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.
I have not received my fridge freezer miss y kamara 12 bland house vauxhall Street kennington se11 5Ls
We ordered a shed from Wickes to be told delivery on the date they failed to deliver,I had to take time off work for this delivery and my husband recieved a call on his mobile saying delivery not for another 2 weeks.My husband did ask for a different delivery date to be changed when given delivery date to be told sorry no can do dispatchers have time tables to keep too.So now we have nowhere to store my mobility scooter and have to shop somewhere else…..tried to leave a review unable too also noted they can refuse to publish any review they see unfit to them no very nice so all the will print is good reviews not good enough.we should have some come back if they fail to deliver and not waste peoples time so angry at them no sorry nothing ,this couldn’t care less attitude sucks
Cannot make any contact with Ralphlauren shop after I have spent £200 pounds on December 6th.
On the 5th DecemberI had a bed and mattress delivered. the mattress was faulty and the company replaced it straight away but they have not collected the faulty one. How long do I have to wait before they arrange collection before I destroy the faulty goods myself?
I upgraded my phone to iPhone 7 but when it came wouldn’t work so three sent a replacement via courier and I sent first one back via same courier. They have now blocked my phone as they havnt recieved the original phone and say I’m stuck in 2 year contract paying for new phone when the replacement one won’t work and they say I must return original. I can’t do this as I already returned via courier – they revived the rest that was in box but no phone.. what rights have I got? I don’t want to be stuck paying for a phone contract without no phone. Took over a week for me finding all this out as phone blocked and stuck for a couple day no phone thinking network issue. Someone please help
Hi I ordered a trike for my sons 3rd birthday, When it arrived my partner signed for it not suspecting anything, When I opened it to set it up I discovered the box was just filled with cardboard shreddings and there was no trike in the box. I immediately contacted Amazon and the seller on Amazon but the seller is refusing to give me a refund even after taking photos of all the boxes and the contents. I opened up an A-Z claim with Amazon but they closed it as I had signed for the parcel so they claim they can not help anymore. They told me I had to contact the delivery firm which I did but they told me it is the sellers responsibility to chase up missing goods, I have now resorted to contacting my bank and set up a payment dispute. This trike cost £92 and all I received was a box of cardboard which was very heavy due to the amount of card inside. I am now awaiting a disclaimer to fill in with all the evidence. I hope I get my money back, This was suppose to be a birthday present. The delivery company told me that even though I signed for it, I still have rights.
What to do when seller refuse to do a refund?
I’ve ordered shoes from boutique on Facebook. Paid £60 ( including postage and packing)
Shoes were sent by royal mail 2nd class on 4th of Dec 2016 but they were never delivered ! I’ve checked royal mail delivery office, neighbours and still no luck. Seller has put claim with royal mail but they not replying with any answers.
Not sure what to do?
Anyone had any similar situation ?
Bought an electric fire in ? December 2016 on-line which was faulty but got a replacement. Delivery guy didn’t know anything about picking up the faulty one. Got telephone call today asking when they can pick it up. Fortunately I have it in garden shed. Did I have to keep it this long or was iwithin my rights to dispose of it?
If I had outdoor furniture delivered and I never signed for it, and I don’t want it after 27 days because of a number of reasons, do I have a right to return it? They are saying no I can’t.
I ordered clothing online through a retailer which wasn’t fit for purpose when it arrived. The process for returning items to them for a refund via their website is that you need to complete an RMA which then needs to be processed & approved by them, then you print this RMA off and include it in your package when you send the return. Sounds simple however they took over a week to process this RMA (which i find hard to believe they are too busy to do so given the retailer that it is as well as the speed at which they took my payment and delivered my order in the first place), they didn’t include a return address in my delivery paperwork, there isn’t a return address stated anywhere on the website, and their phone number is constantly redirected to an automated response that says they are receiving a high volume of phone calls and to email them instead. I have emailed this company at least 5 times now with no response, as well as raised tickets on their website which they have not yet processed. Now I am reaching my 30 day return/refund deadline and i am very worried about returning these (when i do finally get a delivery address) as i don’t feel very confident they’ll give me my money back either. What are my rights now and who can i contact to escalate this??
I booked a courier online to bring my daughters items home from uni. 10 boxes in all. I paid when ordering, paid for next day delivery, for delivery at a specific time, but most important the collection had to be at a specific time. i paid for extra insurance (£500-£1000). She was sent a text the next morning stating the driver would arrive between 9.00-10.00am. I was in work when I received a text from her at 11.30am saying no one had arrived. I contacted the company, only to be told by them that he had arrived at 9.17am but there had been no were for him to park. No alternative was offered and after a further 5 phone calls from me did they agree to send someone else out to collect the boxes. When he arrived at 3.30pm, he refused to take them. (I had placed the exact measurements and weight of each box online, this you have to do to get them collected). I contacted the company again but was told that the driver said they weren’t packaged correctly, this was a lie as she had used boxes and secured them all with packing tape. My daughter had to be out of the apartment that night but as the new Tennant wasn’t moving in till 12.00pm the next day, an agreement was made over the phone between the company’s manager and myself, that the driver would ring 30 minutes before his arrival the next morning and the parcels would be carried down by my daughter. She received a text message the next morning stating that the driver would be there between 8.45-9.45am so with help from her friends the boxes were carried down and placed on the pavement. NO DRIVER ARRIVED. I rang at 11.00am and was told that the next pick up time was 5.00pm. i was absolutely furious. My daughters friend’s had left and she was unable to carry the boxes back upstairs herself but couldn’t leave them. The company offered me no further help. I had to ring around to find a different company but because it was short notice and with the boxes having to be collected from London and delivered to Liverpool I had no choice but to pay out a further£250.00 more than what I had originally planned. I have contacted the company and asked for their insurance details as I want to make a claim but they are refusing, what are my rights? Can i make a claim? I have repeatedly been in touch over this last weekend but they are saying that I’m getting a refund and no collection was made so I’m not insured and caught make a claim?
