UK Ownership of goods

[Roger tremain]

I am having a dispute with a supplier
I have paid in advance against a proforma invoice ex works their plant
Unfortunately i had to cancel the order and the supplier is arguing that adni had paid for the goods i had gained ownership of the goods despite not issuing a formal tax invoice
They goods are standard goods in stock however they are also wanting to deduct from my payment gbp50 for administration costs and gbp25 for a restocking cost both of which i find excessive also no mention of these costs are in their 8 page terms and conditions of sale
Any comments would be welcome

 

[Fidget]

This is more of a legal issue than an accounting issue, but what I can tell you is that you need to establish at what point ownership or "title" transfers - that's a crucial point. So you need to refer to the supplier's terms of sale. Generally in business transactions, the law of contracts applies and it's basically down to what you've signed up for.

As you've said, you've got their 8 page T&Cs of sale and the admin/restock costs aren't mentioned. But they don't have to be specifically mentioned, so you need to look at the T&C's again to see if there's any mention of cost relating to cancellation in general. Wording such as "if the order is not fulfilled due to the ordering party then expenses may be recoupable.." or words to that effect that try to disguise the application of the charges such as those you've mentioned.

Alternatively.. just directly challenge the charges and ask them to point out where the application of them is stated in their T&Cs. That's what I'd do, and then go from there.