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 have hired delivery service via shiply to pick up my ebay item for next day delivery but he won’t deliver it, he has picked up item,keeps mailing to say delivery today but it never happens, its now 2 weeks later
have been on to shiply explained but they say that its out of there hands now and its between me and the courier, where do i stand .
I ordered a pair of yoga pants online on Wish and I never received them, a couple of months passed and I still didn’t get them .So I asked a few times where they are and they refunded me without my permission and kept the shipping.
I attended a store and chose a wooden floor. Because they didnt have enough stock they callled me by phone later to confirm they were able to supply the whole order and I then ordered and paid on the phone by debit card. I got no paperwork until they delivered the floor some weeks later, but when it arraived it wasn’t the right floor (they delievered a distressed look wood). I had a carpenter booked 3 days later to fit the floor and the suppliers were unable to deliver the right floor in time (they were quoiting over a week). I had to source a new floor overnight to allow my carpenter to start work. They are now refusing to collect or refund the delivered floor, saying that it correctly delivered and that I had ordered the distressed floor.
Hi,
I purchased wardrobes from a company in reading beadle & Crome six years ago, the mirrors on the front of the wardrobes have slipped down to the point you can no longer open the wardrobe doors. We contacted the company who explained this is a manufacting problem that they knew about as several other customers had the same issue. It was not a problem they said they would reorder new glass from the manufacture and collect our wardrobes and refit the glass back at there warehouse, the problem was our colour wardrobes have been discontinued so beadle and Crome was going to rectify this problem themselves not send the wardrobes back to the manufacture as they would only replace in another colour….
They wardrobe doors was returned last week but have damage on them when we have contact the shop they say they did not do it, as the wardrobes are six years old then that’s fine, but those wardrobe doors left my house as knew as they was six years ago.
How can a company just refuse to take responsibility for damaging our wardrobes.
These wardrobes was not cheap they cost around two thousand pounds.
Should really appreciate your advice.
I bid for a used musical instrument on e bay and was accepted as the highest bidder by the vendor (£200). Right from the start the vendor seemed to be making e mail excuses for not dispatching (family illness etc) He then began suggesting I should buy elsewhere and offered a refund. I thought I had secured a good, but fair deal and firmly advised I didn’t want a refund and was prepared to wait until goods could be dispatched. I got a refund anyway (“goods out of stock or damaged”). Left a negative feedback with e bay. On paying promptly and in full after the auction, was the instrument not my property ? Had the vendor any legal right to keep (my) instrument from me and effectively force me to accept a refund (what would be the point in entering any auction if a forced vendor refund was a legitimate outcome ? Any criminal offence committed ? If he sells (for a better price) in future will the new owner have proper legal title?
I purchased some clothes from a mail order company on buy now pay later. I returned the items a year ago and as far as I was aware they had received them. Because of them being on buy now pay later I have just received a statement asking for payment. I have contacted the mail order company and explained that I returned the goods. The total cost of them is £244. They have told me I still need to pay for them as it was my responsibility to have checked my account and seen they had not been returned. Because they were buy now pay later I had forgotten about them until I received a statement asking for payment. What can I do? And what are my rights? Many thanks
I had a Wooden Gate 6ft by 3ft delivered when i was out they tried to deliver it over my back gate damaging it in the process by splitting the top panels of my gate causing damage to my arch way they dropped the gate marked fragile over my back wall damaging my storage box and various items what rights have i to compensation for the damage
I bought a central heating radiator on the 06/09/2017 on e-bay. I arranged and paid parcel2Go to collect and then deliver to my address, I paid insurance along with my payment to P2 G and the radiator was collected from the seller on the 07/09/2017 and to this day, I am still waiting for my radiator. After numerous queries with the carrier, I have been told that my radiator had been delivered and signed for but this completely false as I am still waiting. P2G have now closed my claim for a refund as I cannot supply PROOF OF NON DELIVERY. How on earth do I prove that? I know it has never arrived to my address and I feel that I am entitled to a refund for non delivery in the event that my radiator is lost. How can P2G say that I have received it when I and my family know the Item has never turned up ! What am I paying insurance for and why am I being treated as a liar ??