Who pays postage on returns?

fishpond

I purchased some pottery of a listing that stated--- pottery was not cracked.
Upon receipt, there was no damage at all to the parcel, but one of the figures was cracked.
It seems seller will refund my money but not my return postage costs.
Is this correct as the postage amount is between £15-£20.
Why should I have to carry this cost when it is not my fault?

wilkies5

I thought that Distance Selling Regulations meant you could claim back P&P costs anyway. You are covered in lots of ways anyway as the items were damaged and 'not fit for purpose' - in accordance with the Sale of Goods Act.

If you had paid by Paypal, you would be covered too as they will assist you in recovering your refund.

soolin

Paypal will recover your initial payment in full and whilst you are covered under UK law for return postage you may have to go to small claims to get the return postage paid.

Crowqueen

wilkies5 wrote: »

I thought that Distance Selling Regulations meant you could claim back P&P costs anyway. You are covered in lots of ways anyway as the items were damaged and 'not fit for purpose' - in accordance with the Sale of Goods Act.

If you had paid by Paypal, you would be covered too as they will assist you in recovering your refund.

DSRs may not apply, particularly if this was an auction or a private seller. They also have no bearing on the need for sellers to offer a return policy on faulty/NAD goods (that comes under the Sale of Goods Act), and I'm not sure of the legal obligations on private sellers.

However, it's my belief and that of numerous other sellers that a good seller should refund on return or, with evidence of damage, refund unilaterally (I've done this when I know I don't want to pay out for the buyer to return a worthless item - it was a £20 sale too, so it wasn't just a couple of quid). eBay and Paypal do not - cannot, really - enforce this but sometimes if you go through a dispute you will get a return postage credit from eBay as a goodwill gesture, or possibly a "no fault" refund which means eBay refund, you don't have to return the item but the seller doesn't get the money taken back from them.

What I would do is maybe send the seller photos of the item damage, show them their listing text, and say it's not worth your while sending it back without them reimbursing you but that you are disappointed all the same. Do it firmly and politely; again they can't be forced to but that IMO is reasonable pressure to bring to bear on them to get them to do the right thing. Don't mention feedback - you don't want to get into trouble for supposedly extorting it from them. Don't ask for a refund without a return - wait for them to offer it if they see you are going to pursue this.

Also don't drop any hints about legal issues, unless someone here can clarify whether SOGA imposes return costs on private sellers as well as businesses, obviously assuming that the seller is private.

fishpond

Thanks to all that replied.
Looks like there is no clear cut answer ?

hermum

Is it a business seller, if so they should have a returns policy on their listings. It may state that they will cover return postage if the item is SNAD.

macfly

fishpond wrote: »

Thanks to all that replied.
Looks like there is no clear cut answer ?

It's not a clear cut question.
The clear answer has been given. Private seller not obliged. Business seller is.

theonlywayisup

fishpond wrote: »

I purchased some pottery of a listing that stated--- pottery was not cracked.
Upon receipt, there was no damage at all to the parcel, but one of the figures was cracked.
It seems seller will refund my money but not my return postage costs.
Is this correct as the postage amount is between £15-£20.
Why should I have to carry this cost when it is not my fault?

Who are you getting a £15-£20 quote from?

Oliver14

macfly wrote: »

It's not a clear cut question.
The clear answer has been given. Private seller not obliged. Business seller is.

Either way it makes no difference as even for a business seller its unenforceable. If they refuse theres !!!!!! all you can do about it.

fishpond

Oliver14 wrote: »

Either way it makes no difference as even for a business seller its unenforceable. If they refuse theres !!!!!! all you can do about it.

Small claims court?

The seller is private on a bin, not business.
Its not the money its the princible.
I have received a message that he/she is going to claim from Royal Mail for damage--
The box was photographed by me upon receipt, on the instructions of the seller. There was no damage to the box!
So it seems not only do I supposedly pay the return postage, but the seller can make a profit from Royal Mail.
I wonder how many times they do this?

soolin

Yes you can go to the small claims court, but seriously i hate couriers as mush as the next person but in this case it might well be worth putting up with the aggravation and using one for the return just to save money.