Distance selling regs - refund of postage costs

milliemonster

I ordered some trousers for my daughter for school from an online uniform shop a couple of weeks ago, anyway to cut a long story short they didn't fit so sent them back special delivery within the 7 day time period. The shop received them back but have only partially refunded me £24, not the £27.96 I paid. When I queried this they told me that they would not refund the delivery charges.

Now I have checked the distance selling regs which do clearly state that a full refund including delivery costs must be given, but the store are still refusing, so where do I got from here? I know it's only £4 but on top of the £7 special delivery I paid to send them back I am £11 down and have no goods at all:o

deanos

Did you inform them you were cancelling under the DSR or just send them back ?

wealdroam

OP, you do realise that they probably do not have to refund the cost of you sending the things back to them, don't you?

dktreesea

wealdroam wrote: »

OP, you do realise that they probably do not have to refund the cost of you sending the things back to them, don't you?

Yes, they do, though maybe not the special delivery part unless they specifically requested they be sent back that way. Distance selling means, if buying from a business, that it is as if they came to your front door and sold you the goods.

So, for example, we buy jiffy bags online. We had a box that was faulty. We wanted to return it. The supplier sent their courier to pick it up from us and deliver us a replacement box. Their terms and conditions clearly state to, for returns, contact them to arrange uplift and that they do not reimburse the cost of postage if customers return the goods by some other method.

You should take a good look at their terms and conditions. Even if it says that any returns must be at the customer's expense, this particular term and condition is against distance selling regulations.

If however, it says that all returns must be sent, for example by Royal mail second class, or that you have to request a returns sticker from them (usually something you print online and affix to the package - fairly typical for clothing stores) then they probably only have to refund you the second class mail or their returns cost, (if they have a bulk returns contract with the Royal Mail, around £1.20 last time I looked).

wealdroam

dktreesea wrote: »

Yes, they do, though maybe not the special delivery part unless they specifically requested they be sent back that way. Distance selling means, if buying from a business, that it is as if they came to your front door and sold you the goods.

So, for example, we buy jiffy bags online. We had a box that was faulty. We wanted to return it. The supplier sent their courier to pick it up from us and deliver us a replacement box. Their terms and conditions clearly state to, for returns, contact them to arrange uplift and that they do not reimburse the cost of postage if customers return the goods by some other method.

You should take a good look at their terms and conditions. Even if it says that any returns must be at the customer's expense, this particular term and condition is against distance selling regulations.

If however, it says that all returns must be sent, for example by Royal mail second class, or that you have to request a returns sticker from them (usually something you print online and affix to the package - fairly typical for clothing stores) then they probably only have to refund you the second class mail or their returns cost, (if they have a bulk returns contract with the Royal Mail, around £1.20 last time I looked).

Well, on page 27 of The OFT's Guide to Distance Selling Regulations we are told...

Return of goods following cancellation (Regulation 17)

Who pays for returning the goods if the consumer cancels an order?
3.55 If you want the consumer to return the goods and to pay for that return, you must make it clear in the contract and as part of the required written information – see paragraph 3.10. If the consumer then fails to return the goods, or sends them at your expense, you can charge them the direct cost to you of the return, even if you have already refunded the consumer’s money. You are not allowed to make any further charges, such as a restocking charge or an administration charge.

3.56 If you did not include these details in the required written information then you cannot charge anything. See paragraph 3.10. You can never require consumers to pay the cost of returning substitute goods – see paragraph 3.1 for more information.

3.57 If the goods are faulty or do not comply with the contract, you will have to pay for their return whatever the circumstances.

Dktreesea, you will see there that it is not quite as clear cut as you are making out.

If the seller has informed the customer at the time of sale that the customer is responsible for the cost of returning the goods, then the seller is not responsible for that cost.

It is for this reason that I used the word probably in my earlier post.
Many internet suppliers have learnt this requirement and do specify that the customer pays the cost of the return.

Dktreesea, your jiffy bag example is different.
There you are talking about a faulty product.
If the product is faulty, then it is Sales of Goods Act that specifies that the seller must bear the costs associated with putting things right.

dktreesea wrote: »

You should take a good look at their terms and conditions. Even if it says that any returns must be at the customer's expense, this particular term and condition is against distance selling regulations.

Sorry... totally wrong.
This particular term and condition is specifically suggested in the OFT's guide.
See above quote from their guide.

milliemonster

Yes I am well aware that they do not have to refund my return costs, that wasn't what I was asking, My query was that they had not refunded THEIR delivery costs when I returned the items, and yes I emailed them requesting cancelling the contract as the items did not fit to which I received no reply. I the sent the items back special delivery (they said in their T&C's that returns needed to be sent by a tracked method) and then they only refunded me for the cost of the items £24 and not the £27.96 I paid initally.

I have since sent them a copy of the guidelines via email and asked them to kindly reconsider refunding my original costs which they have now done, although their communication leaves a lot to be desired (no response to my email just an email from paypal to say I have received the rest of the money.

techspec

Good to hear you got your money - eventually.

You do realise that the 7 days are working days - so royal mail 1st class is more than adequate.

Also, my understanding of DSR's is that you only have to email the seller and let them know you are returing it within 7 days - it does not have to arrive back within this time.

Therefore Special Delivery is only really required if returning something valuable.

milliemonster

Thanks techspec, yeah I guess I could have sent standard 1st class but I just had a funny feeling about them, when I paid for the items (2 prs school trousers) I paid £12 per pair, yet when they arrived the label on each pair said £10, I initially emailed pointing this out and requesting politely if they would consider refunding the difference, to which I had......no reply, but then daughter tried them on and they didn't fit anyway. I checked their online T&C's and noted the 'we recommend returning items by a trackable method' and I just thought if I don't send them back signed for, they will claim they haven't received them back and I'll get nothing, so I just took it on the chin and sent the special delivery, maybe could have chosen recorded delivery but hey ho, you live and learn