Advice needed, customer asking for deposit to be returned

[Tarranty]

We are a window blind manufacturer, I recently took an order for some blinds, total £400 and she paid a deposit of £100. Blinds were made and installed and she was delighted with them and agreed to pay the balance by bacs that day. Unfortunately we were unaware that our sewing machine had developed a fault that week and two of the louvres stitching came undone after we left. I immediately ordered new fabric and remade 15 louvres and made an appointment to re-visit within 3 days to replace the two faulty ones and check all others.

When I arrived she said, these are shoddy, (even though we have made blinds for every other room in her house in the same fabric etc), remove them immediately and refund my deposit. I did all I could at the time to resolve, even saying we would replace all of the louvres with new ones but she refused. I am the wife of the team who on the day went there with no van or tools to remove them. I did however remove all of the louvres and said my husband would be back to remove the hardware. They became quite threatening and told me I wasn't allowed to leave the property with her blinds until I repaid the deposit, after asking the husband to sop blocking my exit I left (with the louvres).

I have not been back in touch yet but have now received an email from her saying that she will take me to small claims court. There is nothing on my order form/contact regarding deposits but it does state that all goods remain the property of us until paid in full.

I am just angry with her to be honest, she was fine with everything until I got to the property then, and I don't think she planned it, she waived her hand and dismissed me and our costs and hours of work making a product that is bespoke and cannot be resold.

[Freelancier]

I'd say this is a great time to visit with an attorney to tighten up your contract and determine the best way to handle this particular situation and to make sure that if it happens again, you're covered. It may be that you have to go to court to recover your money. It may be that you have to write it off.

[Harold Mansfield]

I've been there. Everything seems to be going right, and then all of a sudden they turn on you like a wild animal over the most minor thing, and won't accept any offers to correct whatever the thing is. It's as if some kind of paranoia switch just went off in their heads and now they've determined that you're out to get them.

I agree with Freelancier that now is probably a good time to review in your terms of service.

As far as the money goes, if you can't afford to lose the money or you genuinely feel they are trying to screw you out of free work.product then go to court. But if it's more trouble than it's worth, do whatever you can (short of giving away product) to make them happy (get rid of them) and never deal with them again.

[billbenson]

Ya, there are a lot of ifs here, particularly if you are outside the US.I have a product that is primarily custom. My policy says that custom products are generally not returnable. Having said that, I generally take products back. It really depends on if you can absorb the cost.

Having said that, I don't like being used. You did everything you could to rectify the situation. I'd probably make her life as difficult as I could trying to get her money back. I'd drag her out for months trying to get her money back.

It just sounds like changed her mind on a custom product. You can't do that.

You do, as mentioned above, need to get a lawyer to draw up a contract that protects you.

[chrismarklee]

That is a problem with a sale. Can you resell his product if you started making it. I would return the deposit and move on. You might want to make a plain English statement in contact that deposits are non-refundable

[tallen]

In our business, we take a deposit of 25% up-front to confirm the order, but in the event of a cancellation, the deposit is non-refundable unless we succeed in re-selling the item to someone else (for the same amount of the original order, etc....). In our case, the "item" is a service to be delivered at a specific time, and of course once that time has passed, it's gone and we'll never be able to sell it to anyone else. Our customers seem to understand this...

In the OP's case, I would think people would realize that they've ordered custom products made specifically to their requirements, so the likelihood of being able to sell the product to someone else is virtually nil -- in which case one would think that they would understand that in placing the order, they've made a serious commitment. Nonetheless, it does sound like you need to beef up your contract / policies, with the help of a legal professional....

[Joseph Mancia]

I know it hurts when dealing with that type of customer but I would chalk it up because if she writes a bad review it very well can be a PR nightmare.

[turboguy]

In our business, we take a deposit of 25% up-front to confirm the order, but in the event of a cancellation, the deposit is non-refundable unless we succeed in re-selling the item to someone else (for the same amount of the original order, etc....). In our case, the "item" is a service to be delivered at a specific time, and of course once that time has passed, it's gone and we'll never be able to sell it to anyone else. Our customers seem to understand this...


The other thing to keep in mind is that the product was defective. Tallen, your deposit is not refundable. Would you refund the deposit if what you sent was defective?

I have a feeling that the product Tarranty produces is exceptional and that problems are rare. Dealing with problems is a skill not everyone has. I have a lot of weakness in my skill set but one thing I think I am exceptional at is dealing with customers who have problems. Over my many years in business I have done a lot of that and have built a great reputation and following with my customers. Done properly most problems can be resolved easily and you can actually build your relationship with that customer. Not done well and you end up with a customer who wants their money back and will never do business with you again or ever recommend you. One of the keys is listening to the customer and being empathetic. Another is recognizing that the mistake was your fault, even if there was a little blame on each side. Another key is asking the customer what they want you to do to resolve the issue and then doing it. Often the customer expects less than we think. Usually if they feel you care about them and their problem and want to resolve it you will have a loyal customer for a long time.

We may be a business owner but we don't work for ourselves. We work for our customers.

[tallen]

The other thing to keep in mind is that the product was defective. Tallen, your deposit is not refundable. Would you refund the deposit if what you sent was defective?

Yes, of course.

For us, the non-refundable bit is if the customer cancels their order after placing it but before we deliver. Even then, we try to sell their order to someone else, and will refund the deposit to the original customer if we succeed in doing so.

But even for a defect, I feel that the contract with the customer should spell out that the customer must give the merchant appropriate time and opportunity to make right on the order before any other type of compensation is considered.