£40 per item charge to return items

Adeleg

I ordered some furniture online from Bedroom Furniture World. When it arrived it was dreadful.

There was no mention that the furniture was flatpacked on the website, so I wasn't expecting to construct it myself. The first bedside table I unpacked had drawers that were made of untreated, unfinished wood with the drawer bases as thin as balsa wood and warped to boot! I didn't even bother looking at the rest of the furniture after that - I just wanted my money back.

I immediately called the company and said that I was returning the items (for the above reasons). I was told that someone would call me to arrange collection.

I repacked the furniture and printed off the returns form as stated on the website.

That evening I got a call saying that the company wanted 'photographic evidence' of why I was returning the items to determine whether they would collect the items and issue a full refund, or whether they would charge me £40 per item to return.

As far as I am concerned, I am returning the items because they are not satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose and were not adequately described.

So they should provide a full refund without the return charge, right? But what happens if they turn around and argue that it is satisfactory quality, fit for purpose etc?

Any thoughts, help, advice, anyone?

Adele

paddyrg

You could say are returning under the Distance Selling Regulations, a 7-day, no-quibble right to return the goods - check the Terms on theri website regarding a restocking fee, but I don't believe they're allowed to charge one under the DSR's.

Hintza

Adeleg wrote: »

So they should provide a full refund without the return charge, right? But what happens if they turn around and argue that it is satisfactory quality, fit for purpose etc?

What do there T&C's say? Have you read the blurb on the stuff with a fine tooth comb.

You could return them via your own courier at your own expense.

You could take them to the small claims court to win back your return P+P charges. But the court might not agree with you.

Hintza

Assembly: Assembly required (from random item page)


Unwanted goods / wrongly ordered:
In the unlikely event you should want to return an item to us we are pleased to offer all customers our 7 Day No Quibble Refund. With our 7 Day No Quibble Refund you have 7 working days in which to decide to keep your ordered items or return them to us for a refund. BedroomFurnitureWorld will deduct from any refund the cost of recovering goods from customers. This is typically £40 per item and is the direct cost to BedroomFurnitureWorld of recovering the item.

garethgas

I found this for you on their website:
"Should you wish to return your items in accordance with this regulation we will provide a full refund for the purchase price of the goods. Please note that the buyer is always responsible for the carriage costs involved in the return of goods – this cost is £40 per item returned and is the direct cost to us of recovering the item. This charge will be deducted from any refund processed. Transporting large goods carefully is expensive and we respectfully request that customers make themselves aware of these potential charges before purchasing."

neilmcl

OP, what was the furniture you ordered? Are you sure it didn't state "self assembly required" as it seems to do on a lot of stuff they advertise? How can you say its all of unsatisfactory quality when you've only opened one item?

I find in these instances you pay for what you get, it maybe cheap rubbish and not what you expected but that doesn't make it unfit for purpose.

Hintza

The only thing I think you could argue is that the £40/item is unreasonably high. £40 per order might be closer to the mark.

unholyangel

Hintza wrote: »

The only thing I think you could argue is that the £40/item is unreasonably high. £40 per order might be closer to the mark.

I'd agree. I think i remember reading somewhere in the DSR's (or perhaps literature pertaining to the DSR's) that retailers can only charge the customer the DIRECT cost of returning the item.

Meaning if it cost them £5, they can only charge you £5.

I'll have a look and see if i can find it because remember, statutory rights override anything which may be in their terms and conditions.

unholyangel

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.


There we go. We should also remember that the customer needs to have been informed of this as pre-contractual information in a durable form - and websites arent considered durable (which has got me thinking as i know a few times i have placed orders i have been sent a confirmation email with the terms and conditions provided......by linking me to their website!). If they did not provide this in a durable form as pre-contractual information, they will be liable for all the costs involved in their return.

You could argue that one item was faulty and not be charged for that one, but by your own admission you didnt check the rest - so providing they met the requirements above, they can charge you for those ones (but they can only charge what it actually cost them to return the items). Just to note also, its up to them to prove that one unit wasnt faulty, the onus is NOT on you. I would also make them aware you think their terms and conditions are not in accordance with the DSR's as some smaller items undoubtedly cost less than £40 to return. I would also put my complaints in writing and keep a copy for my own records.

Adeleg

Thank you all for your responses so far.

To clarify a few things:

I did read the small print before purchasing and was aware of the £40 charge. However, that should only apply if someone changes their mind and decides that they do not want the items, it is not applicable in the case of faulty or mis-sold goods.

I made my purchase on the understanding that a) the items were not flat packed, because nowhere on the item spiel did it say so, and b) that the items would be of good quality and fit for purpose. A bedside table drawer base made of balsa wood is not fit for purpose. Splinters from the unfinished wooden drawer is poor quality.

To respond to the point someone made about my returning ALL of the items - this was a matching bedroom set: bed, bedside tables and chest of drawers. If one item is unusable, then the set is incomplete.

With regards to the cost of £40 per item, since they delivered all the items at a cost of £19.99, I would expect that a return charge should be no more than that.

I think that this is company is a disaster. They have screwed up from start to finish - they claimed a 1-2 week delivery period and after three weeks hadn't delivered. When I queried, they said that they were out of stock, but I went and checked the website and they were still selling the items with the same delivery period claim. They then screwed up the delivery, so that I had to take a day off work and wait at home all day and they never showed up. It has been one disaster after another. And the icing on the cake is that I still have no bedroom furniture, I have a hall full of flatpack furniture and the possibility of being £40 out of pocket for the experience.

What on earth happened to good customer service?!

Adele

Fergie76

TBH, if I ordered furniture from the internet, I would assume it was flat packed and not the other way round, unless stated.