We signed a contract for a heating system and paid a pretty hefty deposit. The Dévis was provided and signed on 31/10. Is there any way of cancelling the order, due to unforeseen circumstances. On the Dévis it states that the period of validity is 15 days
You can certainly cancel your order - just let the company know you no longer wish to carry on with the installation.
What you really mean is can you do so and get your deposit back - I think all that you can do is explain the circumstances and see if the company in question is willing to refund you.
Don’t forget that they might have ordered parts etc for your job and could be out of pocket if you do not go forward with it. Plus the “opportunity cost” of lost work if they can’t fill the time with another customer’s job.
I think the 15 days validity…refers to the length of time that the price is guaranteed… 
If you take longer to accept/sign the devis… you risk the price going-up…
It’s nothing do to with cancellation rights…
As far a I am aware… both side signing the Devis… means that a contract is entered into. Not easy to get out of being held liable for the total amount.
I suggest you speak… without delay to the company concerned and follow it up with a letter, sent Avis de Reception… proving delivery…
who knows… they may be able to help… or they may stand on their rights…
Yes, that means that if you accept the devis within 15 days, that is the price. In other words you can’t sign it and send it back six months later later and expect the price to still be the same.
Once you sign it, it’s no longer a devis, it’s a contract, and it remains valid until the job is done or unless both parties agree to amend it or cancel it. As Paul says, they’re not going to insist on installing a heating system you no longer want, but whether they will return all or part of the deposit when it’s you that’s breaking the contract, is for you to negotiate with them.
Agree. There might be a “cooling off” period in the contract but it probably won’t be as long as a month. What Susan needs to do is read the contract (and contact the company as soon as possible as already suggested).
Paul… this is France… a signed Devis is a contract…
There are contracts where there is a cooling off period… eg an unscrupulous salesman who knocks on your door and sells you (eg solar heating)…for a vastly inflated price, with all sorts of things definitely not on the side of the buyer…
The time scale is very finely tuned… about 2 weeks from signature and there is a special wording needed to the Recorded Delivery letter… our Mairie has helped many an unwary citizen, who has been caught over the past few years…
The situation where you approach someone and ask for a devis… subsequently receive, deliberate, sign and send back with deposit… that is not quite the same thing at all…
I may not have explained this using correct wording/phrases… but I reckon you get my drift. It is not that the Seller is at fault… it is simply that the Buyer now does not want (for whatever reason) to go ahead with the contract… now the Buyer needs to throw herself on the mercey of the Seller… and see what happens…
But whether it is France or the UK it is what is in the contract which is important (plus some legislation as you say for eg distance selling or door-to-door).
And all contracts can be amended by mutual consent.
The contract should stipulate whether there is a cooling off period (as you say, probably not and probably no statutory protection in this circumstance) when the full amount becomes payable etc. but I’d not expect to get the deposit back without negotiation.
Paul… mutual consent… that means both sides have to agree… and that is what Susan needs to discuss with the Seller…
I reiterate… in France a signed devis is a contract binding both sides.
In France the Door to door folk have different paperwork and different methods/legal bits.
Did I say otherwise? - I think we are in agreement here 
Absolutely, again I don’t think I have suggested otherwise.
But Susan does need to read the contract to see if there is a “get out” in it for her.
PS - note I said there might be a cooling off period in the contract - I didn’t say that there was a statutory guarantee that Susan would be protected by a cooling off period. And I also said even if there was such a stipulation in the contract it probably wasn’t going to be as long as a month.
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Ha ha… I think we do agree, but wording is different …
A devis “becomes” contractual/a contract when it is signed by both parties…
A Contract … is a Contract… with a get-out clause briefly after signature of Client…
Let’s hope Susan has a good look to see what she has signed.
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