Hello.In Jan 2017 I ordered a sewing machine from British Sewing Centre for delivery in March ’17. I waited until the last week in March and then had an online chat(twice) to ask about availability of the machine model I’d ordered.I did not tell them I had ordered same model.Both times I was told the machine had just sold out and they were awaiting another delivery.I then sent an e-mail asking why my machine hadn’t been delivered.No reply.I rang them to ask about my machine.Was told ‘Jason’ the manager would call me.No call. soon 11th April I rang my Credit Card co and started a ‘dispute’.Filled in form on 18th.On 2nd May I received a txt re a parcel delivery.I wasn’t expecting anything but had a feeling it might be sewing machine.Rang CC co at 0745.Was told payment was frozen and would remain so.Got home and surprise,surprise the machine had been delivered(a neighbour signed for it).I rang CC co and told them I was not keeping it.I assume BSC only sent it once payment was stopped?.I rang BSC and told them I was not keeping a machine that was delivered 5 weeks late.Again ‘Jason’ was supposed to call but didn’t.Instead he sent a one line e-mail asking when the machine could be collected.Anyway,after several very polite e-mails from m(and no replies from BSC the machine remains uncollected(24th May).Any idea why they don’t want to collect their sewing machine? I’m puzzled.
Thanks, Mark.
I have been waiting for the delivery of a TV which was due last week. Been chasing up with the supplier and according to their courier it was delivered and signed for. I was home and never received the TV, let alone signed for it. They have the signature but it isn’t mine. The neighbours haven’t taken in the parcel and I never got a card through my door. I’m presuming the item might have been delivered to the incorrect address or either the delivery man has been dishonest and signed the TV for himself. Where do I stand with this? would appreciate any advice. Thanks!
Hi we ordered a very large shed, which we had to wait 6 weeks for. It was delivered and erected but supplier and the whole thing was a shambles, ie broken wood, screws missing etc etc.
It immediately sent supplier photos of the bad workmanship, there were over 20 faults, and, they were all serious defects, and the shed cost us £2000.
I spoke to company who could not believe the shoddy installation and offered a new shed or refund, but, they cannot supply another shed for over a month.
If we go for a refund, how long do we have to give them to collect the shed.
Our garden is unusable as the shed is 14′ x 8′ and everything is under tarp, waiting to be put into shed, and, we can’t get another shed until this one is removed. Thank you
I had a cooker delivered on 19th May and only opened the packaging yesterday as I’m now in a position to fit my cooker (renovating my kitchen for over a month). When I opened the packaging, to my horror, I discovered that they’re is a significant dent in the bottom left hand side of the cooker door and the cooker door glass has shattered.
I approached the company I purchased the cooker from and they stated that because I did not report the damage within 48 hrs they are not responsible and cannot replace the unusable and not fit for purpose cooker.
I’ve also contacted the cooker manufacturer and I’m awaiting a response.
I would be most grateful to receive any advice regarding my rights as a consumer.
Kind regards
Simon
WE recently sold two chairs on line, collection only. The buyer paid but has failed to collect or respond to emails. (a) How long must we keep the items for the buyer to collect, (b) If the buyer then fails to collect must we issue a refund, or (c) issue a partial refund as a result of the inconvenience, or (d) Can we resell the items without a refund?
I ordered some flowers online to be delivered to a relative. The flowers were not received by the recipient or anyone at the delivery address. I subsequently requested a full refund.
But the suppliers are stating that they were delivered to the recipient.
What are my rights? What should be my next course of action?
Many thanks
i bought a bike from gtech which they delivered to the wrong house anyway due to being messed about i cancelled the order and asked for a refund
they keep saying they will pick bike up this is 3 weeks now they havnt picked it up and i havnt had a refund im loosing the will to live with this
what can i do to get my money back and get rid of the bike
paul
We ordered a sink online and when it arrived we opened the box never took it out due to it being too light a colour for the kitchen. It was returned via a courier and when it got to the supplier it was damaged. Where do w stand legally in getting our money back or an alternative sink?
A while ago I ordered an item from an online catalogue, which I pay off each month
The order never arrived the couriers stated it was sent back, I know not why. Another was ordered by the Catalogue adviser
This never arrived returned by the courier
I complained and they are “investigating”
I have reordered the item, it arrived, not at the online price quoted……. this is being dealt with.
A few days ago I received the same item again, which I did not order. I have sent emails and letters and phone calls asking for it to be collected (The courier said I had to take it before I can return it, and told me to contact the catalogue firm)
I have had no reply again from several calls and emails
What do I do
Thanks
Jeff