Pet Supermarket DSR clarification

Threepints

I recently purchased goods online from the above company. When the goods were received one of the items was unsuitable.

I informed the company of this & returned the goods (paying return postage myself). When the refund was received I noted it was not for the full price of the returned item.

I emailed the company asking for the remainder of the refund. & received the following reply:

[FONT=&quot]Good Morning[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your email[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I can confirm the refund is minus original pp as the original order would fall below the £29.00 free delivery threshold[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Kind Regards[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

My understanding of the Distance Selling Regulations was that the seller was entitled to ask for the consumer to pay for return postage only. I have then replied thus:

[FONT=&quot]Good morning,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I will still request that you refund the full amount. The product was returned within seven days of arrival & you were also contacted via your online return form advising I would be returning the item to you. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As I am sure you are aware the Distance Selling Regulations require you to give a full refund for the item returned. The fact is that the original order did qualify for free delivery & it is should in no way be prejudicial to my claim under the DSR that a full refund is not given.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As stated in my earlier email please arrange for the full refund.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]

I cannot see anywhere in the DSR that a company has the right to deduct a P&P fee that was never charged.

The company have still refused the refund stating:

[FONT=&quot]Good Morning[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your email[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am very sorry we will not refund the pp paid per our terms and conditions[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]What happens if I want to return something for a refund?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
If upon receiving your order, you are dissatisfied with any item for any reason whatsoever, please return it back to us, it is that simple! We will reimburse you for the value of the item. Please ensure that the item is returned back to us within 7 days of the date the item is delivered to you. Should you have received free delivery when you initially placed your order with our super saver service and the value of your returned item, brings you under the qualifying spend to qualify for free delivery you will be charged the published delivery tariff on the date you placed your order.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You will [/FONT][FONT=&quot]be responsible for the cost of returning the item. [/FONT]

Is this correct & under the DSR can they deduct P&P that was never charged in the first place?

Jeff_Bridges_hair

I may be wrong but if you deduct the price of the item you returned from your original oder price then the cost of your order now falls under the threshold of the free delivery - £29.00 so you now have to pay for the items that you have kept which didnt qualify for free delivery.

Threepints

Jeff,

I understand what you are saying, as I understand what the company are stating.

However I am not sure this process is correct under the DSR as I can not see it covered. Surely if free delivery is offered due to the cost of items purchased then any return should not then incur a postage cost.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Dunno about that - whats to stop people doing it all the time and ordering something to take it over the free postage limit then just returning the one thing they dont want. Pet Supermarket would be out of pocket and in the rules of fairness that the consumer wants should they not have the same in return.

Like i said it may be wrong but I dunno. Just seems right to me sorry

veryunsure

I can see your point but I agree with JB Hair's point too. How much were you charged for P&P?

I dont know about the legal bit; I find the DSR not very clear on this point. Yet it does seem petty of them if they want to retain your loyalty.

You may have been better off asking for a replacement item or a credit voucher for your next purchase. I get dog food from this company and have never had an issue. If I'd been in your situation I would have asked for £xx off the next order.

Probably not the answer you were hoping for but hopefully a fair one. My dogs always need food (they keep eating it!) so this would have suited me.

Threepints

Again I agree with the points made & I fully understand what the company are saying.

However I am just after clarification as I would like to ensure they are complying with the DSR. If not I shall insist on the refund, if they are complying I have no issue with that.

As for the fairness? I did not write the regulations.

arcon5

Could it not be argued this isn't a DSR issue, but it's a pricing issue governed by their fair terms and conditions. Their offer of free shipping is subject to a set critera (being a minimum spend). When you made your offer you met this criteria for which they accepted. By now returning an item and therefore no longer meeting the criteria you need when your original offer was accepted, if your contract permits it the order can be recalculated and payment adjusted. So long as this term also gave you the option to cancel the whole contract (ie return all goods) I don't see how it would be considered an unfair term.


I'm just throwing a few thoughts around here, see what others think........

somethingcorporate

arcon5 wrote: »

Could it not be argued this isn't a DSR issue, but it's a pricing issue governed by their fair terms and conditions. Their offer of free shipping is subject to a set critera (being a minimum spend). When you made your offer you met this criteria for which they accepted. By now returning an item and therefore no longer meeting the criteria you need when your original offer was accepted, if your contract permits it the order can be recalculated and payment adjusted. So long as this term also gave you the option to cancel the whole contract (ie return all goods) I don't see how it would be considered an unfair term.


I'm just throwing a few thoughts around here, see what others think........

I'm inclined to agree with this. Not a DSR issue but subject to the original contract T&Cs.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

arcon5 wrote: »

Could it not be argued this isn't a DSR issue, but it's a pricing issue governed by their fair terms and conditions. Their offer of free shipping is subject to a set critera (being a minimum spend). When you made your offer you met this criteria for which they accepted. By now returning an item and therefore no longer meeting the criteria you need when your original offer was accepted, if your contract permits it the order can be recalculated and payment adjusted. So long as this term also gave you the option to cancel the whole contract (ie return all goods) I don't see how it would be considered an unfair term.


I'm just throwing a few thoughts around here, see what others think........

Yup. My thoughts too.

bod1467

But isn't the contract concluded on delivery? Thus DSR is a separate issue, and return of an item is immaterial to the original contract?

(Just throwing out an alternative viewpoint - no idea if it's relevant).

bris

bod1467 wrote: »

But isn't the contract concluded on delivery? Thus DSR is a separate issue, and return of an item is immaterial to the original contract?

(Just throwing out an alternative viewpoint - no idea if it's relevant).

I can't see how the contract can be concluded if the op is rejecting part of it, the contract could only be concluded when the 7 days are up and the op has accepeted the goods without recourse.
I also believe the company are within their rights to charge postage on the goods which dropped below the free postage threshold.