Help - Terrible refund policy - what do i do?

shaun_from_Africa

does the credit card guarantee cover anything like this?

Possibly, but as I said earlier, if Mastercard decide that you deliberately misrepresented yourself as a business customer in order to purchase from the company concerned then they may refuse a chargeback.

Chargebacks (this is where the credit card company reverses the payment to a company) are not a legal entitlement and it is up to the card company concerned as to whether or not they will attempt one.

InsideInsurance

Don't mention their policy, just say you had bought the items as gifts etc but they are inappropriate for your needs and so you are returning them under the Distance Selling Regulations

It is an interesting one as they do have a consumer website, according to their T&Cs and they do state that they only sell on a B2B basis hence no DSR protection but evidently it is physically possible for a B2C transaction to occur if the consumer ignores the T&Cs. Legally I must admit that I dont know what the "correct" answer would be.

unholyangel

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Legally I must admit that I dont know what the "correct" answer would be.

I edited my earlier post but since a few posts have been made since i originally posted, you mightve missed it.......I've emailed to ask if its possible for consumers to waive their rights in such circumstances, provided them with a link to the company website etc. So hopefully at some point we'll have an answer!

I dont think having it buried in their T&C's is reasonable tbh. I clicked the "register" button but didnt actually sign up etc (so have no idea if its mentioned on the next page) but from what i could see, nothing on the registration page states trade only. They do have a field for "company name" but its not mandatory (where other fields are mandatory) so imo.........it gives the impression they accept consumers, not just trade.

ktbing

Yes I tried to "register" again as well, and nothing at least on the first page to say I must be Business Customer only and to please go to their other website. In all honesty I didn't even realise they had another website, i just did a google search for what i wanted and they were the ones that popped up.
I am going to ring them and see what they have to say about it

ktbing

Well, I just called them and they said they would waive the £15.00 restocking fee and give me back £10.08. Not sure whether to bother or not since I will have to pay to post the items back too.

visidigi

sounds to me like they know they haven't got a leg to stand on...

unholyangel

ktbing wrote: »

Well, I just called them and they said they would waive the £15.00 restocking fee and give me back £10.08. Not sure whether to bother or not since I will have to pay to post the items back too.

I'll update as soon as I get an answer back and let you know whether their T&C's are applicable or whether you can enforce the DSRs (and therefore get a refund of £24.47!). Might take a while to get a reply though.

ktbing

Oh wow, i would really appreciate that. Thank you so very much for all your help!

Thank you everyone - I was so worried!

unholyangel wrote: »

I'll update as soon as I get an answer back and let you know whether their T&C's are applicable or whether you can enforce the DSRs (and therefore get a refund of £24.47!). Might take a while to get a reply though.

arcon5

Looking at their website now, it is kinda obvious they are a B2B operation... the big sentence at the top of every page kinda gives it away , along with the fact all prices exclude VAT.

The UK's Premier Dedicated Wholesale Supplier to Gift Basket & Hamer Makers

Personally I think it would depend on how op represented herself and how obvious this fact is.

If for example op entered her name in a 'company name' field, it could be argued they took reasonable steps to determine their customer was operating in a business capacity and she represented herself as a sole trader.

Also had the fact they are a B2B been hidden it could easily be argued they have not taken reasonable steps to bring this to ops attention and accepted an order without any indication of it being a business purchase - in which case consumer rights would apply.


Incidentally, the website does actually look quite interesting, maybe i'll take a proper browse at some point and make the OH some kind of hamper

ktbing

In all fairness, whether they are a B2B or B2C business shouldnt really matter. As an individual consumer i have has assumed that i would have the same rights wherecver i shopped. Why would i think anything else? It is a hard lesson to learn indeed.
I checked my account and in the Company Name Field, I left it completely blank as i am NOT a business, sure for a Trade Website this field shoudl be compulsar to prove i have a business and may trade with them? At that point they should have passed me on to thier sister site to continue shopping.
But ho hum, lesson learnt

arcon5 wrote: »

Looking at their website now, it is kinda obvious they are a B2B operation... the big sentence at the top of every page kinda gives it away , along with the fact all prices exclude VAT.

Personally I think it would depend on how op represented herself and how obvious this fact is.

If for example op entered her name in a 'company name' field, it could be argued they took reasonable steps to determine their customer was operating in a business capacity and she represented herself as a sole trader.

Also had the fact they are a B2B been hidden it could easily be argued they have not taken reasonable steps to bring this to ops attention and accepted an order without any indication of it being a business purchase - in which case consumer rights would apply.


Incidentally, the website does actually look quite interesting, maybe i'll take a proper browse at some point and make the OH some kind of hamper