I’ve been sent stuff I never ordered!
The Distance Selling Regulations are very clear on this. If you’ve been sent unsolicited goods, you are entitled to treat them as an unconditional gift and do with them as you choose. You are not required to keep them for any amount of time and you are certainly not required to pay for them. Any attempt to demand payment (by threatening means or otherwise) is unlawful.
- Know all the facts before you decide!
- Your right to cancel
- Returns and refunds
- Protection against card fraud for mail order goods and services
Mail order and distance selling
Related posts:
Hi
I bought something via eBay, and the seller sent me the wrong item. He is refusing to refund or send the correct item until I pay to post back the ‘wrong’ item that he sent. Paypal and eBay have ruled in my favour in terms of me being entitled to a refund but even so they have also stated I won’t get that refund until I pay and post back the incorrect item. Making me do this is against distance selling regulations but Paypal says they don’t comply with them as they have thier own rules which I agreed to when I joined paypal.
Meanwhile on the sellers site he says he complies with the cselling regulations and so these were the terms of business I agreed to when I made the purchase.
Is Paypal allowed to bypass distance selling regulations like this?
No, Paypal and the seller are not correct. You have statutory rights (Sale of Goods Act and the Distance Selling Regulations) and “agreeing” to their terms and conditions doesn’t override your legal rights under these two pieces of legislation. Claiming that it does may well be an offence in itself. I’d suggest contacting your local Trading Standards Office for advice.
if i ordered an item online, and was supplied a different model to that ordered, and i gave them notice of rejection and informed seller that wrong item would not be returned or paid for, and they then sent the correct item to order, but charged for both, of which i then paid for the correct item to order and made this clear when paying. can the wrong item be classed as unsoliceted and so cannot be pursued for payment?
I ordered an item off of amazon and it didn’t arrive when promised. I assumed it had been stolen at the post office or lost. I waited a few days before contacting them and then i cancelled the order. I recieved a full re-fund and i thought it was all dealt with. The next day i then recieve the delivery which i had originally ordered but had since cancelled. Am i under legal obligation to return the item? And if i am, is it ME that needs to inform them that this mistake has happened OR can i wait until they contact me asking for it (i have no problem sending it back if they ask). Also, will i need to pay for the return?
I imagine that your original item was delayed in the post. The short answer to your query is yes, you should contact the supplier and arrange the return of the item. If you don’t return then item you’re potentially leaving yourself open to accusations of criminal fraud as you will have received the item and also a refund for non-delivery.
My situation is similar to gandi’s.
Order Placed with Amazon – 13 Dec 2010 for next day am delivery.
Not Delivered on 14 Dec 2010
Charged for item on 14 Dec 2010
Goods Dispatched on 16 Dec 2010
Goods Not Delivered by 23 Dec 2010
Full Refund given on 23 Dec 2010
Goods returned to sender 23 Dec 2010 – As per City Link Tracking
Goods Delivered to me on 31 Dec 2010.
During January I tried to contact Amazon by email to return goods without success.
On 7 March 2010 Amazon emailed me and asked me if I still wanted goods and to reply to this email if I wanted to return them
7 March 2010 I replied saying yes please collect.
To date heard no more.
I ordered 2 items recently online and ended up recieving one of the items plus some items i did not order. I contacted the seller to tell them and they said, send the unordered items back and we will send you the remaining item. I have not done this yet. Am I obliged by law to send these items back as I have not paid for them? Or can they be accepted as a ‘unconditional gift’? The value of the unwanted items rather outweighs the cost of the item I didn’t recieve.
Hi, I purchased a bugaboo custom hood from an eBay seller. When the hood arrived it was of very poor quality and I left negative feedback for the seller. The seller wasn’t happy and offered me a refund which I accepted. I waited for the seller to arrange for collection, this didn’t happen so I returned the goods by recorded delivery royal mail. I waited two weeks and still haven’t received my refund. eBay and paypal won’t open a resolution as it was over their 45 day policy (it was 49 days). They have only said I can contact the police or their legal department. I thought that as the goods were faulty then I should be entitled to a refund despite the time frame. Where do I stand please?
I have had a pendant and a pair of earrings delivered to my address from compton & woodhouse. I signed for the packages as i did not know what they were. I dont know if someone has maliciously ordered these items or if it is a scam. Have i the right to demand that the company that supplied them has to arrange to pick them up. I certainly don’t want to pay to send them back. They were delivered on 11 june 2011. on the invoice it it says statement date 09 june 2011 and payment due by 09 june 2011. It also says that if i fail to make a payment and they or someone acting for us have to remind you they reserve the right to make a administrative charge of £12. What are my rights i dont want any debt collectors turning up on my doorstep. thanks
You have the right to return the items.
Contact the company and explain you didn’t order the items and wish to return them. Even if you had ordered the items, under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 you have a cooling off period of seven days where you can cancel your order within that period and return them to the supplier.
If they refuse to take the items back once you’ve contacted them, contact your Trading Standards Office and report them. (Tell the company you are doing this.)
If i order something from an online site, that say non -returnable, does this affect my distance selling rights. So under my rights would i be able to return the item even though, they are saying its non refundable
thanks
Lee,
I’m presuming that this is a UK site? Whatever terms or conditions the compnay has stated, these cannot overide your statutory rights.
If you’re in doubt, contact the company before buying, point this out to them and get their confirmation. Any problems, go to your Trading Standards Office.
Important to note that the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 don’t apply to all types of merchandise. There are a few items it doesn’t cover (e.g. jewellery).
A few weeks ago a parcel was delivered to my address whilst I was at work, so my neighbours took it in (I don’t know if they had to sign for it or not). It had my address but not my name, I opened the parcel to find out where it had come from. I spoke to their fraud team to make sure no one was using my address fraudualantly and arranged for the parcel to be picked up, as I refused to waste my time going to the post office or one of their distribution centres as it was their fault that the parcel was sent to the wrong address. Nobody came on the day that had been arranged (Friday). I got home on Monday to see a card pushed through to say that they had been and to rearrange collection. Knowing that I wasn’t going to be in I left it for a couple of weeks until in I knew when I was next going to be in and arranged a new collection date. That was this Monday and nobody has been. Do i have to keep arranging times or can I just leave up to them to contact me? I don’t want them sending me any bills for these as I have never even had an account with them.
24 Nov ordered 2 Ipods from Dixons and due to a promotional offer on their site not working I rang and cancelled order 20 minutes later.
Order cancelled and CC refunded.
I placed order for 2 different Ipods next day.
A few days later the two ipods from cancelled order arrived so I rang them and they were unaware they had been despatched so arranged collection. Goods collected 30 Nov. 5th December they were sent back to me. Again rang and they arranged to collect but didn’t turn up so I emailed them and they arranged to collect again today, but no one has turned up.
Do I have to contact them again to arrange collection or can I now keep the goods and dispose of as I wish?
Hi All.
I ordered an item worth about £200 from a European company, and was instead sent an item worth considerably more.
I’ve emailed the company and informed them (twice in fact).
I’ve also noticed that the stock/barcode sticker on the box they just sent me states that it is the item worth £200 and not the more expensive item, so I can only imagine the mistake was made by someone in the factory.
What are my legal rights here?
Thanks..
Hi there I purchased 2 bottles of 500mls of sunscreen and have receipt and dispatch notification to confirm same although 2x125mls sunscreen arrived company unwilling to honour 2x500ml bottles and have advised to return for a refund. Are these bottles classed as unsolicited gifts? Or do they have to honour the pj base if 500s x2.
Thanks