A furniture store in Metro Vancouver was sued by disgruntled customers who wanted a refund after cancelling an order just days after it was made.
The furniture store the customers sued is called Yaletown Interiors, but it is located in Coquitlam.
Richard Kengni and Pierrette Djanwoua ordered furniture from Yaletown Interiors on April 3, 2022. They were told the order would take three to four months to fulfill.
On April 12, the customers went to the store and asked to have their order to be cancelled, but Yaletown Interiors refused to cancel the order or provide a refund.
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According to the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal hearing, Yaletown Interiors suggested that the contract stated that all sales are final and that the applicants are not entitled to any refund.
Kengni and Djanwoua’s total order was valued at $10,168, but they had paid for approximately half of that; they had put down $2,000 for a deposit and a further $3,084.
The tribunal case frequently references the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (BPCPA), which suggests that “a consumer may cancel a future performance contract by giving notice of cancellation to the supplier not later than one year after the date the consumer receives a copy of the contract.”
The case suggests that the contract that the customers received from Yaletown Interiors was incomplete, based on guidelines set by the BPCPA.
Yaletown Interiors argued that providing information like supply dates in its contracts wasn’t customary. Still, the tribunal member overseeing the case states it is mandatory and that the agreement didn’t comply with some BPCPA provisions.
In the end, the tribunal sided with the customers.
The BC Civil Resolution Tribunal has a $5,000 small claims limit, but the judge awarded the customers $5,271.23, which included:
- $5,000 in debt
- $96.23 in pre-judgement interest
- $175 in court fees
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