Returning an item?

GamerInfo

Hi i need some advice.

I bought an item (a rabbit cage) last week and paid via Visa debit card. The item arrived within 48hrs and i checked for any damage, one of the base corners had a large crack in it - had this have been a £20 cage i would have put up with it, but as i paid £104 for it (with free delivery) i wanted a replacement sent.

I emailed the company and was asked to email them some images of the damage in question - i did this and was told a replacement base would be ordered and sent. As i have no way of disposing of the damaged cage base i asked if this could be collected and they assured me it would and that all i'd need to do would be to ask the courier to take it away when the new base was delivered.

The replacement base came this morning and the courier had no knowledge of collecting the old one. I contacted the company who said the 'message' must not have made it to the courier re. the collection of the damaged item, but unfortunately as the courier has been/gone that there is nothing they can do - i told them i had no way of disposing of the defective item and ive been majorly inconvenienced. Their policy now is to no collect broken/damaged items - so why did they tell me via email they would take it away for me?

I phoned them back and told them that as it's their policy not to collect da,maged items and because i am in a mess with a 5ft damaged item sat in my hallway, that i'd like to return the item, (which is still in it's packaging) - plus the damaged part, and would like a full refund. This is the reply i got:

"Regarding your order, as you no longer want the whole item. There are two options we can offer; a collection can be booked with our courier, minus a £15.00 (inc VAT) fee off of your purchase or you can send it back to the below address using your own courier.

The return address is below, please put your order number and name on a piece of paper in the packaging it came in..

When we have received the product we will contact you to provide a refund. All refunds are issued over the phone, as we do not hold bank details online"

Obviously as i didn't pay postage when i ordered the item, i don't see why i have to pay for postage or be out of pocket if i want to return it...

Any advice of what i can do/say or in fact where i stand with my matter would be great

somethingcorporate

What do the T&Cs on the website state? They can charge you for return postage (but under DSR have to refund all of your initial payment).

Why do you not want to just keep the replacement and bin the old one?

GamerInfo

Thanks for the quick reply,

All i want is for them to take the defective part away as they promised to do. The problem i have is disposing of a 5ft x 3ft solid plastic cage base - i do not drive!!! and am not prepared to pay the council to come and take it away for me.

Their terms on their site are:

30 Day Money Back Guarantee
It’s ok to change your mind with our no nonsense return policy, we stand behind our products! Return unused items in their original packaging within 30 days for a full refund (less return shipping).

Do I pay to return the item?

Yes, you are responsible for returning the item. You can either send the item to the return address provided, or you can prepare the item in its original packaging and we can quote a collection charge which will then be deducted out of your refund.

somethingcorporate

Are they happy for you to dispose of the broken item? the best way to get it to disappear is to drag it out on to your garden with a "free to a good home" sign on it or put it up as a freebie on gumtree - it will be gone in minutes!

It appears they have got you stitched up on the T&Cs so it will cost you to send them both back.

GamerInfo

So that part regarding them having to refund my whole initial payment (according to DSR's) is actually not true since they've put something in writing on their website? So this company can effectively ignore Distance selling regulations so long as they put something on their website to contradict it?

bod1467

They will refund your whole initial payment - delivery was free anyway. Their T&Cs are correct and comply with DSR - sorry.

And they have met their obligations under SOGA too - they replaced the faulty part.

GamerInfo

bod1467 wrote: »

They will refund your whole initial payment - delivery was free anyway. Their T&Cs are correct and comply with DSR - sorry.

And they have met their obligations under SOGA too - they replaced the faulty part.

It's already been stated they will refund me less the £15 +VAT to collect it - so they will refund me back £89 and not the £104 i originally paid - they are not refunding my initial payment, they will be taking na chunk of it away....

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They replaced the defective part yes, but did not take away the old one which they promised to do before a replacement part was ordered/sent

somethingcorporate

In line with DSR they can charge for return postage. So they refund your full payment and then take back the charge for picking it up (or just reduce your refund).

It's not contradicting the DSR.

unholyangel

GamerInfo wrote: »

It's already been stated they will refund me less the £15 +VAT to collect it - so they will refund me back £89 and not the £104 i originally paid - they are not refunding my initial payment, they will be taking na chunk of it away....

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They replaced the defective part yes, but did not take away the old one which they promised to do before a replacement part was ordered/sent

DSR's allow them to deduct the cost of collecting the item (or have you pay for it yourself) providing this is in their T&C's.......

So they are complying with the DSR's. Perhaps when you read them initially you missed that part? Here it is:

(5) Subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), the supplier may make a charge, not exceeding the direct costs of recovering any goods supplied under the contract, where a term of the contract provides that the consumer must return any goods supplied if he cancels the contract under regulation 10 but the consumer does not comply with this provision or returns the goods at the expense of the supplier.

GamerInfo

Thanks for clarifying the DSR's

The actual item i would be sending back is faulty (it's damaged) - so where do the DSR's stand on that front?

unholyangel

GamerInfo wrote: »

Thanks for clarifying the DSR's

The actual item i would be sending back is faulty (it's damaged) - so where do the DSR's stand on that front?

But i thought they sent out a replacement and you wanted to cancel the whole order including the undamaged item?