My rights as a seller

ninanoonanarna

Hello people,

I'm an internet seller and I have rather small business. Recently a customer bought an item of clothing from me for £20 and paid £3.50 for postage and packaging. He sent the item back because it didn't fit (we have a sizing chart on out website and our refund policy clearly states that we will only refund postage if we have either sent a faulty item or the wrong item), I refunded him the money for the tshirt. He is now threatening to report me to trading standards under some distance selling act if I don't refund him his postage. Obviously the postage has to be paid, but I would loose money if I had to refund the postage for every item that some ordered in the wrong size or disliked.

Does anyone know my rights on this one? I've read the distance selling act but if I'm to be honest I don't really understand it.

Thank you in advance

arcon5

He is correct. You have to refund him the original postage costs. He only has to pay postage to return the item under DSRs.

This is a cost you have to factor in to your prices i'm afraid. Especially if your selling items of clothing as people will regularly order to wrong size & return or exchange the item.

This page will help

AnnaV

Arcon5 is right.

I f you go to the Business Link website there is lots of info on the law, which you should really get acquainted with if you're already in business.

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.l1=1073861169&r.s=tl&topicId=1079589261

mj12_2

The poster above is correct however if the customer notified you of their intent to cancel more than SEVEN days after the date they received the goods the DSR's don't apply.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft913.pdf

Owain_Moneysaver

Unless your Distance Selling Regulations statement limits the customer's return options, you will have to pay the customer's return postage:

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

and the customer has 3 months and 7 working days in which to return the item, because you haven't limited that.

if you do not give the required written information at all (or give it
after the three month period mentioned above), the consumer’s
cancellation rights will end after three months and seven working
days from the day after the day the consumer received the goods. (Para 3.23)

If you had an appropriate statement then you can limit that time to not less than 7 days, as mj12 says.

This Leaflet may be helpful.

arcon5

Very good point by Owain above..

You must state in your terms its the buyers responsibility to pay return costs otherwise they can ask for you to reimburse them.

halibut2209

To summarise. You MUST refund the buyer's initial postage payment (cost of you sending it to him)

And unless you state on your website that the buyer is responsible for the return postage, you MUST refund that as well.