failure to deliver order on time and refuse to do a full refund

[stevenlaw]

What is the name of your state? ca
i've recently run into a big dispute with a furniture company regarding a very fundamental matter of fairness. What happened was:

1) i placed an order with 30% deposit with this company on 04/30/06.
2) the company promised to deliver the order on 06/18/06. the promised date was printed on the order.
3) on 06/18/06, the company said they are unable to deliver the order due to some shipment delayed and i have to wait for another month.
4) i requested to cancel the order but the company refused to fully refund my deposit. the reason given is that in the agreement, i've signed with them, had stated that any cancellation will cause a 20% penalty.

i fully agree that if i cancel before 16/18/06, then i should pay the 20% penalty. But if they failed to delivery the order on the promised date, then they should allow me to cancel with a full refund without any hassle or question asked because it's their fault, not mine.

my argument was,
1) if they failed to deliver the order on the promised date, that is a 'breach of contract'. Isn’t it?
2) if they breached the contract, how can they not allow me to cancel the order with a full refund? in another word, if they’re unable to honor the contract at the first place, why would I have to honor the 20% penalty??? aren't they're saying if they breached the agreement, nothing shall happen to them. but if i breached the agreement, i shall pay the penalty!!! isn't this kind of business practices have violated a very fundamental principle of just and fairness???

is there any law out there to protect consumer from this kind of unfair business practice?
i really hope someone of you can give your thought, comment or suggestion on this issue.
Thanks.

 

[divgradcurl]

1) if they failed to deliver the order on the promised date, that is a 'breach of contract'. Isn’t it?

Maybe. It depends on how exactly the delivery date was worded, and if there is any language in the contract about delays from the manufacturer, etc.

2) if they breached the contract, how can they not allow me to cancel the order with a full refund? in another word, if they’re unable to honor the contract at the first place, why would I have to honor the 20% penalty??? aren't they're saying if they breached the agreement, nothing shall happen to them. but if i breached the agreement, i shall pay the penalty!!! isn't this kind of business practices have violated a very fundamental principle of just and fairness???

Because renegotiating the contract is not a "remedy" for breach of contract.

Here's the thing -- unless the contract contains some sort of "weasel" language, then there not delivering by the date agreed to may be a "material" breach, and you should be entitled to cancel the contract. However, if they don't go along with it -- and it doesn't sound like they plan to -- you might have to hire a lawyer to force them, and that would probably cost more than the restocking fee.

Is there any reason why you can't just accept the furniture a little late? I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's probably the easiest resolution.