What would You Do...(new saga...long)

15 years ago

Just when the summer is ending and we only have about 4-6 weeks left here in NY to enjoy our pool, our sagas with this pool continue.

We have been putting out bids to get a safety cover. We have a grecian lazy-l. We thought we were going to place our order with an online vendor (LL). I sent him the CAD drawing of our pool which came direct from the pool manuf. All he did was submit it to Merlin. I then asked last Thursday to see the safety cover CAD so we could confirm Merlin's dimensions. He told me he could and would do that, but we then had to sign off on the order and Merlin's CAD drawing and fax it back to him. We told him that would be no problem. We would fax it back to him on Tuesday(yesterday).

DH had some unexpected health issues and was ordered for an MRI yesterday and out of work for one week. Access to a fax machine is only available at DH's work, so we have not faxed anything over to LL. While DH and I were at his MRI, a local guy came by and measured the pool and gave us a quote, which included install and winterizing the pool. His quote, although for a Anchor cover, was only $300 more, but included winterizing and install, plus he actually measured the pool dimensions himself. So we figured we would go with him instead.

So, I called the first guy back and told him we were going with a local company. He called and left a message and told me we cannot cancel our safety cover b/c he already placed the order!!! I checked with our cc company and he charged our card last Thursday. My guess is that it is actually in holding status with Merlin and they are still waiting for the authorization of the signed forms, but I could be wrong.

So I asked the cc company to place an unauthorized chargeback on the charge itself and they did open a case file.

DH is going to call the guy in the morning.

1) Isn't there a law that says you cannot charge a cc until the item is actually shipped

2) technically we never signed off on the plans, so he has no signature from either DH or myself. In fact, he left 2 messages yesterday and 1 early this morning b/f he knew of DH's unexpected health issues. And he sent one email this morning as well asking us to fax the form back. Direct email quotes from him.... "I can't send in order for cover without both verifications please sign and return to me" AND "when you can please email or fax the 2 verifications back to my attention"

3)if there was a change in the dimensions, and considering he **claims** the order has been placed, how would we get the dimensions changed?

There would be no way we could even fax anything until DH is back at work until next Monday.

CC company told us it can take 6-8 weeks for resolution, but we need to order a safety cover within the next two weeks.

Advice? Any legal aspects?

TIA

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Comments (3)

sharlanet
15 years ago
I don't know exactly who Merlin is, but couldn't you call Merlin directly and cancel/straighten it out with him? Demand proof of verification (which there will be none) from whomever you "ordered" it from. Keep records of everything- names of people you talk to on the phone, dates and times.
Next step, file a complaint with the BBB. It doesn't take long and you can do it online. I had a problem with our cover company all summer long- them wanting me to pay for a service they did incorrectly. They told me they would send it to collections if I didn't pay. I warned them I'd file a complaint and they arrogantly told me to "go ahead". Within 2 days of filing a report with the BBB, the cover company called me and resolved it.
thejimbar
15 years ago
Merlin....LOL
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tresw
15 years ago
It's hard to say without knowing the full history, but the question here is whether or not you entered into a contract with this company. A contract can be either verbal or written, but in the case of verbal contracts they are very difficult to sort through because it's a case of one party's word against another's.

"He called and left a message and told me we cannot cancel our safety cover b/c he already placed the order!!!"

It is possible for the vendor to place an order with the manufacturer without having the verified dimensions, this is a case of "getting in line" and is done all the time in the construction industry on long lead time items. If he was under the impression that you were in a hurry, he may very well have placed the order and was waiting for the verified dimensions from you so that he could get them to start fabrication. Often a manufacturer will hold the place in line, but if they don't get the fabrication info by a certain deadline then they will bump it down. He may even have had to place a down payment with them to get them to generate the shop drawings for you. Normally a company will not generate shop drawings unless they're convinced they have an order placed.

What would You Do...(new saga...long)

Comments (3)

sharlanet

thejimbar

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tresw

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