Can I cancel an order if the goods delivered do not match the sample or description I was shown?

First, was it a sale by sample or description

Article 1481 applies to a contract of sale of goods by description or by sample, and that is a question of what the sample was doing in the negotiation. A swatch handed over so you could see the material, a printed specification in the purchase order, a photograph in the quotation the seller relied on to close the deal: these form part of what was sold. A sample shown merely to illustrate a general type, or goods you inspected in bulk yourself before buying, are a different situation. Where the article does apply, the contract may be rescinded if the bulk of the goods delivered do not correspond with the description or the sample.

Two tests, not one

Where the contract is by sample as well as description, the article is explicit that it is not sufficient that the bulk correspond with the sample if it does not also correspond with the description. Sellers regularly argue the point the other way, pointing to a matching sample when the written specification called for a gauge, grade or origin the delivery does not have. Both have to be satisfied. So the description in the order document is worth as much attention as the physical sample, and a specification that is vague about the things you actually care about is where most of these disputes are lost.

Your right to compare, and how to lose it

The last sentence protects you: The buyer shall have a reasonable opportunity of comparing the bulk with the description or the sample. A delivery that arrives sealed, or on terms that demand signature before opening, does not deprive you of that chance. But the opportunity is also an expectation. Sign delivery documents subject to inspection, do the comparison promptly against the retained sample, photograph what arrived beside it, and put the non-conformity in writing to the seller as soon as you find it. A complaint raised after the goods have been used or mixed is far harder to run.

Rescission is not the same as a hidden-defect claim

Non-conformity and defectiveness are separate routes. Article 1481 is about goods that are not what was sold, and its remedy is to undo the contract. Article 1561 makes the seller answerable for hidden defects that render the thing unfit for its intended use, but expressly not for patent defects or those visible on inspection. Article 1562 adds an implied warranty of fitness where you made the purpose known and relied on the seller's skill or judgment. Which one fits depends on whether the goods differ from the sample, or match it and still do not work.

Cases citing this provision

These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.

• Teresita B. Mendoza vs. Beth David, G.R. No. 147575, October 22, 2004 — read the decision on LawPhil →

Related provisions

• Civil Code, Article 1481 — Sale by Description or Sample
• Civil Code, Article 1561 — Warranty Against Hidden Defects
• Civil Code, Article 1562 — Implied Warranty of Fitness and Merchantability