Furious with Lego shop - £50 to return unwanted item!!!!

clairehi

I have a major problem here, have an unwanted Xmas present and have just discovered to return it will cost £50.

to explain, DS had decided he wanted a Lego trainset which he had seen on the website. I could not find it in a shop so ordered it off the site. postage was £5, delivery 7 days.

DS then informed me (day after I placed the order on behalf of Santa) that he had changed his mind. As it was his only present (cost £100!) I immediately went to cancel the order but couldnt find a way to cancel the order on the website. it just said you could return items within 14 days to the address stated on the delivery note so I waited for the delivery.

only to discover that the return address is in Germany!!! and the cheapest service that Parcelforce offer will cost me £50 ie half the cost of the item. the set comes in a massive box you see. what do I do now????

robpw2

ebay it ,... ok may lose a little but not as much as 50 quid
wrap it up and give it to your child anyway kids change their mind every day
send it to me as i love lego ..

Melon78

Convince him that he does actually want it after all!

Had he seen/told/written to father Christmas asking for it. Mine know that once FC knows then they can't change their minds or Father Christmas will get confused and may cross their name off his list by mistake!

Otherwise i'd say your best bet would be to Ebay it or keep it for his birthday.

OK_Sauce

Surely long distance selling regulations should allow you to return it without penalty? Even though the Lego was sent from Germany the website is UK.

ginvzt

Try different delivery company. I have recently sent a parcel to Germany and Parcel force was quoting similar amount. I managed to post it for under £18... I used http://www.interparcel.com/ - DHL came to collect the item on Friday and it was with the recipient on Tuesday! It was a decent box of about 5kg in weight.

But the best I like the advice by Melon -

once FC knows then they can't change their minds or Father Christmas will get confused and may cross their name off his list by mistake!

Princess_Coupon

Melon78 wrote: »

Father Christmas will get confused and may cross their name off his list by mistake!
quote]

OMG! :eek: He doesn't really do that does he?

zenseeker

OK_Sauce wrote: »

Surely long distance selling regulations should allow you to return it without penalty? Even though the Lego was sent from Germany the website is UK.

It's not a penalty, it's a shipping fee, and they are quite within their rights to make the buyer pay the costs of returning the item unless it is faulty.

Chocmonster7

What should you do?

You should carry on with him having that as his present, and he should be very grateful that you are willing to spend that kind of cash on him.

If he still doesn't want it then you should march him down to the nearest charity shop and make him hand it over to benefit people less fortunate than he is.

If you give into a kid over something like this then what do you think he's going to be like as a teenager?

As for Lego, they are well within their rights to stick to their terms & conditions, especially when there is nothing wrong with the item.

clairehi

Thank you everyone for your kind responses.

Yes they are entitled to charge shipping for returns - I was expecting that, but it was not made clear on the website that the return address is overseas and that the actual shipping cost may give you a heart attack!!!

Ive calmed down now though...Spoke to DS and he is happy to have the train set. Turns out he wanted something else in preference to the Lego set but a grandparent can get him the other thing (which actually turns out to be much cheaper than we thought) and he will be delighted to have both.

this house is going to be over run with train sets soon but thats another problem!!!

clairehi

Chocmonster7 wrote: »

What should you do?

You should carry on with him having that as his present, and he should be very grateful that you are willing to spend that kind of cash on him.

If he still doesn't want it then you should march him down to the nearest charity shop and make him hand it over to benefit people less fortunate than he is.

If you give into a kid over something like this then what do you think he's going to be like as a teenager?

As for Lego, they are well within their rights to stick to their terms & conditions, especially when there is nothing wrong with the item.

Yes, I have some sympathy with your POV here and the last thing I want is for DS to start acting like a spoiled brat.

I boobooed by ordering it in haste. Next time will use the suggestion above of doing "full & final" Xmas lists!

Secondly, the last thing I want to do is to spend £100 on something that then gathers dust. DS would never throw a wobbly about not getting what he wanted, he would just say thank you and ignore the unwanted gift!

Re Lego, the argument is that they do not state on the website that the return shipping address is overseas, thus hugely increasing the cost of returns over what it would be if in the UK. also there is no way of cancelling an order once it has been made. I dont think thats great service and I wont be ordering from them again.

Altarf

I would speak to Lego first (0800-5346-1111) and confirm that the goods need to be returned to Germany and whether they have a cheaper method of returning them.

If they don't, then I would point out that they are not complying with the Distance Selling Regulations, which requires the seller to make clear that if the goods are to be returned who pays for them. See section 3.55 here (pdf). The T&Cs on the Lego website do not make that clear.

And if still no-go, then Trading Standards.