carpetconsumer
New Member
This incident happened in my home in McKinney, TX. On 6/11/08, a representative of a local carpet retailer came to my house to give me an estimate. He continued to push for the sale, and ultimately I agreed. I signed a contract but later realized that the contract made no mention of the amount of carpet I had ordered, nor did it mention the cost per square foot of the carpet. It also did not contain a sales tax figure. It simply had a total of $6000 at the bottom with no discernable way to conclude how that amount was reached.
On 6/12/08, I decided to cancel the order, stopped payment on my check, and called the carpet company. The representative on the phone said the carpet had not been ordered yet so we were ok to cancel the order.
Today, 7/08/08, I received a certified mail notice indicating that I owe the company a $1500 restocking fee. The company admits that they never physically ordered carpet and never physically restocked it, but claims that the restocking fee is their policy regardless of when I canceled the order. Do I owe them?
Under Texas law, chapter 39 of the Business and Commerce code, for purchases made outside a merchant's business location (like a contract signed in my home), I have 3 days to cancel the contract without penalty. However, their contract made no mention of this nor does it contain the wording as legally required in chapter 39. Are they in violation of that code?
Additionally, since I was not aware that I was required to make the cancellation in writing due to the lack of cancellation policy on their form, does my phone call on 6/12/08 serve as a legal cancellation or do I need to forward them a written notice of cancellation now, even though we are well outside the 3 day window?
Where do I go from here?
Thanks so much for any advice you can offer!!!
On 6/12/08, I decided to cancel the order, stopped payment on my check, and called the carpet company. The representative on the phone said the carpet had not been ordered yet so we were ok to cancel the order.
Today, 7/08/08, I received a certified mail notice indicating that I owe the company a $1500 restocking fee. The company admits that they never physically ordered carpet and never physically restocked it, but claims that the restocking fee is their policy regardless of when I canceled the order. Do I owe them?
Under Texas law, chapter 39 of the Business and Commerce code, for purchases made outside a merchant's business location (like a contract signed in my home), I have 3 days to cancel the contract without penalty. However, their contract made no mention of this nor does it contain the wording as legally required in chapter 39. Are they in violation of that code?
Additionally, since I was not aware that I was required to make the cancellation in writing due to the lack of cancellation policy on their form, does my phone call on 6/12/08 serve as a legal cancellation or do I need to forward them a written notice of cancellation now, even though we are well outside the 3 day window?
Where do I go from here?
Thanks so much for any advice you can offer!!!
