Who Pays for Return Postage on Faulty Goods?

Jamescarver

A little tricky this..

If you buy items mail order/internet and they turn out to be faulty, who (should) pay for the return postage costs?

I got a 'duff' home cinema system for xmas, which now needs to be returned. It cost £20 to post from the supplier and is very heavy. I assume the supplier has a
discount system with the courier, (being a high user) - So if i pay for return postage, it will cost me a lot more than £20.

The only reasonable argument I can come up with is that when I pay for postage, I pay for 1 lot of postage, after all I didnt want to recive faulty goods. If the suppliers have to collect it (and so incur a charge), they should claim this back from the manufacturers, not put me out of pocket.

Anyone know the legal standpoint on this issue? I've seached around and cant find a thing...

Thanks

Mumstheword

Phone them and ask them to collect it. If you want a replacement, ask them to confirm it will be sent asap, postage free. If you want your money back (which I should think you are entitled to if they have supplied faulty goods), ask them to collect it and to confirm that your refund will include the postage charged to send it. If they argue that they don't refund postage, tell them that you are entitled to that as the goods they supplied were faulty. I'm sure that's right under law, but don't know of one to quote. Always stay polite, and after 2 no's, ask to be put through to that person's manager until you get high enough for someone to give you a yes. I would have thought, though, that standard policy would be to refund postage (unless they try to say you have to have a replacement)

Reaper

If they are faulty
Where the goods are returned due to being faulty the consumer is entitled, under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended), to return the goods within a reasonable time after purchase and claim a full refund plus any other losses that have been incurred as a direct result of faulty goods being supplied, such as the costs of postage. Where faulty goods are returned the refurbishment charge, and/or delivery charges cannot be deducted from the consumers' refund.

If you change your mind
Additionally under the new Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations October 2000 you have the unconditional right to cancel an order. The law says that:
* You must inform them within seven working days starting with the day on which they are delivered
* You must ensure that you take reasonable care of goods and return them.
* They must refund the money as soon as possible and at the latest within 30 days of receiving written notice of your decision to cancel.
* You may only be charged at most for the cost of returning goods.

So in summary if the goods are faulty they pay the postage, if they are not then you pay the postage.

Davidboy

I bought a fly zapper (jokey pressies for wife ...long story!!) from Play.com, anyway it was faulty, so emailed them they said send it back and if was proven faulty then I would get postage back, but if not faulty I would have to pay. So they confimed it was faulty and within a couple of days I had the money for the gift returned plus the postage. Well done Play!! So I would say that most reputable internet companies would follow this route.

Jamescarver

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my original post- Reaper your info was spot on.

Ironically, as soon as I said 'Faulty' the company said 'We'll arrange a courier..!" So I didnt have to use my verbal ammo!!

Once again thanks to all of you.

familyfitz

I bought a new CADAC BBQ from through Ebay from a company in Northern Ireland back in April .It was faulty then and as the company did not have a replacement , I agreed to them sourcing replacement part from the CADAC company themselves.It took nearly 6 weeks and to be honest I think it finally solved when I contacted CADAC myself (i.e. within days).In retrospect should have returned it but they didnt have another and it was the best price by far.So this fault was sorted out, eventually and I was happy.

Problem is, now there is another fault.I spoke to CADAC themselves having grown increasingly worried about the safety of the unit and they confirmed there is a design fault and offered to send replacement parts, which I agreed to.

BUT, I researched the problem more online and have found that even with replacement parts, the same issue can arise again (remember it is a "design fault" as said by CADAC).I therefore decided I did not want to take any chances on the safety of this unit and more importantly myself and family while using it.I contacted the original purchase company in N.Ireland and explained the new problem and that it has been confirmed to be a design fault.Although I said I was offered a replacement part, I explained the continued proble and They have agreed to refund my original purchase amount £94, not the original postage (£6.50) NOR the cost to return the item (£23.50 using ParecelForce as they suggested).

I said I felt that wasn't right to have to pay all these costs myself for a faulty unit (they dont have a replacement) but I was told its in their terms of sale (which I have still to check) and I left it that I would look into the costs and let them know when I was returning the item.

Now, I feel strongly that this is wrong and dont want to accept it but with us about to go on holiday I have had to replace the unit myself (with a different version) and hence want a refund ASAP.I would of course still want a quick refund anyway but I am not sure how much, or when to fight this.

My instinct is not to let them away with it (assuming my gut feeling is right that they should pay) but I want/need it sorted ASAP so am tempted to just put it down to bad experience. BUT did wonder whether to state in my email when sending it that I have taken their advise and used Parcel Force to return item at the cost of x but am confident that when an item is returned as faulty, the full costs including return postage should be refunded.I dont know whether to quote the following (taken from another thread and raising whether or not it is still accurate as older thread)

I wish to draw your attention to r.14(6) of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (SI 2334) Which specifically states that, where goods are returned as a right due to a breach of a term implied by statute (specifically s. 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979), the rights, given by r. 14(5), of a seller (yourselves) to require the buyer (myself) to bear the cost of a return is disapplied.

As such, the cost of bearing the return lies with yourselves. I therefore expect that you will fulfill your contractual and statutory obligation to refund my full costs including postage"

As I said earlier, I really want to get my money back ASAP and dont want to delay sending the item back but what do people suggest?Do as I have said above or something else? Bear inmind I go on holiday in a week and we all know what pre-hol is like!