Faulty item returned by freepost - store won't send me a replacement

POPPYOSCAR

custardy wrote: »

RD would have cost this company 75p
SD would be over £5
so you can see why they wouldnt cover SD
FYI,RD could have left the OP in exactly the same situation

Yes I understand that.

The point I am making is that I was advised by Play.com on how to send the bag back.they may even advise to send SD if the item is of higher value, I don't know, as my item was only worth £17.99. I think it is wrong of this company to expect a customer to return a faulty item and have to pay themselves to provide cover for that item if it goes missing in the post.Recorded delivery would have helped the OP in this case as they have now found the bag, and they had it all the time.

Sponge

How can a retailer specify a method of return, provide what is in effect pre-paid postage (freepost, paid by the retailer, not sender), specifically state that they will not reimburse any costs incurred by using Special Delivery, yet their recommended method offers insufficient compensation for loss and the alternative (using SD) won't be reimbursed? I thought a retailer had to reimburse return postage in the event of fault? If a customer has to use SD to ensure the goods are fully insured, how can the retailer use their T&Cs to escape their responsibilities?

It's already been mentioned that Recorded Delivery offers no extra compensation, but in this case it would have proved the goods were at their destination and sat in their warehouse somewhere, as was the case!

Unreasonable behaviour by the retailer, but becoming the norm in my experience.