Wholesaler Not Accepting Retuns

[Thomas Anderson]

Hi - my first post here, so thanks for having me and I hope you can maybe help.

I placed my first order with a new wholesaler recently for £8,000 (initial order was £5000 but I was told certain items would be best before until the end of 2017). This advice was given over the phone and is not confirmed in an email chain - all I have there is my initial order being £5,000 and then increasing the total to £8,000 and also a mention of ensuring the particular item in question will indeed be 'as far into the future as possible regarding best before dates'.

Now I have received the stock the best before is June 2017 but they will not agree to return any of the stock at all stating that the stock was ordered specifically from the supplier for me and they wouldn't have promised any dates of best before being so far into the future.

On top of this other items in the order arrived broken, dirty, burst and unusable. Initially they tried to offer only 15% return on these but eventually ceded and have agreed to return the full amount for said items, but still won't move on the items I'm primarily concerned with. I even offered to accept 50% of the extra order and return the other 50% of stock but they won't budge here at all.

My issue is - who do I go to now? What can I do? They don't have a returns policy unless issues are short dated or damaged, but they are telling me these dates are fine. Struggling to find a way round them telling me just to take what I've been given.

Help much appreciated and sorry for rambling on.

Tom.

 

[MBE1]

What is wrong with the stock? Why do you wish to return it?

As ou say, your post is very incoherrent.

 

[Thomas Anderson]

Hi.

The stock in question is in good shape - however, before ordering the stock I asked about best before dates and was told end of 2017/start of 2018 (over the phone). I then increased my initial order on this basis but when the stock arrived it is all dated June 2017.

Wholesaler now states they don't have any record of me asking this question and don't see what the issue is.

on top of that, as part of the order (my first with them) a lot of different items of stock arrived dirty and broken. Despite sending photographic evidence of this they offered my 15% off rather than a refund - we are talking items covered in dirt and chipped pottery that no one would dream of purchasing. They have now decided to refund me fully for these items.

Thirdly, there as some items missing from the initial order and they have calculated the refunded amount incorrectly by several hundred pounds.

Overall it has been a bad experience, but I'm not sure what (if anything) I can do about the stock that is dated June 2017 if they continue to stick to the line of 'we never said that'

I have asked them to check their phone records as I twice phoned to ask questions about that particular piece of stock but they won't reference my concern about this in their two email replies so far.

I have also asked to speak to a MD in the company about the issue but again this is just being ignored.

 

[Newchodge]

Forget the stuff they have agreed to refund. It is confusing the issue and has been dealt with.

Is your concern that you have too much stock that you cannot shift before its sell by date? If so, I cannot see that you can do anything about it.You cannot prove that you were guaranteed a later sell by date, and the date you have is 10 months forward which does not seem unreasonable.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

It's a lesson learnt the hard way that B2B sales can be a mine field and needs proper paperwork in place to ensure you get what you want.

Ask for terms and conditions prior to buying its no good accepting something and then reading the back of a packing list or invoice with small print stating different T&C's

There is no law that B2B contracts have to have a returns policy, some have a voluntary one but others just regard a sale as a sale with no returns

 

[MBE1]

So it sounds like you feel you have ordered too much stock to sell in the sell by date supplied, which is a few months short of what you feel you were promised?

Learn your lesson, and start selling your stock. Welcome to the world of business, without anything in writing you have no case I'm afraid, so use your time productively and act more professionally in future when placing orders.

The amount in value is not large, so why the concern over selling the stock? If a couple of months makes such a difference you should never have ordered the amount in the first place.

 

[Thomas Anderson]

Thanks for the replies.

I agree that acting in a more professional manner on my part in the future is a key lesson here.

However, in this instance I do feel aggrieved regarding the stock. I have an assurance the stock will be 'effectively new stock' as it comes direct from the supplier but I have some stock from that brand with BB2018 and this whole lot which is June2017 - so in effect I have not been delivered what I've been promised (in email) and definitely not what I was told over the phone (twice) which led me to increase my order in the first place.

Bluntly refusing to do anything about it, coupled with the other items I have ordered arriving in a terrible condition has me a little angry at the operating methods of this wholesaler.

I'm not happy that they can get away with telling lies basically and thinking it's acceptable to pass off dirty, broken items.

My initial query mentions where can I go from here... Can I report these failings to trading standards etc...?

 

[Chris Ashdown]

For what they send some unacceptable items that were damaged and replaced them or issued a credit note, why would trading standards be interested

Wholesalers do not often have any need to open up the packing of boxes they just buy in bulk and sell as quick as possible hence you get a good price

You brought what you ordered

 

[MOIC]

Surely you can sell £8,000 worth of stock within 3 or 4 months. (£500 - £600 per week)

If not, why increase your order?

If you are unsure of potential sales, order what you think you will need for maximum 1 month.

The shelf life seems irrelevant, in this situation.

 

[MBE1]

Trading standards are unlikley to be of any help, which leaves you with two choices IMO.

1 - Sell the stock asap, learn from your mistakes, don't order more than you need in the future and get everything in writing, to help prevent future mistakes. As importantly obtain T+C's from suppliers in advance and ensure you know your rights in B2B sales, as after the sale finding out such things is too late.

2 - Go to court, spend a small fortune in the hope of obtaining at least a moral victory, but almost certainly lose thousands more than you would selling the stock as in option 1. By the time you get the decision through the stock will probably be out of date and unsaleable. If so, you lose the £8k plus legal fees on top.

I know which option I would go for.

You have to decide for yourself which is the better solution in your eyes, everyone makes mistakes in business, the clever ones try to make as few as possible in the first place, and by learning from them when they happen try to avoid making more in the future.

 

[Thomas Anderson]

Thanks again for all the replies. It's much appreciated.

Of course I will be trying my hardest to sell the stock and will just need to get on with it.

Overall though my experience with this wholesaler has been poor.

1 - many of the ceramic items arrived chipped, broken and covered in dirt.
2 - many of the food items arrived covered in dirt with evidence of muddy footprints and general filth that makes them not able for sale.
3 - upon raising this issue (including photos) I was offered 15% credit on some items, they ignored items that were broken, had no labels and were in a shocking state. Eventually (only after several email and dealings with their MD did they agree to refund these items).
4 - the second part of the order, which arrived the following week came with several items (that i had already paid for) missing. When I highlighted this the refunded amount was several hundred pounds short of what it should be. As of yet this has not been resolved but will hopefully be amended this week coming.
5 - the debacle (as I see it) with the shorter dated stock than I was promised which I have documented previously.

This isn't the actions of a responsible business in my view and have made no effort to retain my custom in the future. Having dealt with several wholesalers I feel several people could fall foul of the actions of this company and was the main reason behind me wanting to know if there's anything I can do to report their practices.

 

[Newchodge]

You obviously won't be using them again. Do they have a website which accepts reviews/ Is there a forum for those working in your field, where you could post a review? The only thing you can do is give them poor publicity, there is nowhere that 'polices' suppliers like this.

 

[Toby Willows]

Your opportunity to reject a order on grounds of damage, incorrect items, shortage is at the point of delivery. Never sign for it until it's checked. Yes you'll piss off the delivery chap but with experience this process only takes a few minutes. Further down the line when you've (hopefully) built relationships with suppliers you'll find (in the food sector anyway) shortages will usually be sent out asap, and damages just credited to your account.

So start building those relationships, learn from the experience and stop harrasing the supplier. Move on being a little bit wiser.