only recieved one. The email he has recieved said along the lines of please print all files beginning with a... on format x and all files beginning b.. on format y.

Due to the increase of cost I had to cancel all printing for files beginning a. He printed all files beginning a.. on format y as he claims not to have recieved the artwork with files beginning b.

Does this make sence?

I don't know if I'm reading this wrong or not, but to me, it looks like no matter if he got the second e-mail or not, he still did the job wrongly - you requested all files starting "A" to be printed in format "X" and all files starting "B" in format "Y" - but he did all files beginning "A" on format "Y" - which is wrong anyway is it not?

I don't know much about consumer law - maybe a quick look round consumer direct would help you out, or even a phone call to them, but if he has done the job wrongly from the start, then I can't see how you'd be liable to pay for it. And if he wasn't sure, would it not have made sense for him to contact you just to confirm what you wanted?

I mean, if you ordered a birthday cake with "Happy Birthday Louise" on it and the baker gave you a cake with "Happy Birthday Lousie" on, would you pay for it???

 

[Shytalkz]

I mean, if you ordered a birthday cake with "Happy Birthday Louise" on it and the baker gave you a cake with "Happy Birthday Lousie" on, would you pay for it???

You would if you were dyslexic

 

[Alison556]