Web Deliveries

The web market for buying bathroom goods has never been stronger. When Wolseley decided to open the huge chain store called Bathstore it was clear that bathrooms and the web were made for one another. Aside from the giant power of Bathstore, thousands of retailers have jumped onto the Web selling just about every bathroom product ever made.

This increase in sales has raised the important issue of delivery and retention of title. I will explain these two concepts to help you make good decisions.

Delivery Methods

Bathstore will deliver via a local van normally as they cover most of the UK. Smaller companies will use courier companies or pallet services. There are several companies carrying thousands of bathroom items every day:

• Parceline
• TNT
• Parcelforce
• Palletforce

When the delivery arrives, it will normally be packed in boxes and sometimes on a pallet. It is important to understand that when you sign as received in good condition, this is a legal declaration which makes the insurer not liable and also passes all liability to you. You do not have a legal option to claim after signing as received in good condition. Therefore you need to sign as damaged or ask if another word is acceptable. What ever happens you should fully check all goods within 24 hours.

Retention of Title

Bathroom goods are sold under Retention of Title conditions. This means that when you buy goods from a retailer the goods only belong to you when the retailer has paid for them. If the retailer goes out of business and owed money on the goods, the supplier has a legal right to claim the goods. This rarely happens with end users - so don't worry - but can happen for trade customers. When Bargin Boss (an ebay trader) went out of business, the company owed money, and the suppliers attempted to recover the goods. Retention of Title is more meaningful for companies which have high volume and low profits as they will have high debts and little profit. The business model tends to be a bubble which can break.

As a consumer be wary of very cheap companies which are web based. Aside from quality issues, a Retention of Title issue could be a factor.