Delivery and Collection of Goods
With the increase in online shopping comes an obvious increase in the number of complaints regarding delivery of goods – whether this is non-delivery or delivery of damaged items. So where do you stand?
The first point to distinguish is whether you ordered the goods under a distance selling contract, or whether you arranged delivery after buying them in a shop, as this will affect your consumer rights. If it was an internet or mail order purchase, you may also like to refer to our sections on distance selling and buying online.
The goods still haven’t arrived
Under the distance selling regulations, the goods must be delivered within the time period they have specified. If no time period is specified, then the statutory time limit is 30 days (unless you have agreed otherwise). If the supplier is unable to do this, they must inform you before the end of the 30 day deadline. They may offer you an alternative date for delivery, but you are under no obligation to accept and can ask for a full refund. For other purchases, Sale of Goods only refers to ‘reasonable time’. If you fear you’ve been the victim of fraud, refer to ‘getting your money back’ at the end of this section.
The goods have arrived damaged
As you might expect, the supplier is under obligation to ensure the goods are well protected while they are in transit. The supplier must also make sure the delivery company/courier are aware that the goods are fragile or if they are to be kept or carried in a certain way. If they do not, they will be liable for any damage occurred in transit.
It is common for traders to sidestep liability by saying that you signed for them. A delivery note (as the name suggests) indicates merely that the product has been delivered and not that they have been accepted. If there is a problem with the goods, you may still reject them, particularly if you haven’t previously had a chance to examine them in person. With some items you will be asked to inspect the goods there and then and sign a form to say that they have arrived in satisfactory condition. The law states that you should have reasonable opportunity to examine the goods for yourself, so you could argue that ‘there and then’ is not reasonable and opt not to sign the form. You should however look at the supplier’s Ts and Cs to see whether they have imposed any time limit on reporting faults – although in line with the law, this should be reasonable.
It should be pointed out that if you did have the chance to examine the goods while they still in the shop, and you spot something wrong when it arrives that you should have spotted when you examined it, you may not be able to reject it. Although in reality, most shops will show some good will if you simply want to exchange it for another one.
Sending the goods back
Unless you have bought the goods under a distance selling contract, you won’t have any legal right to send the goods back if you have simply changed your mind. You should refer to that retailer’s return policy and will probably have to pay postage. If the goods have arrived damaged, and you have been offered requested a repair or a replacement, you should not have to pay any further sums of money in this respect. This includes labour, materials or postage. The repair / replacement should take place in ‘reasonable time’ and you should not experience any ’significant inconvenience’, while you are without it/them. For more on this, see our section on Sale of Goods and Returning Damaged or Faulty Goods.
In all respects, you will have greater rights if you had bought them under a distance contract (online, mail order). This is because you didn’t have the opportunity to examine them before they were shipped – to see if they are:
- Of satisfactory quality
- As described
- Fit for intended purpose
- Appropriate to your requirements
With this in mind you will have a 7-day cooling off period, during which time you can cancel the contract and get your money back in full (including delivery charges). Unless otherwise specified (for certain types of products), you should be able to send the items back for free, and not incur any additional charges such as a restocking or admin fee. Although many retailers will request products to be returned in a saleable condition in their original packaging, they cannot make it a condition of giving you a refund. For more on returns and refunds under a distance selling contract, see our sections on distance selling and buying online.
Getting your money back
Under Sale of Goods, if the goods are poor quality, unfit or not as described, you may be eligible for an immediate refund, although no definitive timescale is mentioned beyond ‘reasonable time’. Under a distance selling contract, your 7 day cooling off period entitles you to a refund within 30 days. If you have not received the goods and suspect you may have been the victim of fraud, you can take it up with your credit card company (provided you paid on credit card and certain conditions are met), or invoke the Visa Debit Chargeback procedure. If the supplier becomes insolvent before your goods or services are delivered, you may have little recourse other than to be added to a list of creditors.
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I ordered a new car yesterday over the telephone having phoned a reputable dealer. I gave the dealer the detailed specification for the car. He came back to me later in the day and we agreed a price and I paid a deposit of £1,000 over the telephone via credit card. The dealer stated that the car would be delivered to me in a maximum of 3 months as it will be required to be factory ordered. The dealer then called me back again and confirmed that the car had been ordered from the manufacturer. I have received a telephone call today from the dealer to advise that he made a mistake on the price quoted i.e he has underquoted and cannot do the deal for the price agreed. He also advised that he has refunded the £1,000 deposit to my credit card. I have advised him that this is not acceptable and that I expect him to honour our agreement (nothing was signed as everything was done over the phone). The dealer confirmed that he accepted the deal in good faith but simply got the price wrong and now wants more money from me. Where do I stand legally? Can I force the dealer to supply the goods ordered for the price originally agreed? How should I proceed? Many thanks
Nigel, this question relates to the principle of contract law and whether you have a legally binding contract. To answer this you will need to establish than an offer was clearly made and accepted. A quote doesn’t necessarily constitute a contract, but anything agreed verbally is always tricky to clarify. For more on this see: http://whatconsumer.co.uk/is-it-a-legally-binding-contract/
Hi,
I purchased two badminton raquets through ebay.co.uk. When I got them delivered, I noticed that they are absoluely fake ones. I opened a case against the seller in ebay and after some procedures, I got an email from ebay informing that I will get the full amount refund. But with the condition that I have to return the items to the seller’s address ( which is in China and the address is also in chinese language which I couldn’t understand atall) with myself bearing delivery expences providing a tracking for the delivery. The cost of such delivery is very high and my concern is that I would have done that if the items are original and I did something wrong to the items like damaging them. But here the items are fake ones and I was deceived by the seller. It means ebay is providing direct paths to such fake sellers to sell such items, isn’t it?. I trusted ebay, otherwise I would have not purchased the items. Can I get my money back wthout paying expences for the delivery on be half of myself?. I think ebay has to take the responsibilty to deal this issue or let the seller to organise the return expences. One more thing is I found a remark besides the seller’s name ‘this user is no long registered with us’, but it was there after my payment only, I am sure.
