Carport King - One-sided contracting

<p>I contacted Carport King to provide a quote for a carport. A rep came out and did a quote where we in principle agreed to size, design and materials. I reviewed the quote in terms of price and guarantee and noticed no formal mention of guarantee eventhough i was verbally told that there is a 5 year guarantee on the work. It was at this stage that I read the Carport King T&Cs. Wow, what a one sided contract against the consumer/purchaser.</p> <p> </p> <p>I noted the following unreasonable contracting approach. Carport King can cancel the contract at its option based on "any Cause beyonds its Control"or even suspend it (not limited in time) with no liability to you but if the consumer needs to cancel for any reason whatsoever he/she is liable to a 50% penalty. Late delivery by Carport King (not limited in time) is not grounds for breach or cancellation and late delivery has to be accepted at any time. If the consumer delays Carport King for delivery or installation you will be charged R2500/ day but if you are left waiting for them due to their non arrival there is no reciprocal R2500/ day for you - so what happens if you have taken the day off for the installation since the contract prescribes you must be present on the property on the day of installation... There are numerous liability clauses for the purchaser eg getting Local Authority permits for installation and hoarding of their materials - a domestic installation?? Even ensuring water and electricity is available all day where the continual power and water to your property is in the municipality control eg power and water outages. Whereas Carport King is not liable for losses or damages to your property (but no doubt you are liable for damage to any of their equipment), nor liable for its failure to meet any of its obligations. </p> <p>So based on these observations I contacted the rep to discuss and she put me on to the owner Bessie. I emailed Bessie with my concerns over some of the clauses and that we should discuss and i was flatly ignored. I then texted her the following week and received the following response "If you accept my conditions on the back of our contract then I am prepared to goahead". Based on this unreasonable attitude and unwillingness to discuss I am going ahead - elsewhere! I suggest you do the same. If the Supplier is unreasonasble at the beginning of a contract just imagine how they are after you sign....</p>