Marks and Spencer delivery cost refund question

inglesito

I bought a suit in the M&S sale, which I had delivered at the standard cost of £3.50. A couple of days later, the suit was reduced further and, having read previous posts on these forums, I decided to order again and return the original delivery once it arrived.

I took it in to M&S Covent Garden today but I was only refunded the cost of the items and not the cost of delivery. When I questioned this, I was told that if they refunded delivery, they would be out of pocket. I disputed this as the law states that delivery costs should be refunded under the Distance Selling Regulations and this is part of what any online retailer must abide by, but this was met with blank expressions. The lady (who was very helpful) went to check with a manager, but the answer was still no.

Having checked the regulations, the only slight problem I can see is that I didn't notify them in writing of my intention to return the goods (I was within the 7 working days and the goods were still in perfect condition). But surely turning up in person and stating my intention to return the goods is an acceptable alternative to writing to them, in that there can be no dispute that I have returned them.

Could anyone point me in the direction of a link I could print out to go back and claim my postage refund? Or do you think that the law is on their side on this occasion? All advice much appreciated

shaun_from_Africa

But surely turning up in person and stating my intention to return the goods is an acceptable alternative to writing to them

You state that under the terms of the Distance selling regulations, M&S must return the original postage charges, which is correct, but under the same regulations you must inform them in writing of your wish to cancel.
Don't you think it's a bit unfair to expect M&S to abide by the reg's, but you don't have to?

What must my consumers do if they want to cancel?

3.26

They must tell you in writing, or in another durable medium, if they

want to cancel. This includes letter, fax or email. A phone call is not
enough unless you say in your terms and conditions that you will

accept cancellations by phone.

You could try fighting their decision, but as you can't show that you cancelled the contract, you may well lose.

inglesito

Thanks for your response. I have written an email now to state that I wish to cancel the contract, that I have received a refund of the cost of the goods and that I now wish to receive a refund of the cost of postage. I cannot see anything in the regulations that says you cannot return the goods and then let them know in writing a couple of hours later, but we shall see what they say.

I certainly don't expect them to follow one set of rules and me another, but the point here is that they make customers jump through unnecessary hoops to get the level of service due to them under the law. M&S has a very generous refund policy, I know, but that's also what prompted me to buy from them in the first place. If I had written first, waited for a response and then returned the goods, the end result would be the same - I would have a full refund including the delivery charge. So I feel that sometimes common sense should win out over technicalities.

Maldives_lover

The store doesn't refund postage, but if you contact M&S online and explain that the item has been returned to store they will refund the postage.

mo786uk

You probably should have sent the item back to where it came from instead of taking it back to a store

They could possibly argue the contract hasnt technically been cancelled and make you pick the item up again and send it back to their online shop dept.

zppp

inglesito wrote: »

So I feel that sometimes common sense should win out over technicalities.

It may be a technicality to you, but it may be that M&S operate as a separate legal entity online. The common sense thing to do would be to send the item back and then go and buy a new one.

inglesito

Just to update on this, the email worked and I received a response saying the delivery has been refunded and apologising for the fact that the store did not do this. Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer my questions :-)

mwjmum

:cool: I have had to email Marks and Spencer yet again to ask for a refund of postage after returning goods within the 7 days. It seems they are not doing this as a matter of course (they are not the only ones!). So make sure you keep your proof of postage to show when you returned your goods!

arcon5

mwjmum wrote: »

:cool: I have had to email Marks and Spencer yet again to ask for a refund of postage after returning goods within the 7 days. It seems they are not doing this as a matter of course (they are not the only ones!). So make sure you keep your proof of postage to show when you returned your goods!

You don't have to return the goods in 7 days, all you need to do is notify them of your intention to cancel within 7 days.

mwjmum

arcon5 wrote: »

You don't have to return the goods in 7 days, all you need to do is notify them of your intention to cancel within 7 days.

That's right - it just so happens I was able to get the goods back to them too within the 7 days. With a reputable company such as M and S who obviously know the rules it's a shame the customer has to do the chasing.

Please check your refunds!;)