How do I get my money back?

leebsoontobec

Hi,

I was browsing on Ebay for wedding bouquets (artificial flowers), I found a listing with some gorgeous bouquets, the listing said they could either be as in the photo or with a different colour ribbon. I contacted the seller who also has a facebook page selling the same stuff. She emailed me out of ebay through personal emails to talk through my order.

I ordered 4 of the bouquets she was selling on ebay as bridesmaids bouquets but with a black ribbon instead of the ivory she had in the photo.
I also ordered a bouquet of silk black roses to be tied with an ivory ribbon and a flowergirl sized bouquet of ivory roses tied with black ribbon.

I paid £203 through paypal.

In the photos the seller has up all the bouquets looked lovely, no greenery/stocks showing.

I received the bouquets on Friday and instead of black silk roses I've been sent black plastic roses with thick green plastic stems, the ribbon which doesn't cover most of the stem is tied messily with glue stuck all over it.

2 of the bridesmaid bouquets have the ribbon tied loosely again with glue stuck all over them. The handle part of these 2 bouquets are fatter than the other 2 (they're all supposed to match). None of them look as good as in the photos. The other 2 are OK made but still not as good as the photos.

The flowergirl bouquet has a black ribbon instead of the ivory I ordered.
I immediately contacted the seller to tell her I was unhappy, she offered a refund for the black roses and to fix the other 3.

I told her I wanted a full refund explaining my problem with the goods. She got all rattled and is trying to say that the ribbon on the 2 bridesmaids bouquets which is loose is supposed to be like this (so why aren't the other 2 which look better than these?). She has refused and said she won't take return of the goods so not to send them to her.

I went to paypal for help and they said to open a dispute, I did this yesterday morning and this mornig it had been closed saying it violated their user terms. I called to ask why and was told that as the goods are "custom made" they can't help me. I've called my bank to see what they can do and I'm waiting to hear back from them.

Does this order count as custom made? Surely all items like this are "custom made" as you tell the seller what you want and they make it? Has any one else had a similar problem to this or can offer any advice on how to go about getting my money back?

I've emailed the seller again and she is now just ignoring my emails.

Thanks, Lee

babyemily

Cant you still claim SNAD?? Significantly not as described. I would ask the Ebay board as they know Ebay and Paypal inside out. Good luck x

squeaky

Hiya

I'll move your query across to the ebay board where the local experts will be able to help you.

Good luck

Forum_Team wrote:

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Crowqueen

You have considerable rights under the Sale of Goods Act as this seller is presumably a business, but this will probably need to go through the small claims court if Paypal are unwilling to take action.

Protection for custom-made items is supposed to be being increased directly through Paypal, but evidently it has not yet been upgraded. eBay has recently enhanced protection.

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

paddyrg

She offered a partial refund and to fix the other 3 - why isn't that a suitable rememdy?

Crowqueen

paddyrg wrote: »

She offered a partial refund and to fix the other 3 - why isn't that a suitable rememdy?

Because as a business seller the buyer has additional rights and is entitled to a lot more - including both sets of postage.

Plus from what she's saying, I don't think OP is satisfied with the entire batch.

2 of the bridesmaid bouquets have the ribbon tied loosely again with glue stuck all over them. The handle part of these 2 bouquets are fatter than the other 2 (they're all supposed to match). None of them look as good as in the photos. The other 2 are OK made but still not as good as the photos.

Items are misdescribed - 'not as good as the photos' and therefore buyer is entitled to return under SOGA, even if not under DSRs.

paddyrg

Crowqueen wrote: »

Plus from what she's saying, I don't think OP is satisfied with the entire batch.
Items are misdescribed - 'not as good as the photos' and therefore buyer is entitled to return under SOGA, even if not under DSRs.

Isn't the vendor offering to rework them to make them look like the photo? It is still custom-made so DSR's may not apply, and it does sound like the vendor is making an effort to resolve the issue peacibly, so why not see if the re-work comes up trumps?

hermum

I wouldn't be at all happy if I had ordered something that is for an incredibly special occasion in life & was sent a box of inferior flowers, plastic instead of silk.
Ribbons not tied correctly.
I would be wanting my money back.
Unless the OP has ordered months in advance, she could end up having to pay well over the odds to get what she wants & ordered in time for her wedding.
It sounds as though the seller is someone who thinks that wrapping some flowers up & passing them off as bridal bouquets is an easy way to make quick cash.

leebsoontobec

Hi, thanks for all the replies. Not too sure why my post has been moved to the ebay thread as I didn't purchase the goods through Ebay, just got her contact details from listings she already has but everyone's advice has been great, thanks again.

I did pay through paypal though. They won't help. My bank have said they can't do a chargeback as paypal are a 3rd party. I called consumer direct, they advised to get her to clarify her returns policy - her ebay one states "no quibble returns within 7 days" but she has nothing on her facebook page and nothing was mentioned in any of the emails we exchanged. The seller is now just ignoring me completely so I'm not sure what to do next? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks again, L

shaun_from_Africa

paddyrg wrote: »

She offered a partial refund and to fix the other 3 - why isn't that a suitable rememdy?

Because if the goods don't conform to contract at the time of delivery and are not accepted by the buyer, then the buyer has the legal right to a full refund of the money paid.

There is nothing to stop the seller offering a partial refund and repair/replacement of the faulty goods, but the buyer is under no obligation to accept this offer.

Isn't the vendor offering to rework them to make them look like the photo?

The seller can offer whatever they like, but the SOGA states that the buyer is entitled to a full refund if this is what they wish.

Crowqueen

paddyrg wrote: »

Isn't the vendor offering to rework them to make them look like the photo? It is still custom-made so DSR's may not apply, and it does sound like the vendor is making an effort to resolve the issue peacibly, so why not see if the re-work comes up trumps?

To be honest, the way the seller originally performed the task the OP paid her for, I would not want her to try and fix the items and would want my money back to go elsewhere.

If the seller was a good one and could fix this properly, she would have done it professionally the first time round, not put the OP - her customer, paying her a considerable amount of money - to such inconvenience. Business selling is not just slap it out and hope the customer doesn't notice - when your livelihood depends on customer satisfaction, it's a very foolish person who gives sub-standard service. You very rarely go to a restaurant and get badly presented, cold, inedible food - however much you would want to put a mistake right, generally sloppy service is not something the customer wants to experience, and since there are many places out there offering the same thing, the customer is going to want their money back to go elsewhere.

You only get one chance to impress.

I'm doing a Masters at the University of Reading. If I slap an essay out in a hurry without thinking about the topic or researching it properly, I don't expect to get full marks, and I certainly can't go back to the examiner and say 'hey, let me redo it, I'll do it better this time'...doesn't happen.