Returns and refunds
Getting your money back
Under the distance selling regulations, you are quite within your rights to change your mind at any time within the first seven days, return the goods and get a full refund. This means without financial penalty of any kind – such as a cancellation charge or a ‘restocking’ fee. The supplier must also refund any delivery charges paid by you, and any other costs related to the contract. Refunds must be made within 30 days from cancellation, whether or not the goods have been sent back. Any related credit agreements will also cease to exist.
You may be required to pay to return the goods, but you must have been informed of this as part of the pre-contractual information. if the goods are faulty, then under Sale of Goods, the supplier will always bear the cost of returning them.
Returning the goods
Unless you are required to return the goods, and you were informed of this, your only obligations are to make the goods available for collection and to take reasonable care of them while they are in your possession. This is called a duty of care. Where the supplier has made provision to collect the goods, this duty of care expires after 21 days, but where you have agreed to return the goods, your duty of care continues until you do this and could be for as long as 6 months.
Packaging
Under a distance selling contract, a supplier cannot make refunds subject to the goods being returned unopened in their original packaging. One of the principles of the distance selling regulations is to give you a chance to examine the goods at home, not having had a chance to do so in the shop. It would be impossible for you to do this without opening the packaging and trying the product out. Having said this, you will still be under a duty to take reasonable care of the goods while in your possession, and may be subject to certain instructions such as not to wear shoes outdoors, or remove hygiene seals. But you can never be penalised simply because you did not return the goods in their original packaging.
- Know all the facts before you decide!
- Your right to cancel
- Protection against card fraud for mail order goods and services
- I’ve been sent stuff I never ordered!
- Problems with delivery and collection
Mail order and distance selling
Related posts:
dear sir,i received mobile phones and had a 7 working day cancellation period.I informed them by e.mail on the 7th day of my cancellation.They insist that as they received the phones back on the 8th day i had gone outside the cooling off period. was this right of them to do this? waiting for your response.L. van der veen
L. van der Veen, Your 7 day cooling off period runs from the day AFTER the day on which you received the goods. As long as the supplier is in receipt of your intention to cancel within this 8 day period, you can cancel. It does not refer to the time by which they must receive back the goods. It was therefore wrong of them.
i purchased some items from ann summers and unfortunatly 2 of the items did not fit so following the instructions on the invoice i went onto the website to get the address to return them. under the address it says
Please note:Videos, DVDs, Books, Magazines and clearance and/or sale items cannot be returned unless they are faulty, so please be sure of your selection before ordering.
i am wondering if this is allowed as regardless of them being sale items i still needed to try them on to see if they fitted. i have never heard of this at other sites as regularly buy from sales.
Corinne, you have a cooling off period of 7 days for most items bought from websites – certainly for all the items you have mentioned whether or not they are sale items. Therefore you are within your rights to send back the items you have bought within your 7 day cooling off period for a full refund.
I bought a camera for £182 from simply electronics, they told me it was a 10 day delivery, after 10 days I contacted the company by email asking where my camera was as they had deducted the price from my account, they told me that the camera had been damaged and they could not supply the same camera in the future, I told them I did not want a different camera and asked for a refund of the cash they had deducted on the 26 january 2010, and after numerous reminders I am still waiting for a refund,
cany you please advise
W.Winnard
They are supposed to provide refunds within 28 days. I would speak to your bank and either do a Visa Debit Chargeback or a Section 75 claim under the Consumer Credit Act, which makes the credit card company equally liable for the non-delivery.
Tony
thanks, I will try the bank recharge as I paid on my debit card
I bought a camera yesterday to replace one I thought was broken. However, the original camera mow works perfectly (new batteries ) should I be able to ask the shop for a refund on the basis that the camera I bought is still in it’s shrink wrapped origianl packaging and obviously unsed in any way? And are they obliged in any way to provide a refund?
Barrie, you have no right to return goods simply because you have changed your mind. However, many shops have returns policies that allow you to do this, but you need to check what the terms are. Argos, for example, would probably accept this back.
Thanks for the reply Tony – They did
I bought a shirt. I removed the tag, but did not wear the shirt, and retained all packaging. The website’s refund says “If you are not completely happy with your purchase we can either exchange, offer store credit or refund the ordered goods, provided they are returned to us with proof of purchase within 7 days in their original condition* i.e.
*The tags have not been removed
*The garment has not been worn, washed or damaged
*The packaging is returned ”
Is the condition that the tags must have not been removed consistent with Distance Selling Regulations?
Thanks
Richard, it goes against the spirit of the regulations see section 3.58
Hi Tony,
Thanks for your response. I am a bit confused – is the “original tags” against the spirit, or is trying to return something where the tags have been removed against the spirit (I could see it going either way!)
Thanks
Richard
I sent an online purchase back due to size issues. I used all the original packaging and used royal mail recorded delivery (which they suggested) I have received and email saying the item is damaged so they won’t accept a return. They are sending me the damaged garment back and have have no intention of replacing it.
The damage must have occured during transit back to the shop or by them. They are accusing me of damaing the garment.
What can I do, I paid for the dress with a visa debit.
I just got an iphone from a phone comapny over the phone four days ago and i realised i am not happy and satified with it’s features.i want to return it back. but the company says that since i have inserted my sim card and used the phone that i cannot return it.Please advice on what i can do next. Thanks.
I recently purchased a very expensive mahogany leather sofa still under warranty, but it has started changing colour in a few places where head and hands rest, becoming a pillar box red they sent someone out to examine the sofa but they refuse to take reposibility and class this as wear and tear? Is this legal as it is barely six months old and appears to me to be a laquer has been used and not very well thats why it is coming off.
Please help adise me