I returned twice returned an item to its supplier under the Sale of Goods Act for them to conduct a repair. The first repair failed to fix the problem so I had to return it a second time. On the second trip back to the manufacturer the item was damaged in transit (while using a courier arranged by the supplier). They are claiming that I am liable for the cost of repairing the transit damage. I’m saying that because the whole situation is the result of their negligence they should foot the bill. How strong is my ground?
I order from an indiam web its cald shreeonline on 7th jan 2010 my order Was ready to post out so i made the payment on 1st april 2010. I was told i wil recive it in 3-4 working daYs. I stil hvnt recived it. The company that they say the order is sent With say they dont take thr order no more. Wat do i do now. I have paid £480
hi, i ordered a pair of armani sunglasses from http://www.wantsunglasses.com some time last month around on the 22nd i think. i recieved the shades on the 19th of April. i did not recieve them at the door as i was not home, they we’re left next door. when i got them they we’re sealed up and looked perfetly normal, however when i opened the case up the right arm was damaged. AT THIS STAGE, i did not know how to go about in terms of returning them. so i got their number and decided to ring them. i got several different numbers off their website and when i ring the number it goes to a recorded answer machine, where by you press the allocated number for the specific help you require. when i choose my help option the pone automatically cuts of when they are “allegedly” diverting me to a staff member. with not help on how to return the goods i was left helpless. it waas only until the 10th day after recieving the goods that i realised that i had 7 days to return the product. however this is not my fault as i had tried getting in contact with them via email and by calling them (NOBODY WAS THEIR TO HELP AND SUPPORT ME AS THEY GO ON TO SAY ON THEIR WEBISTE).
WHAT CAN I DO OR SAY TO THEM TO GET A FULL REFUND ?
In January I bought a computer for close to £1000 from an online store. After a month the computer began to freeze so I rang the premium call centre costing me a lot of money. They advised rebooting the system which I did. The computer than began to work fine for another few weeks but then continued to crash and restart. After the second month the computer wouldn’t even turn itself on and I recieve a error screen saying their has been a problem, contact the manufacturer and get the system repaired. I then posted a comment on a website forum explaining my problem to which the company replied and phoned me to organise a pick-up. They said the computer would be away for 3-5 days. After 7 weeks I rang the company up having heard nothing via phone or e-mail. The company stated they couldn’t find a fault and are charging me £76 to cover their time. Is there anything I can do with regards of not paying the fine, getting a new computer or getting a refund?
I’ve been having problems with wantsunglasses.co.uk too. When you order, you get an email telling you your sunglasses will be despatched in 24 hours. It goes on to say that if they are out of stock, you will receive an email telling you so.
A week later (after several calls that cut me off, like you) I have heard nothing. I tried emailing them, but all I received were automated responses telling me a person would get back to me in 24 hours. I have heard nothing.
The cash has left my bank account though – they seem to be able to manage that part with no problems at all.
I would advise anyone considering it to avoid this site.
I bought a bike online from Toys R Us a delivery day was specified but the bike did not arrive I needed the bike; I phoned and said I was cancelling the order because they had not delivered the item. T R Us informed me that the delivery co. they use had given it to another firm for delivery and did not know where the bike was I told them that time was of the essence as my son needed the bike and I could not wait any longer; I requested a full refund. That was apx 4 weeks ago and I still have no refund and the bike never materialised. T R Us tell me they are awaiting a responce from MY couriers! Would I be right in thinking that my contract is with T R Us and the issue with couriers is theirs not mine; what should my next move be and how long should I wait?
I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me out, Thanks.
Anglian Windows supplied & installed 2 no defective glass sealed units to my property it has taken 3 attempts and 6 months for them to get it right. question when should my warranties begin, date of original installation or after final remedial works.
Malc
I have purchased a bath which was delivered faulty. the store provided a new one within a week but havent arranged collection of the first one. this was initially delivered in march this year and after 3 or 4 calls they still wont pick it up. when will this item legally become mine?