Items I haven't ordered been received - what to do?

matto

Just receieved a whole load of stuff from Next directory half of which was ordered online and half of which wasn't ordered but was in my "shopping bag" althoug I deleted it before checkout.

I have the printout of the order confirmation which shows I ordered £££ and no sign of the stuff I deleted. I have received much more though.

Any ideas on how I can play this one? Can I play hardball and holdout for some sort of compensation? I have a feeling as its credit they can't charge me for it unless they have some proof. But maybe their proof differs from my proof??

Next Directory really !!!!!! me off and if it wasn't for the missus I'd have cancelled long ago. Cancelling isn't an option.

JohalaReewi

check out unsolicited goods in the consumer advice bits of the web.

http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/unsolicited.htm
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/goods-service/scams/fs_u01.shtml

If they don't appear on your copy of the order then you didn't order them and they can't make you pay for them.

stugib

JohalaReewi wrote:

check out unsolicited goods in the consumer advice bits of the web.

Something similar came up in a legal forum I was reading the other day - someone had sent back a faulty product and received 2 replacements and was asking if he could keep the other one. If I understand correctly, these wouldn't be unsolicited goods - it was simply a mistake by Next and the unordered goods remain Next's property which the OP will have to look after and give Next the opportunity to collect at his convenience.

matto wrote:

Any ideas on how I can play this one? Can I play hardball and holdout for some sort of compensation?

Ummm, unless I've completely misread your post, for what? Just let them know what's happened and send the unwanted items back. It doesn't cost you anything to send them back and you're able to send back Next Diretory items whether you ordered them or not.

matto

I reckon I could claim that this was inertia selling. They sent me goods I knew I was interested in, in an attempt to get me to buy them. As such it would appear I'm entitled to keep them and it is an offence for them to try and get me to pay for them.

Maybe compensation was the wrong word but I was contemplating seeking some sort of voucher for helping them rectify their mistake.

stugib

Are they demanding payment for the extra goods? The references I can find to inertia selling are for things like book clubs where they send you something you haven't asked for and demand payment and deny you the chance to send it back ('removing consumer choice' I think was the phrase used).

Have you tried contacting Next to inform them of their mistake? I'm sure they'll be grateful and who knows they might credit your account for your honesty, but regardless of whose mistake it was, it seems from the replies in that legal thread I mentioned, that you can't just keep them - they are not your property. If they are informed but choose not to collect them you can 'dispose' of them. Even with real unsolicited goods AFAIK you have to inform the company that you consider them unsolicited and give them chance to collect them from you.

The difference is these have probably been sent in error and they will happily take them back and not demand payment, whereas inertia selling is deliberate and demands payment.

matto

All the items have been invoiced. Depending on when I make payments and when the returned goods are processed I could be liable for interest payments on these goods (one of the things I very much dislike about Next's system).

The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 seem pretty clear

Inertia Selling

24. - (1) Paragraphs (2) and (3) apply if -

(a) unsolicited goods are sent to a person ("the recipient") with a view to his acquiring them;

(b) the recipient has no reasonable cause to believe that they were sent with a view to their being acquired for the purposes of a business; and

(c) the recipient has neither agreed to acquire nor agreed to return them.

(2) The recipient may, as between himself and the sender, use, deal with or dispose of the goods as if they were an unconditional gift to him.

(3) The rights of the sender to the goods are extinguished.

I can't see that a company can get round these regulations just by claiming it was a mistake. What is to stop companies deliberatley carrying out inertia selling and then claiming it was a mistake?

callansdad

My sister is having similar problems with next. She doesnt have a proper account. She pays with credit card before the goods are sent. She has had a few problems with them. A couple of weeks ago she ordered 4 dresses for her bridesmaids along with a few other things. She only opened one which fitted one bm and had to order a bigger size for the other one. Altogether she ordered 5 dresses. I was there when both orders arrived but she has somehow managed to acquire a 6th dress, it appeared in the same place as the others and she has never signed for it, different size and colour. They have not charged her for this. Where does she stand?

She does not have a copy of what she ordered as the site would not let her process it so she had to order over the phone. There was no invoice in the box. She has also been charged twice for delivery even though she was told both times that she would get free as she had codes.

Her returns haven't been picked up, she calls the courier and leaves messages but there is never a reply.

She thought it was 14 days for returns but she can't get a hold of the courier, its nearly 3 weeks, does this mean she won't be able to return them?

matto

I've had to stop the missus ordering by phone, you end up never knowing where you are. They don't provide a written confirmation of what you've ordered and how long it will take. It is not uncommon for items to take three months to arrive. Delivery charges seem to be randomly added and occasionally apparently randomly refunded.

On the plus side we haven't had any problem returning goods upto nearly 4 weeks after receipt (we always return through the Post Office though) and there haven't been too many problems with lost items.

smcaul

I have always had good service from next - and by good I mean they have cocked up on a couple of orders and ended up paying me compensation that amounted to more then 50% of the value of the orders - I still use them, but you have to be firm with their CS staff!!!!

stugib

matto wrote:

All the items have been invoiced. Depending on when I make payments and when the returned goods are processed I could be liable for interest payments...
I can't see that a company can get round these regulations just by claiming it was a mistake. What is to stop companies deliberatley carrying out inertia selling and then claiming it was a mistake?

But conversely if a company sends out goods in error, do you think the law was written so it just has to write off those goods as gifts?

Again, I think the key difference here is that Next aren't refusing to take back the goods or threatening legal action (paragraphs 4&5 of that section) for the money if you do return them.

I'm all for using the law and standing up for your consumer rights, but as a last resort when sorting it out amicably fails. I don't understand why you don't just tell them what's happened and send them back?

JohalaReewi

stugib wrote:

Even with real unsolicited goods AFAIK you have to inform the company that you consider them unsolicited and give them chance to collect them from you.

Not since the 1st November 2000.

http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/unsolicited.htm

quote:
However, in the case of unsolicited goods received before 1 November 2000, the recipient is required to give notice to the sender to collect them within 30 days, or otherwise to wait for 6 months, before being able to treat the goods as their own property.

In the OP's case, it would seem that extra items have been included in with her order that she didn't order, so they are unsolicited. If Next demand payment for these, then the Unsolicted Goods Act 2000 swings into play and the OP should notify her local Trading Standards Dept.

However, it would be courtesy to inform Next they have sent items she didn't order and if Next want to, they can arrange collection at their expense. Mind you, I bet Next have an 0870 number that you have to use to phone them up.