eBay restocking fee vs 'buyer protection'

musicboy

Our terms also state that there is a handling/restocking charge applicable to all orders that are correct but not wanted for whatever reason and returned.

This was part of the email I got from them .... trying to justify t&c's which aren't legal .... I could say 'Terms of sale - I'll sell you the item, then break in to your house and take it back again - don't like it, don't bid ....'

Crowqueen

:T

Trading Standards all the way.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Crowqueen wrote: »

Talk to their local Trading Standards about this guy, see how far you get.

Take a note of where they are located, google that local authority and their office should be listed.

OP would need to speak to Consumer Direct who note the complaint and store it on a national database, OP's trading standards then write a letter saying they note every case but don't have the resources to enforce everything and that will be the end of it.

Notice before action and small claims is the only answer, OP would win in court, the deduction is not permitted assuming the OP conveyed their notification of wanting to cancel via durable means.

Crowqueen

Thanks for outlining the procedure, Ludo .

There is a little bit of passing on secondhand knowledge on my part as I have only ever made a couple of returns when the item was definitely faulty.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Unfortunately with 'minor' issues there does seem to be little protection, if several people made the same complaint about a company it would get looked into but just one for a restocking fee and typically you are left to fend for yourself sadly.

Had this recently with a largish company who said they would deduct the original postage if I cancelled and they claimed their local Trading Standards had looked over their terms and said it was OK.

I spoke to their Trading Standards dept and they said they couldn't discuss the matter and whilst I was more focused on their internal procedures rather than the retailer (end of the day Trading Standards should at least be giving out correct advice if the retailer's claim is true) it leaves you feeling little would be done.

First they funnelled you off to Consumer Direct instead of speaking with your Trading Standards Officer and now it's run by a charity as the government won't pay for it, the police pass off small instances of fraud off as 'civil matters' and are facing more cuts which leaves you wondering why we pay so much tax in this country whilst services designed to protect us are so under resourced.

Personally couldn't be bothered with chasing the seller so just kept the item, but needless to say won't be shopping with them again. That's the best you can do really, is check the terms and avoid restocking fees and outward postage deductions, whilst the DSR regs may not be fair on the retailer in all respects it's equally unfair to have an uneven playing field for those abiding by the law. Supporting those who will look after you as a customer and offer your rights is the best way to show retailers their actions aren't acceptable.

Just to add in terms of eBay, it is eBay who should be placing more effort in ensuring customers have access their rights rather than doing the bare minimum to reduce their liability which is what currently happens and why so many sellers, including those given heavy promotion via the Daily Deals program, have illegal terms.

Crowqueen

Just to add in terms of eBay, it is eBay who should be placing more effort in ensuring customers have access their rights rather than doing the bare minimum to reduce their liability which is what currently happens and why so many sellers, including those given heavy promotion via the Daily Deals program, have illegal terms.

Totally agree, although, unlike Trading Standards, they are not (in most regards, I would say 'thankfully') a law-enforcement authority and as such would have to go further - like Amazon do - in establishing a set policy from which no-one is permitted to deviate.

I would think that since the buyer's contract is with the seller, eBay's legal liability is precisely 0 on this matter and they can't (yet) batter any doors down.

Another problem with that is that as an American company, Amazon have a very interesting interpretation of the DSRs themselves - and their one-size-fits-all policy doesn't cover all the bases either. Restocking fees are legal in the US (though I note eBay US actually frown on them) and as such Amazon and eBay have a get-out obfuscation with the situation because their management is divorced from the specific jurisdiction in which they are operating.

I wish they would sort this out too, but it would require a shake-up in their internal organisation. However, James the Community Pink once clarified something with "Legal" about the display of business details while on holiday (seller didn't want to leave listings running with a holiday message advertising an absence from a clearly listed property - obviously, that would have got in the way of the CPUTRs so she had to hide her listings completely), so there is perhaps a little bit more to-ing and fro-ing going on than before.

Let us hope Trading Standards - who did run a campaign against big outlet stores, not the eBay ones but the companies' own websites, regarding DSR compliance - have enough resources to police fakes, health and safety/product liability situations, and take care of things like the kitemark and so on.

theonlywayisup

ludovico wrote: »

OP would need to speak to Consumer Direct who note the complaint and store it on a national database, OP's trading standards then write a letter saying they note every case but don't have the resources to enforce everything and that will be the end of it.

Notice before action and small claims is the only answer, OP would win in court, the deduction is not permitted assuming the OP conveyed their notification of wanting to cancel via durable means.

Unfortunately Consumer Direct closed in March . You should be directed to Citizens Advice or Trading Standards.

Crowqueen

Another one bites the dust. I think that just decided my vote for the next election, not that I suspect Ed the Duck is allowed to think any differently about the whole situation.

F&L

ludovico wrote: »

OP would need to speak to Consumer Direct who note the complaint and store it on a national database, OP's trading standards then write a letter saying they note every case but don't have the resources to enforce everything and that will be the end of it.

As Trading Standards are operated locally by Councils there is probably regional variations so I would still report this seller to them. I contacted Trading Standards last year regarding a local company and they said the initial complaint had to be made to Consumer Direct. A 5 minute phone call to them resulted in a detailed letter around 4 months later from Trading Standards confirming the action they had taken and I felt it had been worthwhile reporting them.

Crowqueen

I suspect an egregious violation would probably have been noted. What was it actually about?