Forum Moderators: buckworks
Here's the rub. Basically a 'customer' of mine claims he bought a product off of me some time last week. He gave me a date of purchase but failed to provide an invoice number of any kind.
He's saying he bought a widget accesory off of me and when he placed it into his widget it blew up. His widget is now destroyed and it has ruined various thing's in the room his widget was in.
He is now saying that he wan't compensation from me for the damage. Ok - that's fair enough, if I was in his position I would too.
So I search for this guy's invoice and can't find it, so I look though all the invoices on that day and can't find one from him or any of that widget accesory sold. So I look through the day's before, and still no luck. So I go back and back and don't find one until about 6 days before, but the widget wasn't bought in this guy's name, and I can't beleive it took 6 days to invoice him and send the widget out.
I have told him I want to ring him, and that i will compensate him. But what do you guys think? does it sound suspect, does this type of thing happen, or has it happened to you?
Also If I was taken to court, or paid outside of court, could I claim it back from my wholesaler or the manufacturer or do I have to take responsibility? Can I pass him on to the wholesaler and let them deal with him?
If any one could help me, then please reply, as I am hoping to get it sorted out soon.
Many Thanks In advance
EVO
I had a very irrate customer the other day who was very annoyed his order had not turned up. He wanted to know where the item was. After questioning him, he was given a price different to mine and charged carriage even though my carriage is free. Also, the time delivery estimate was 4 to 5 days - even though I stock the item and send it next day delivery!
Obviously, he has either dreamt this order or placed it elsewhere!
He will not be able to take any legal action without proof of purchase from yourself. This needs to be a credit card statement or an invoice from yourself.
I wouldn't worry about it at all - just state that without an invoice number, you can do nothing further to help him.
If he can't provide any of that, then tell him to get... I mean, politely decline his request for a refund. ;)
If you did sell the widget (and he can prove it), then your liability insurance should cover it anyway if you're set up right.
What will happen though, if he has bought the product and can prove it?
Will the manufacturers take the brunt? or will it be on my shoulders?
thanks
Like you, I searched my records and turned up nothing, so I politely emailed him to say so, at which point he responded most indignantly saying that I'd just lost a customer and not to worry now he'd bought his widgets elsewhere. Clearly there are people out there making a lot of money sending emails like this out and getting non-existant orders re-despatched.
Then today I had someone send back a widget that they had bought from "The Widget Shop" (not owned by me). Apparently, after buying it and finding it to be faulty she Googled for "widget shop" and came across my Widgetz site, took down the address and sent them to me! I'm just in the process of wording a response :)
This guy shouldn't take you to court unless he's very, very stupid. Basically, he sounds like a more extreme version of the first guy I mentioned.
<added>
What will happen though, if he has bought the product and can prove it?Will the manufacturers take the brunt? or will it be on my shoulders?
Depends on the widget, but most probably it either broke because it was faulty from the manufacturer or he used it wrong, either way not your fault :)
</added>
[edited by: j4mes at 6:28 pm (utc) on Oct. 5, 2004]
Of course, I have been known to underestimate what a shady character, a ridiculous claim, and a lawyer can achieve when combined.
What will happen though, if he has bought the product and can prove it?
Will the manufacturers take the brunt? or will it be on my shoulders?
So now I know he bought the widget for definate, what should I do? I'm going to find his phone number and give him a ring, but what should I say?
thanks,
Craig
Will the manufacturers take the brunt? or will it be on my shoulders?
This is the crux of the matter - not the one guy trying to get a refund out of you. If you don't know the answer, then you need to find out fast.
If you make the widgets, then you are responsible, and you should be properly insured for product liability, legal expenses and the rest of it. If you are a reseller, then you may be able to pass the defectuous goods back to the manufacturer, but you're still liable to give the refund straight away and you can't be sure of a manufacturer refund later (and even if you get it, it may be many months down the line). Don't forget the liability of the carrier, too, if it was damaged in transport. Even if you aren't directly responsible, you are still going to rack up legal bills if you get sued.
You will need to work out the details for your particular situation, but you firstly need to reduce your liability as much as possible, and then you insure adequately whatever is left. I assume you are running a limited company anyway: get your legal advisor to look over the situation.
<added>OK, so you did sell it. Call him, get the details, calm him down, ooze goodwill but check your facts before getting too specific.</added>
I've managed to get his phone number, and given him a ring, and it's not as bad as I thought.
He can buy a new widget for under £50, and can fix the things that got burnt in the room. I have now taken the widgets off sale so he can see i am taking customers safety into consideration (which I am). I have now also sent an e-mail to the people that have also bought this particular widget and refunded them. I have advised them to stop using it, as it may explode. I am going to follow this up with a phone call.
Also, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy and was sympathetic to my situation, as was I to his. Obviously you can understand the shock when something blows up, especially when you are in the room. It seems like he can get it sorted out quickly, so I have agreed to pay the costs and he is happy with this. As they are so small it is not worth our while taking it to court, and I am happy to pay the costs, which I will hopefully claim back at a later date.
hopefully it will all be ok in the end then and thanks for all your help.
