Consumer Rights: MoneySavingExpert.com discussion

Art_2

mm66 wrote:

Hi All,

I purchased a DSLR from Amazon. It arrived but was faulty. They
issued me a pre-paid address label and asked me to send it back via
Royal Mail and take proof of postage which I did.

Then i got an email from them that they only received the cover note
that was attached to the box but not the whole package.

1- I have tried to reason with them that by giving the package to
Royal Mail as instructed by them and as per the prepaid address label
and if RM lost the parcel they need to take it up with them but they
are not budging. I have pointed out to them that with the prepaid
label I did not have a choice of type of service or getting insurance
or doing anything but to stick the label onto the package and get a
proof of posting. The package was securely taped and the envelope and address label could only be detached physically and would not come off by itself.

2- Also contacted RM who said that I have no standing as Amazon is
their client.

If you can pl. advise me as to the legal position as to who is
responsible in this case?

thx

Me UpNorth is right. You are RMs customer on this transaction not Amazon. You certainly should have had the item returned under one of their recorded delivery services and paid the extra charge for this.

I recommend you speak again with them but also contact your local Trading Standards department and ask for their assistance.

Regards,
Art.

mm66

When a company like Amazon gives you a prepaid label and asks you to ahnd over the package to a carrier you dont think "no i should do something else".

The recorded delivery in ther terms is for when you change your mind and return goods. faulty goods sections has no such clause and it mentions only that they would provide the prepaid label.

As far as RM is concerned i did not pay for the service so i have to deal with amazon who have a contract with them.

Me_UpNorth

mm66 wrote:

When a company like Amazon gives you a prepaid label and asks you to ahnd over the package to a carrier you dont think "no i should do something else".

The recorded delivery in ther terms is for when you change your mind and return goods. faulty goods sections has no such clause and it mentions only that they would provide the prepaid label.

As far as RM is concerned i did not pay for the service so i have to deal with amazon who have a contract with them.

Well you asked for our advise and thoughts on your problem, we gave them in good faith and to the best of our ability, I agree with what the others said in replying to you. I also had a look on the Amazon site and seen the same thing about returning items over £50 using registered mail - I have never bought from Amazon and i cannot get past the entry to returns page so have no idea what it says there.

Having read through some of their terms, I do not think I would buy from them - for instance they suggest you contact the manufacturer - that is passing the buck.

Anyway you have had our thoughts and from what i can see 2 of the others seem to know what they are talking about, so good luck with your problem

spikypixie

Art wrote:

This really comes under fit for purpose clauses in the Sale of Goods Act.

If you are happy to have them repair it then let them go ahead but put them on notice that if you are not satisfied you will demand a replacement or a full refund. They will try to 'explain' that they have a right to repair but it's up to you. Maybe it's best to put your complaint in writing so you have a copy and state that you will demand a replacement if the repair is not to your satisfaction. Do this before you let them near the machine.

PC World has a poor reputation when it comes to dealing with customer complaints. Don't let the matter drag on. In your letter give them a specified amount of time to sort the problem out. 14 days seems about right. tell them if things aren't resolved in this time you will contact Trading Standards or use the Small Claims Court. As I said in a previous message, you will win your case.

Regards,
Art.

If they are anything like COMET, I wush you the best of luck. They sent our son's £600 laptop back to HP 3 times - twice for the same fault. No matter how much we complained and insisted that our contract was with Comet and not HP, they insisted that they had a company policy of sending them back to the manufacturers for repair. We even pleaded with Trading Standards that this was unfair, and that our son was without a laptop for his GCSE coursework for a fortnight every time on a machine that was less than 12 months old. Apparently, companies are allowed 'reasonable' opportunity to make repairs. Every time it came back, the laptop was a little more battered than before. It would seem that as a rule of thumb, the same fault 3 times can get you a replacement. I ended up writing to Comet's head office in despair, and after 6 months of wrangling we finally got a replacement! Don't let the b***ers grind you down would seem to be the answer.

Art_2

spikypixie wrote:

If they are anything like COMET, I wush you the best of luck. They sent our son's £600 laptop back to HP 3 times - twice for the same fault. No matter how much we complained and insisted that our contract was with Comet and not HP, they insisted that they had a company policy of sending them back to the manufacturers for repair. We even pleaded with Trading Standards that this was unfair, and that our son was without a laptop for his GCSE coursework for a fortnight every time on a machine that was less than 12 months old. Apparently, companies are allowed 'reasonable' opportunity to make repairs. Every time it came back, the laptop was a little more battered than before. It would seem that as a rule of thumb, the same fault 3 times can get you a replacement. I ended up writing to Comet's head office in despair, and after 6 months of wrangling we finally got a replacement! Don't let the b***ers grind you down would seem to be the answer.

You seem to have had some problems with Comet and have been very patient.

I think I would have been off to the Small Claims Court on this one. You have rights under the Sale of Goods Act and these cannot be negated by 'company policy'. Not only would you have got your replacement much sooner but you would also have recovered some costs for your inconvenience.

Regards,
Art.

newbshr

Hi

I purchased a Secureline laptop cable and lock in November 2006 from dabs.com. I have used the lock probably about 30 times - unlocking and locking it. The end of the lock which gets inserted into the laptop has sheared off - making the lock unusable. Luckily nothing was left behind in the laptop itself.

I have email Dabs and asked for a refund under the Sale and Supply of Goods Act as the product is unfit for purpose as it has not lasted a reasonable amount of time. I don't want a replacement as it seems that they are not very reliable and was intending to purchase at a higher price the Kensington lock. Dabs have emailed me back to say that I can return it but I won't get any refund as I agreed to their terms and conditions on purchasing from the website (which says that if the product was bought more than 28 days ago then it can't be returned). Dabs.com operates from this country.

