Company won't refund on an item not received

GamerInfo

Just want a bit of advice.

I ordered a product online about 3wks ago (not a vast amount £48.00 in total) as a christmas present for my partner. The item was dispatched 24hrs after placing the order and my Visa credit card charged for the total amount (the item was shipped as per the dispatch email via Royal Mail 1st class post).

Obviously the item has failed to be delivered so i contacted the company to let them know. My intention was to get a refund - as the item was an xmas present and wasn't delivered in time, it's no longer required.

I was told that i should check with Royal mail sorting office and to ask around neighbors to see if anyone has accepted a parcel (it's only a small package but too big to fit through a letterbox). I did this but unfortunately cannot locate the parcel.

I told the company this today via telephone but was told that they do not hold responsibility for items lost in the post and that as a good will gesture they would send out a replacement. I explained that the item was needed for a special occassion (i.e xmas) and as this special occassion had now passed i no longer required a replacement but would much prefer a refund of my initial spend.

They referred me to their terms and conditions and told me to contact them after i'd read them and if i still wanted a replacement sent they would do so, here are their terms and conditions (i have starred out the company name as i'd rather not give them any bad press until i see what the outcome will be):

**** ship all products first class, or recorded / signed for post as specified by the customer.

**** take no responsibility for items which are shipped successfully but fail to arrive due to the failings of the shipping company such as Royal Mail. Once an item has been successfully dispatched from **** it is the responsibility of Royal Mail or the respective shipping company.

Royal Mail do not allow any claims procedure to begin before 28 days have passed since the date of shipping. **** will however, at our discretion, agree to take this problem away from our customers after 14 business days and at our discretion will re-send the missing products to you at no cost.

Please be aware that **** are acting in good faith and are providing this replacement service to save the customer the trouble of making a claim against Royal Mail or the respective shipping company. This is an **** policy to offer our valued customers the very highest level of service.

Looking at their terms and conditions - do i have the right to a refund - i find it very unfair that i have to accept a replacement when the need for it has now passed...

Any advice is greatly appreciated

unholyangel

Are they based in the UK?

GamerInfo

yes they are a uk company

wealdroam

If the seller is a business, then you can cancel the order under Distance Selling Regulations.
Send them an email (or real letter) stating that you have not received the goods and wish to cancel the order under DSRs.
You are entitled to a full refund of all monies paid, including any p&p charges.

Have a read of the OFT's guide to the DSRs.
In particular, page 17 onwards about how to cancel.
Page 25 onwards about refunds.

The sellers T&Cs cannot remove your statutory rights.

You haven't told us what the goods are, so you need to be aware that there are some exceptions to the DSRs.
But they are all detailed in that OFT document.

Oh, and by the way, the goods remain the responsibility of the seller until they are delivered to you.
If they get lost in transit, that is their problem, not yours.

GamerInfo

Thanks for the reply,

The item in question was an electronic cigarette kit - does this make a difference in me getting a refund?

wealdroam

GamerInfo wrote: »

Thanks for the reply,

The item in question was an electronic cigarette kit - does this make a difference in me getting a refund?

No, that item would not be an exception.
Exceptions are usually perishable, or time based, like tickets magazines etc.

Get that email sent off asap.

Trinitrotoluene

take no responsibility for items which are shipped successfully but fail to arrive due to the failings of the shipping company such as Royal Mail. Once an item has been successfully dispatched from **** it is the responsibility of Royal Mail or the respective shipping company.

Got to love people who put that kind of stuff in their T&Cs, what a load of tosh!

arcon5

Contact your card company and issue a chargeback on the grounds goods not received. Then relish in the fact not only will they then be forced to reimburse you, but also have to pay a fee to their merchant account provider to deal with the chargeback

withabix

Those are illegal terms and conditions anyway.

Name and shame the company on here please.

bod1467

Follow wealdroam's advice first. Then if that doesn't work follow arcon5's.

bod1467

Illegal? Can T&Cs be illegal? Unfair yes, but illegal?