TC09596 - [2025] UKFTT 00895 (TC)

A customer walking into one of the Appellant’s stores is greeted by a salesperson whose role is to ascertain the customer’s requirements, and then guide them towards suitable products. Once a customer has settled on a product, the salesperson verbally provides the customer with a quotation based on, either, sizes that the customer has provided, or rough estimate sizes that the salesperson believes would accommodate the customer’s requirements. There are A4-sized “Notices” displayed throughout the storeadvising customers that the Appellant does not provide a fitting service. The signage was introduced in 2020, in conjunction with the revisions to the Appellant’s “Invoice” and “Terms and Conditions”. If the customer has indicated that they require a fitting service, the salesperson explains that the Appellant does not provide such a service, but can recommend a fitter to them should they wish. Where the customer requests referral to a fitter, the Appellant does so on the basis of its Terms and Conditions. We will return to the ‘Notices’, ‘Invoices’ and ‘Terms and Conditions’ later.

In terms of the process at the point of sale, when the customer gets to the till, the salesperson writes out an Invoice, which includes an estimate for the cost of fitting in the boxes on the Invoice marked “Fitters Notes” (towards the bottom of the page). The customer does not pay for the fitting at the till, but they are advised by the salesperson that they are to pay the fitter directly for his services. The provisional fitting quotation is noted on the customer’s Invoice, but is not included in the sale price and, in line with the Appellant’s Terms and Conditions, is provided as an estimate; and in many cases is based solely on the customer’s description of the job. Of the customers purchasing other types of flooring, the Appellant estimates that approximately 45% of those customers ask the Appellant to introduce a fitter. Alternatively, the customer can arrange the fitting themselves as not all customers request the referral of a fitter.