BUY IN HASTE REPENT AT LEISURE!

Have you recently tried to overcome the recession blues by going on a January Sales spending spree? Have you now discovered that the items that you have bought do not fit, or you have changed your mind about them or they have broken?

Do you want to know if there is anything you can do to get your money back?

The good news is that you can do something about most situations.

FAULTY GOODS

The first and foremost thins is if the item is faulty, in other words it does not work as it was supposed to, or it does not fit its description, or it is not fit for its purpose. These rights are governed by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended. Even if the item was reduced in the “Sale” it still has to comply with this legislation no matter what the seller says. The only way that the seller can get away with selling you an item that is marked or damaged is if they specifically draw your attention to the problem. So, by stating for instance that “this item has a damaged zip and is therefore reduced in price”, would mean that you could not return the item because of the faulty zip. You could still return it if the item fell to pieces as this was nothing to do with the zip.

If items do not fit because they are incorrectly marked you are protected by the above legislation as the goods will not fit their description. So for example if you bought a dress marked as size 12 and it did not fit because it was actually a size 16 this would be a breach of the legislation. If a settee was described as 246cm wide and when it was delivered it was 346cm wide you would have a valid claim under the legislation.

What happens if someone else bought the item for you and it is faulty? If you give the gift back to the person who bought it for you they can take it back to the seller. Or you can return the item yourself provided the person who bought it told the seller that it was a gift for another party and had this information written onto the receipt. The protection given to the receiver of a gift is that governed by the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. This gives the receiver of the gift the right to return the goods to the seller.

CHANGING YOUR MIND

If you do not like the item when you get it home or it is the wrong colour then you cannot take the item back and get a refund under the above legislation. You can return to the seller and advise them of your change of mind the seller may give you a refund at their discretion. A number of large department stores operate this policy.

If in any doubt about any of the above circumstances you should seek further advice, please contact Sara Checkley at Chattertons Solicitors on 01507 522456.

DISTANCE SELLING OF ENERGY SUPPLIES

You may have heard that OFGEM recently added to the protection that the consumer already receives from the Regulations covering doorstep selling, by stating that all energy suppliers must make sure that when selling contracts to consumers at their homes they must leave a written quote.

This is so that the consumer does not feel pressurised into entering the contract there and then. It will give the consumer time to go away and compare the offer with other suppliers to make sure that they are getting the best deal.

This change came about as a direct response to the concerns expressed by consumer groups about the pressure used by energy suppliers’ doorstep salesmen to encourage consumers to sign up to their agreements.

There are Regulations which cover all doorstep sales and provide you the consumer with a range of protection so you should check out this area of legislation before continuing with the agreement.

If you have been approached by any doorstep salesmen recently and were persuaded to sign an agreement that you are having second thoughts about will please contact Sara Checkley at Chattertons Solicitors on 01507 522456.

Sorting out your legal affairs in 2010

How is your personal legal housekeeping? A new year is a good time to make some legal resolutions. Make your will. Ensure property is in the right names. Even consider a pre or post pre nup. Enter into contracts with business partnership and shareholders rather than operating on trust. Introduce some standard terms of sale and purchase into your business.

Elizabeth Nicholson a partner at Chattertons Solicitors says “Our private clients are not always up to date with matters such as making a will. Although the government is looking at changing the law to give better rights on death to cohabitants who are not married, those changes are not yet in effect and many people believe common law marriages are legally recognised. They are not. However you can protect your position through a well drawn up will and other legal documents. It may be that you want to ensure that if you die your live in partner does not inherit but your children from a previous marriage will do so and if the law may change in this field to give new rights to a partner you may want to ensure you write a will now to make it clear who will inherit.

Another sensible precaution before moving in with a partner, or before or during marriage or a relationship is to agree in writing about certain important financial matters. If one partner moves into the home of the other, will the property go into joint names? Will the parties have equal shares? If, before marriage, one partner has substantial assets and income they may want to protect if they divorce, it may be worthwhile after the recent court recognition of a foreign law pre-nuptial agreement (in the Radmacher case) to have lawyers draw up a pre-nuptial agreement. It may not always be watertight but it is likely the court will give some consideration to such documents, particularly if both parties have had legal advice and the terms are reasonable. We can help you draw up such documents.

If you are concerned about losing capacity as you get older, it may be sensible to draw up a Lasting Power of Attorney setting out how your affairs will be managed if you lose legal competence, such as through Alzheimer’s or dementia. Again we can help you draw up the relevant documents. Looking at your tax position before the end of the tax year on 5^th April is also wise. You may have tax allowances to use and seek methods lawfully to reduce the impact of inheritance tax were you to die. Call us for help in these areas.

For  more information visit our people, our teams and contact a member from our Private Client department located at an office nearest to you.

Land Registry campaign for address/es to be kept up to date

The Land Registry is launching a campaign to encourage registered property owners to keep their address(es) for service up to date, in order for the LR to alert them to applications that may affect their ownership.

The campaign will particularly target owners who may be vulnerable to property fraud, including those whose LR registered address is not the address where they live, such as owners of buy to let properties, those in care or who live abroad. Owners will be invited to check that their details are current, apply for an address to be changed or request that additional addresses be entered in the register.

Katherine Bunting, Partner in Charge of the Property Department at Chattertons, said: "Solicitors have always supported any action or campaign to protect the interests of consumers and fight fraud of any kind. We are delighted that the Land Registry is running this campaign and we are keen to support this initiative. Any clients who want us to check their current address for service at the Land Registry or who would like help changing their service address at the LR should contact the conveyancing department at their local Chattertons office."

Partner takes new position

Emma Clayden, who joined Chattertons, The Lincolnshire Solicitors in October 2008, has been made a Partner. Emma joins resident Partners Robert Clark and Jayne Harrison based at the firm’s Grantham office. After qualifying as a Solicitor 12 years ago, Emma has a wealth of experience and knowledge in Company Commercial law.

Emma advises Companies and individuals typically on mergers and acquisitions (including sales/ purchases/ MBO’s and MBI’s), joint ventures, corporate restructuring, compliance issues and purchases of own shares. She also specialises in advising parties on investments into private Companies in particular in relation to shareholder and investment agreements. In addition, Emma advises on a wide variety of commercial agreements including terms and conditions and supply agreements.

For more information, please contact Emma on 01476 591550.

Severe Weather Conditions – Employment Tips for your Business

 

What happens if your employees did not make it to their place of work because of severe weather conditions?

Unless you have contractually promised to provide transport for employees to and from their place of work, the onus is on the employee to get to work. If an employee fails to turn up for work in these circumstances the employer is under no obligation to pay them.

Points to consider:

• Putting in place an adverse weather or similar policy should help reduce scope for confusion.
• If an employee’s normal mode of transport cannot be used because of the weather an employer should encourage the employee to explore alternative means of safe transport.
• Consider whether an employee could usefully work from home.
• Consider how absences or lateness due to severe weather conditions will be treated, for example, time off work will be unpaid, or paid on a discretionary basis or the employee can take the time off as paid leave.

For more advice on employers rights in severe weather conditions, please visit our teams and contact a member of our employment team.