online orders - "return within 28 days of receipt"

[Deleted User]

Could someone clarify what "return within 28 days of receipt" means?

I thought I had read in an MSE email that, when purchasing goods online, your return period entitlement begins on the day that you receive your order.

I was told today in a shop that it actually means within 28 days of the date you placed your online order. The website terms and conditions of said shop do not stipulate/define what it means so I am curious if there is a general rule out there. (The shop assistant did kindly refund me anyway but it has got me wondering...)

wealdroam

Yes, I can clarify that.

"return within 28 days of receipt" means that you have 28 days from the date that you received the goods to return them.

If they wanted it to mean 28 days from placing the order, then that is what they should've stated.

The 'general rule' is good old plain English language.

arcon5

That to me sounds like 28 days from receiving goods.

Distance selling regulations afford you the right to 7 working days, actually from the receipt of the goods (ie them being received)... 28 days goes well above and beyond this (assuming of course they don't take 3 weeks to delivery lol) so it really depends on their terms.

In this instance, i'm betting a 'reasonable' person would consider this to mean exactly how you interpreted it. So although you do not have a statutory right to this (ie forced to offer by law)... you may have contractual rights to return the goods because they have opted to put this policy in place.

Herongull

Under Distance Selling Regs, you have 7 days from when you receive the item to return it and get a refund if you change your mind or don't like the goods or whatever (but it gets extended if they haven't provided you with information on the cooling off period).

Under Sale of Goods, you have "a reasonable time" to return it if it is not as advertised, not fit for purpose, not of satisfactory quality. How long is reasonable depends on the context (could be a couple of weeks or up to about 6 months for complex cases), but you should return it ASAP to be on the safe side. 4 weeks is a rule of thumb - if you return within 4 weeks you can probably get a refund. With Sale of Goods, the clock starts when you receive the item, but exactly how long you've got is uncertain.

If they have a return period in their T&Cs, then this should give you more rights not less ie it is in addition to your statutory rights. They could define their return period as starting when you order the item if they wished - it is up to them. As long as they still allow you to return the item under the statutory time periods (which start from when you receive the item).

fluffnutter

Herongull wrote: »

Under Distance Selling Regs, you have 7 days from when you receive the item to return it and get a refund if you change your mind or don't like the goods or whatever (but it gets extended if they haven't provided you with information on the cooling off period).

Actually (unless the law's very recently changed), the DSR doesn't stipulate a return period. In fact, your entitlement to the refund is not dependent on your returning the goods at all, although if you didn't the company could pursue you for breach of statutory duty.

The DSR states you have 7 working days to inform the company that you do not want the goods. A conscientious customer would, of course, return them as soon as possible.

bod1467

Actually you have 7 working days commencing the day AFTER receipt. (Day 1 is the working day after receipt. So if you received on a Friday, Day 1 is the following Monday).

[Deleted User]

Great, thank you everyone!