Internet Purchase

antonysandell

Hi,

I'm having a problem with a company I brought a HDD from via the internet.

I ordered the item 11/2/2009.

I realised I ordered the incorrect item on 14/2/2009 and submitted a ticket about getting the order cancelled or exchanged.

I got a reply on the 17/2/2009, stating that "Please could you advise which product you are looking for, as we have noticed your original goods are with the dispatch team, we may be able to stop this delivery if you let us know asap which product you would like instead.
Your Prompt response is needed, otherwise the original goods will be delivered."

I replied to this on the evening of 17/2/2009.

I then received another reply on 18/2/2009 stating "If you want to cancel a order after its been dispatched ,you will need to wait until its been fully delivered to you.If you refer to our contact us section and read our refund policy that will help you with the information you require.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions. "

I chased the delivery of this order on 3/3/2009 as it had not turned up and the original delivery was due 20-26/2/2009.

I received a responce on the 4/3/2009 telling me the HDD would "be with you by the end of the week".

The drive turned up on the 6/3/2009 and as soon as I had it, I started the returns procedure.

I received another responce on 10/3/2009 with "Please refer to the website you placed your order on with regards to returns.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions." Which I thought was strange.

So today (10/3/2009) I started a Live chat with one of the customer service team and this is the conversation:

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
All operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with 'Vicky'
Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK1610885991X
Vicky: Hi how can i help?
you: Hello, I sumbitted a ticket for returbning an item to yourselves due to incorrectly ordering a part
you: the responce I got was: Thank you for contacting us. Please refer to the website you placed your order on with regards to returns. Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions. Sincerely, Vicky
you: I followed your webtickets to create the return, yet I'm being told to refer to the website about returning an item? what else am I supposed to do?
Vicky: whats the ticket id please on the response you rec'd
you: RE: no subject (LTK1610885991X)
you: also Acknowledge: no subject (Ticket# LTK1610849223X)
you: Acknowledge: no subject (Ticket# LTK1610726121X)
you: Acknowledge: no subject (Ticket# LTK1610703950X)
Vicky: you need to look at our terms and conditions that we agreed to at time of sale.
Vicky: 15. RETURNED GOODS & RESTOCKING
Vicky: A restocking fee of 20% (minimum charge of £5.00 five pounds GBP Sterling) will be levied on all goods returned to the Vendor unless faulty or broken. All authorised returns will carry a forefeture of orginal shipping charges paid in respect of the original order. Please note: Ram / Hard Drives internal or external are non-returnable products as prices are subject to fluctuations in the financial market (unless faulty), no other product unless faulty or damage is returnable unless it is returned under the distance selling regulations, in compliance with the company returns prodedures as outlined. Subject to para 5.3 above the vendor reserves the right to refuse rejected goods by the purchaser isuing additional dispatching costs to the purchaser in this respect.
you: What specifically do I have to refund to the consumer if they cancel? 3.48 The DSRs require you to refund any money paid by or on behalf of the consumer in relation to the contract to the person who made the payment. This means the full price of the goods, or deposit or prepayment made, including the cost of delivery. The essence of distance selling is that consumers buy from home and receive goods at home. In these circumstances, almost every case of home shopping will involve delivery of the goods ordered and so delivery forms an essential part of the contract.
you: Who pays for returning the goods if the consumer cancels an order? 3.55 If you want the consumer to return the goods and to pay for that return, you must make it clear in the contract and as part of the required written information – see paragraph 3.10. If the consumer then fails to return the goods, or sends them at your expense, you can charge them the direct cost to you of the return, even if you have already refunded the consumer’s money. You are not allowed to make any further charges, such as a restocking charge or an administration charge.
you: so, the HDD that I have been trying to return since before it left dispatch, which I have been told in other tickets could be returned, you are saying is called as a non returnable item? even though it is unopened?
Vicky: i cant help you any further you need to look at the terms and conditions on the website which you agreed to at time of order which clearly states hard drives are non returnable.
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.

