Supplier failure

[geester]

The issue we have is a supplier, made some custom products for us, we dropped the packaging off to them and had to wait for vehicle recovery as the vehicle had broken down. The supplied packed the unit and confirmed everything was OK with it, no issues.

I then got towed away! The unit was sent as a trial for a much larger order that we had received based on the first off passing inspection and the unit was sent to Australia.

Now the issue is our customer has come back and cancelled the order for the balance of the other products at a total of £100K, siting the poor manufacturing quality as the paint had been chipped and touched up poorly. The door was tapered so catching when it was opened and the window was oversprayed with the same white paint as the product! Probably in the touch up stage!

We have tried to resolve the issue with the supplier, who tells us they will rectify the problems but we have to pay them for it! We have requested that they remake the unit and ship it to Australia at their cost, as the product is not fit for purchase due to their poor manufacturing practices.

Our T&Cs are included in any PO, so they have these at the time of the order and they do state, that any supplier who supplies a product to the company that is not fit for purpose they are responsible for rectification and any financial loss caused to our company - they are adament they will not shoulder any costs.

They have been chasing some invoices which this is one of them, they have also on a paid invoice supplied a product that is not welded and it should have been, they have stated they will fix this before Christmas but now when I ask they try and brush it under the table!

In 4 orders, we have had 3 issues, we no longer use them but need a resolution to the outstanding issues.

Any ideas??

 

[smallclaimsassistance]

Hi

Can you explain what you mean by this?

The issue we have is a supplier, made some custom products for us, we dropped the packaging off to them and had to wait for vehicle recovery as the vehicle had broken down. The supplied packed the unit and confirmed everything was OK with it, no issues. I then got towed away!

Your post appears to be suggesting manufacturing/finishing errors or defects, created by the manufacturer. The above paragraph, however, suggests that the damage may have occurred in transit? If not, please explain the relevance of

the vehicle had broken down

and

The supplied packed the unit and confirmed everything was OK with it, no issues. I then got towed away!

Thanks

Dean

 

[geester]

No, the vehicle I was in broke down delivering the packaging to the manufacturer, we did not transport the goods.

The goods had been packed by the manufacturer and collected by our customer.

 

[kulture]

If so much was riding on this and you were there why did you not inspect the goods before they were packed and sent. That way you could have been certain that they were fit for purpose etc. By supplying the packaging and your customer doing the transport and not bothering to inspect and find these visible defects you have weakened any case you may have.

 

[soundengineeruk]

Sitting back and reading the post a few times.. Either I am missing the plot but it is not clear what has failed and who is expected to pay..

If your customer has cancelled the order with you because of your supplier issue, how is the customer issue?

The customer is paying your for the product and if you shipped it out without checking the suppliers quality, then issue is between you and your supplier..

It may be in your terms and conditions, but the customer does have the right to receive product what they pay for. From what I have read it appears they have not..

However, I may have missed the point

 

[geester]

No soundengineeruk/kulture, you missed the point. The supplier has its own British Standards for quality, they confirmed everything had passed and the goods shipped. If they work to a BSI standard and the products fail due to quality issues, surely we have a recourse against the supplier. Who refused to rectify the issue. Resolved anyway - got a good solicitor.

 

[paulears]

I'm very confused too? BSI standards apply to cosmetics? I didn't know that. I thought the standards were engineering and safety?

If you take a step back, and put yourself in the clients position, they paid for good that when they arrived are clearly defective. They can fix them so they are saleable, but are unhappy. We are clearly not looking at the odd one, but a batch being substandard, aren't we?

They have a claim against you, and you in turn have a claim against the supplier. You've also made yourself superfluous by allowing something important to be in effect drop shipped. You have relied on a BSI label to prove something it really isn't designed to do. BSI and CE marks prove absolutely nothing on an individual product basis. Companies for years got a BSI standard for their employee/employer relations and the reality was it meant nothing at all.

This is even worse because it's not even different countries, it's different continents!

 

[kulture]

I do not believe that I have missed the point. I think that you have missed the point and continue to do so. Just having a British standard for quality does not mean that they produce quality goods. It simply means that they produce goods to that they are happy with. It does not mean that any customer is happy with them. What the supplier thinks is OK may not match the customer's expectations. You dropped the ball by not inspecting the goods before they were packaged and dispatched. You clearly had the opportunity.

 

[CW Legal Services]

If you supplied goods that were of poor quality then the actions of the customer seem reasonable. It does not matter what you write in Ts & Cs it cannot over ride the Sale of Goods Act. Your claim is against the supplier to you who seems to have sent faulty goods that you did not inspect. CW Contract Law and Legal.