My understanding is that I am due a refund (I'd like the delivery charge back as well!) as the same rights apply online as in a shop. It's only £15 but it's the principle and if they continue to sell this item then other people may have the same issue etc.

Can you confirm please? What should I do next?

Many thanks

Art_2

newbshr wrote:

Hi

I purchased a Secureline laptop cable and lock in November 2006 from dabs.com. I have used the lock probably about 30 times - unlocking and locking it. The end of the lock which gets inserted into the laptop has sheared off - making the lock unusable. Luckily nothing was left behind in the laptop itself.

I have email Dabs and asked for a refund under the Sale and Supply of Goods Act as the product is unfit for purpose as it has not lasted a reasonable amount of time. I don't want a replacement as it seems that they are not very reliable and was intending to purchase at a higher price the Kensington lock. Dabs have emailed me back to say that I can return it but I won't get any refund as I agreed to their terms and conditions on purchasing from the website (which says that if the product was bought more than 28 days ago then it can't be returned). Dabs.com operates from this country.

My understanding is that I am due a refund (I'd like the delivery charge back as well!) as the same rights apply online as in a shop. It's only £15 but it's the principle and if they continue to sell this item then other people may have the same issue etc.

Can you confirm please? What should I do next?

Many thanks

You are perfectly correct, you are able to get a refund. If Dabs are refusing to do this you could go to the Small Claims Court where you would definitely win your case, but you have to ask yourself is it worth it?

You may have to take the replacement as the practical way out.

Before doing this I would write to Dabs, recorded delivery pointing out that under the Sale of Goods Act you are entitled to a refund and that this cannot be cancelled by any terms and conditions of theirs. It might also be useful to talk to your local Trading Standards to see if they can help. This wouldn't cost you anything.

Sorry I can't be more positive but I feel you have to take the value of the goods into account - unless you want to see how the Small Claims Court works.

Regards,
Art.

Art_2

newbshr wrote:

Hi

I purchased a Secureline laptop cable and lock in November 2006 from dabs.com. I have used the lock probably about 30 times - unlocking and locking it. The end of the lock which gets inserted into the laptop has sheared off - making the lock unusable. Luckily nothing was left behind in the laptop itself.

I have email Dabs and asked for a refund under the Sale and Supply of Goods Act as the product is unfit for purpose as it has not lasted a reasonable amount of time. I don't want a replacement as it seems that they are not very reliable and was intending to purchase at a higher price the Kensington lock. Dabs have emailed me back to say that I can return it but I won't get any refund as I agreed to their terms and conditions on purchasing from the website (which says that if the product was bought more than 28 days ago then it can't be returned). Dabs.com operates from this country.

My understanding is that I am due a refund (I'd like the delivery charge back as well!) as the same rights apply online as in a shop. It's only £15 but it's the principle and if they continue to sell this item then other people may have the same issue etc.

Can you confirm please? What should I do next?

Many thanks

You are perfectly correct, you are able to get a refund. If Dabs are refusing to do this you could go to the Small Claims Court where you would definitely win your case, but you have to ask yourself is it worth it?

You may have to take the replacement as the practical way out.

Before doing this I would write to Dabs, recorded delivery pointing out that under the Sale of Goods Act you are entitled to a refund and that this cannot be cancelled by any terms and conditions of theirs. It might also be useful to talk to your local Trading Standards to see if they can help. This wouldn't cost you anything. The head office is:

National Logistics Centre,
Wingate Industrial Estate,
Westhoughton,
Bolton BL5 3XU

They are owned by BT for what it's worth.


Sorry I can't be more positive but I feel you have to take the value of the goods into account - unless you want to see how the Small Claims Court works, it could be fun.

Regards,
Art.

SuperNashwan

mm66 wrote:

Hi All,

I purchased a DSLR from Amazon. It arrived but was faulty. They
issued me a pre-paid address label and asked me to send it back via
Royal Mail and take proof of postage which I did...
...If you can pl. advise me as to the legal position as to who is
responsible in this case?

thx

I'm not a lawyer (merely a law graduate) but my view is this: the goods were faulty on arrival so the item you received never belonged to you; property in the goods couldn't pass because you didn't order a broken camera. Therefore you owe only a basic duty of care to the goods which still belong to Amazon, and by following Amazon's instructions you've discharged that duty. Amazon sent you a pre-paid sticker, so they have contracted with RM for the delivery and RM are right in stating you have no standing to pursue the issue of non-delivery to Amazon. Amazon still owe you a camera as they've failed to perform the contract.
The majority here disagree, so you can take that as you will, but that's the basis I would proceed under if it were me.

Art_2

SuperNashwan wrote:

I'm not a lawyer (merely a law graduate) but my view is this: the goods were faulty on arrival so the item you received never belonged to you; property in the goods couldn't pass because you didn't order a broken camera. Therefore you owe only a basic duty of care to the goods which still belong to Amazon, and by following Amazon's instructions you've discharged that duty. Amazon sent you a pre-paid sticker, so they have contracted with RM for the delivery and RM are right in stating you have no standing to pursue the issue of non-delivery to Amazon. Amazon still owe you a camera as they've failed to perform the contract.
The majority here disagree, so you can take that as you will, but that's the basis I would proceed under if it were me.

An interesting post in which you make some good points. I guess it will have to be tested and I would be interested to hear the outcome.

Regards,
Art.