So it turns out that HDD's are not returnable under their T&C's, something I had missed and no one else had pointed out to me at any point, even under the DSR's.

Is this correct, can they refuse to have an item returned under the DSR's because it is in their terms? An unopened and unused item? I also don't think the restocking fee they charge in the terms is legal either.

Can anyone help shed some light on this? Should I visit trading standards?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Antony.

deanos

Please note: Ram / Hard Drives internal or external are non-returnable products as prices are subject to fluctuations in the financial market (unless faulty),

What a load of rubbish :rotfl:

Dosent matter whats in there t+c's, you can cancell an order for whatever reason (and you dont need to tell them why) 7 working days from delivery, there are some exeptions like food or software for example.


Have a word with consumer direct http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

What is the website you are ordering from ?

derrick

As Deanos said, "a load of rubbish".

They can only make you pay return p&p, and that is if they have stated it in their T&Cs or made it clear to you before delivery, neither can they charge a restocking fee, and the 7 days are WORKING days,starting the day after you received the goods. A word with Trading Standards sounds in order.

From Consumer Direct, (my colouring) ; -

. Know your distance selling rights

• check your cancellation rights before making a purchase: under the Distance Selling Regulations you can get a full refund on many products if you cancel within seven working days after the day of receipt
• 
  
• if returning goods you are entitled to a refund of the original delivery cost but check the terms and conditions to see who will cover the cost of returning them
• 
  
• traders are not allowed to deduct a restocking charge or administration fee for returned goods
• 
  
• if you wish to cancel, you must take reasonable care of the goods you are returning

• check and keep all receipts, order confirmations and correspondence
• goods should be delivered within 30 days after date of order, unless you agree to a different delivery timeframe
• complain to the trader if you have a problem shopping online
• contact Consumer Direct if the trader does not resolve your problem

antonysandell

deanos wrote: »

What is the website you are ordering from ?

It was a company call techbitsonline. Never used them before ...never will again.

I'll lodge a complaint with Trading Standards. Thanks for the quick responces

antonysandell

I have just seen this on the Consumer Direct Website:

When you can't cancel
Please note that there are circumstances when you cannot cancel unless the trader has given you a specific contractual right to do so.
These are if:

• The trader has already started to provide the service within the cancellation period and you have agreed to this. You must have been told in writing - before the supplier agreed to carry out the service - that you would then lose your right to cancel.
• You had the goods made to your specifications or personalised.
• The items are likely to go off or deteriorate quickly, such as flowers or fresh foods.
• The goods by their nature cannot be returned.
• You have opened sealed software, CDs, DVDs etc.
• They are newspapers, periodicals or magazines.
• You bought betting, gaming or lottery services.
• The price is dependent on fluctuations in the financial market.
• Goods are clearly personalised

This is what they mentioned in their T&C's. What kind of impact could that have?

deanos

Dont think this applies, otherwise you could use that line on any item as a get out.

antonysandell

I've made a complaint via http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/contact?action=complain

I'll let you know of the responce.

Jakg

Gotta ask what HDD you were looking for - it's rare an independant undercuts eBuyer / Scan etc.

antonysandell

deanos wrote: »

Dont think this applies, otherwise you could use that line on any item as a get out.

As you say, anything you buy is effected by company stock price fluctuating daily. Hopefully I should get a reply over the next day or 2.

antonysandell

Jakg wrote: »

Gotta ask what HDD you were looking for - it's rare an independant undercuts eBuyer / Scan etc.

Was an AV spec HDD for a Sky+ box. The original HDD died, I've put a spare I had laying about in, but it's running pretty hot.

Wanted an AV spec HDD as they run at a cooler temp. eBuyer/Scan/Dabs etc didn't have any in at the time and the price from this site seemed good at £5-10 less inc delivery than the main sites I usually use.

Problem was me selecting SATA instead of PATA:mad: Even worse, I'm a PC engineer, so I should know to check that!

antonysandell

Quick Update: I've spoken to Consumer Direct who are passing this onto my local Trading Standards Office.