Scratched shoes, opinions please...

Crowqueen

What might assist with some sellers is to be made aware of what the law says via a reputable source. Enforcement doesn't have to be through the small claims court if you are reasonable in the way you present your claim.

Foxy_Snob

Strapped wrote: »

Don't send one shoe back or you will possibly end up with a non matching pair. That's IF the seller has another pair in the same size anyway for exchange of course.

Very good point! Then I'd be back here asking for opinions on what to do about a (presumed) offer of a 30% refund on a shop-window faded shoe which didn't match...!!

Crowqueen wrote: »

You should assert your right to a full refund. A 30% discount won't suddenly make the shoes wearable

You're absolutely correct, it won't. I suppose I was just looking for someone to tell me it's ok to return them, as opposed to something along the lines of "It's a tenner, just let it go"

Thank you for the link too.

Strapped wrote: »

Anyway, if you're not happy to keep the shoes then just tell the seller that. Tell them your preference would be for an exchange, but if they don't have another pair then a full refund (inc return postage). See what they then respond.

Remember to use a tracked return service to prove delivery.

Good tip re tracked delivery, thank you!

That's what I've just done. I was very polite and regretful, but specified that I'd like to return for either a refund (inc both sets of postage) or an exchange, in which case I'd pay the orginal postage but would like them to cover the return and replacement postage costs.

I've not quoted SOGA at them yet, thought I'd be nice about it and give them the opportunity to be nice too. If not, then I can always get tougher!

Crowqueen

Yes - I was assuming you were at the stage where the seller was being stroppy or insisting you had no rights.

Obviously if they are co-operative at the moment then don't be too confrontational.

There are degrees of confrontation. One is to politely ask. One is to insist very gently, sending them a link to the law but not pushing anything too hard - just a kind of 'FYI'. The next step up is a formal 'letter before action' (sent RD) where you state that in accordance with the law you have a right to this and as such if you don't hear from them in X days you will take legal action. Then there is that legal action itself - small claims court costs £30 and doesn't require expert legal assistance, and if the claim is successful, as it would be in a rather open-and-shut case here, the defendant becomes liable for your costs.

Another route is Trading Standards if the seller is particularly bad or has listings crammed with poor terms and a lot of poor feedback for badly finished shoes. I'm guessing though that you bought with relative confidence having got past all that though.

Good luck.

Foxy_Snob

Crowqueen wrote: »

Yes - I was assuming you were at the stage where the seller was being stroppy or insisting you had no rights.

Obviously if they are co-operative at the moment then don't be too confrontational.

No, nobody's got stroppy yet! Just never had an offer of a partial refund before, and coupled with the high postage cost and relatively low item cost, I wondered whether people would suggest I just let it go.

And no, the seller has good stars, and 99.8% feedback score on 8k feedback.

Crowqueen

Best of luck then. Let us know how you get on.

porto_bello

Crowqueen wrote: »

Assuming they were a business seller, you have a right to an exchange and your return postage paid.

A refund of return postage is a policy but as Strapped has mentioned, there is no way eBay would be able or willing to enforce this additional refund, external to the original transaction.

Please be under no illusion, if the seller won't offer a refund of return postage, you won't get it and that's where it ends - eBay won't engage on your behalf to extract the return postage fee.

Crowqueen

We're not talking about eBay resolution. We've gone a bit beyond that - or not got there yet.

It should be possible to request return postage. I know eBay won't enforce it, but it's a legal entitlement in this situation and as such there are ways for Foxy to gently persuade the seller to reimburse it. Even reminding them of the law might have an effect - no reasonable person would object to seeing it laid down in black and white (OK, bright colours) on the OFT website. The OFT rules for businesses trump what eBay is able to provide. If it was off eBay, then I suspect sellers might be more persuadable. At the moment, eBay's logistical problems provide a flimsy facade behind which people can either hide or that other people can say is more robust than it actually is.

A defeatist attitude also doesn't help it become more standard practice.
If no-one ever bothered to press for their rights in a fashion that was appropriate to the issue, then poor sellers would simply get away with it. If you don't assert your rights as a consumer or a citizen, you lose them.

porto_bello

Crowqueen wrote: »

We're not talking about eBay resolution. We've gone a bit beyond that - or not got there yet.

It should be possible to request return postage. I know eBay won't enforce it, but it's a legal entitlement in this situation and as such there are ways for Foxy to gently persuade the seller to reimburse it. Even reminding them of the law might have an effect - no reasonable person would object to seeing it laid down in black and white (OK, bright colours) on the OFT website. The OFT rules for businesses trump what eBay is able to provide. If it was off eBay, then I suspect sellers might be more persuadable. At the moment, eBay's logistical problems provide a flimsy facade behind which people can either hide or that other people can say is more robust than it actually is.

A defeatist attitude also doesn't help it become more standard practice.
If no-one ever bothered to press for their rights in a fashion that was appropriate to the issue, then poor sellers would simply get away with it. If you don't assert your rights as a consumer or a citizen, you lose them.

Foxy's post is a real world situation, which asked for a real world solution, and which specifically avoided or minimized further expense.

Your response suggested a course of action, which involved further expense, tracing a theory that there was an enforceable entitlement to return postage refund. Given Foxy's description of the seller's attitude thus far, that seems highly unlikely.

You failed to highlight that your reply was only based on a theory, and that entitlement to reimbursement was unenforceable.

I don't think your advice was appropriate to the situation, and may have resulted in Foxy incurring expense, under the illusion that it would be refunded, hence my comment, which was not 'defeatist', (but in contrast to some of the previous comments), could be considered 'realist'.

gravitytolls

Don't suppose you'd counter offer a 50% refund then buy some dye?

Foxy_Snob

gravitytolls wrote: »

Don't suppose you'd counter offer a 50% refund then buy some dye?

I did wonder about a felt tip :rotfl:




The seller has replied, with a returns address, and has asked that I let them know how much the postage cost, so that they may refund me. Yay! :T

Suppose I ought to send them tracked - is it reasonable to email the seller with a cost prior to returning, and make sure they're happy with the cost?