People Tree Sale. Goodybags £30 (Containing over £100 of items)

SugarSpun

I've just received an email letting me know they cancelled my order as they don't have any bags left. This is over a week after I ordered, so I am decidedly unhappy. Fired off a "very unhappy" email and got rather a snotty email in return. If they don't have stock they shouldn't have the bags for sale, and it shouldn't take over a week to figure out that they're low on stock. And they shouldn't be rude to me for not being pleased that the bag isn't coming and that they took nine days to tell me so.

Funny thing is, if they'd sent a token 20% off code for my disappointment I'd have used it on something more expensive in their shop but as it is I am cranky and put off.

harryharp

This is from the Office of Fair Trading website, Distance Selling Regulations:

"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."

So People Tree must refund postage, right?

LuSiVe

harryharp wrote: »

I have just received the refund from a box I returned. It's showing as £35 in my bank account. So they have NOT refunded the original postage charge, which I'm quite annoyed about. So I have now spent £9 on postage. :mad:

I would have thought they would at least refund the original postage charge. Don't the distance selling regulations state that they should?

Yes, but only if you state you are returning the whole order under the distance selling regulations. If you said that then they should have refunded their postage to you as well.

tumptyteapot

urgh, I have not yet had a refund so I have just emailed them, thanks for pointing out the distance selling regs thing - I have lost a fiver returning it so losing the other £4.50 is starting to mount up my stupid mistake. never ever again will I be so greedy for a bargain.

Sublime_2

Sorry to hear about the trouble you've had Tumpty. I've never had to return anything fortunately, but it is off-putting losing the postage.

harryharp

Here's my email to People Tree:

Dear People Tree,

I recently ordered one of your £35 'goody bags', and was very pleased with it so I decided to order another. However, when it arrived I was disappointed because the contents of the box were exactly the same as the first. Therefore I returned the second box to you immediately, stating that I was cancelling the order and would like a refund.

I have received a refund, however you have only refunded the £35 and not the £4.50 delivery charge. I would like to point out that in this you are in breach of the distance selling regulations which state that you must also refund the delivery charge. The whole document, which I found on the Office of Fair Trading website, can be read here: http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

Please may I draw your attention to section 3.48 on page 25, which states:

"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."

Please could I therefore have a refund of the original £4.50 delivery charge as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely, etc.

oakhouse13

People Tree should also change its terms & conditions on its website which are confusing.

It cearly treats customers differently, just from reading this thread.

Where it states its terms for returning goods, it should at the very least add that these do not affect your statutory rights. In other words, the website may say our terms are A, however, this has no affect on your rights as set out in consumer law.

For a company that has so much goodwill and publicity in the media as "fair trade", the company seems to actually be something quite different. I am not buying from it since goody bags which used to be stock that would not sell sent as a freebie to loyal customers are now a higher price, less good possibly marketing gimmick.

I am not even sure extra income from higher prices for goody bags is going to crafters - I think it is going to sales sites as commission for promoting People Tree.

Rant over.

Sublime_2

I think there is a lack of organisation, which is the root of it all. Definitely between the sales dept, and their warehouse. I'm waiting till next seasons bags come out now defintely, after hearing the trouble people have had.

I've only ever ordered bags early on in the season, which is probably why i've had no major probs.

I'd have been annoyed to, If they'd cancelled mine.

oakhouse13

Agreed. Goody bags are being marketed to millions of email subscribers and I do wonder how many actual Goody Bags can be produced!

I suppose if the company is expanding rapidly by marketing and it can therefore provide a lot more employment to the actual craft producers, that's a good thing. I just hope any extra is going to the makers and goody bags will have to be worth what is being asked. When they were free, it did not matter what was in them.

Roller_Derby_Girl

I just received mine and am sad to say it will be going back. There is not a single thing in it that I would wear. I got 1 green tshirt, 1 white, a pink vest top, a patterned tunic which wasn't too bad and a very short and thin skirt.