Refund when paying with vouchers

benisere

Hi i thought i would share our recent experience when shopping at a large electrical store -

For christmas my wife bought me a very expensive gift (a computer)and decided to pay for this using vouchers bought from a supermarket, these vouchers were only for the shop she was going to buy the present from and not high street vouchers or similar multi purpose vouchers.

Before she bought the item she was advised that it would be brand new and fully set up and ready for me to use on Christmas day, this was not the case and the computer was locked by the store!

so I got the receipt went back to the shop, they were able to unlock it for me and we entered my user details and back home i went. After loading up the computer it turned out that it was still registered to them and i was simply a user on this machine. This is not what was advised when my wife purchased the computer, so after a lot of research via the citizens advice website i was able to clarify that this meant that the computer was faulty - this is because it was not in the condition agreed on at the time of sale.

The issue was that i did not want to spend the money back in the store and wanted a cash/card refund as they had lied to us on 3 separate occasions and we will try to avoid them whenever possible. But i have always been under the impression i would have to have the refund back in the same way that was paid, this is incorrect **unless their refund policy states so** if it does then unfortunately those are the conditions in which you have agreed to when making the purchase!

If an item is faulty you can have a cash/card refund but be prepared to accept a reasonable alternative *** Please check the citizens advice website for the most upto date info as things are always changing** and remember there is a short window for this!!

However if you are returning an item because you have changed your mind then you would only be entitled to a refund in vouchers again.

I hope this helps others as we had to speak to 2 managers before we finally found one that understood consumer law

Fosterdog

Ummm, you are wrong on so many levels there.

Firstly being not as described is completely different to being faulty. Being lied to is completely different to being faulty. Being not fit for purpose is completely different to being faulty. Each of these terms has their own meaning and their own set of rights in regards to what you are entitled to.

Secondly if a computer is being set up and ready for you to use most places either just use something generic (user/owner as the username and password or nothing at all as the password) or it is configured to the exact details the customer asks for. Did your wife give the details she wanted it set up as? was it as simple as a spelling mistake that locked you out or did your wife not give them details so they used something generic?

Are you trying to say that it was actually an ex display model that was registered to them or just that during setup they didn't put your name as the main user?

If it was just set up as incorrect details this doesn't make it faulty in any way at all and takes a few seconds to change a few settings to sort the problem.

I think you have misinterpreted what you read when doing your research. There is no law in the UK that would class a simple misrepresented item as a faulty item.

Lastly you have no legal right to have the refund in anything other than the method used to pay. If a giftcard was used to buy it then a giftcard is your only legal form of refund. A shop can choose to go above what the law states and offer a cash or card refund but the are under no obligation to do so.

In fact the shop was under no legal obligation to refund at all, unless you had proof that it was misrepresented. Even if the computer had been faulty the shop can legally choose to exchange or repair rather than refund.

Also saying these things are always changing is incorrect the current law was written in 1979, and while there have been some amendments made since they rarely change and certainly not enough to need to constantly keep up with the latest changes.

arcon5

In fact the shop was under no legal obligation to refund at all, unless you had proof that it was misrepresented. Even if the computer had been faulty the shop can legally choose to exchange or repair rather than refund.

This is wrong.

Within the first 6 months it is the retailers responsibility to prove the goods conformed to contract and NOT ops responsibility to prove it wasn't.

Also op is correct in that goods can be rejected within reason period (or 'within a small window of time', as op puts it) for a refund and during this period does not have to accept a repair or replacement - and if they do it doesn't affect their rights to reject the remedy if this also does not conform to contract. After this 'reasonable' period the retailer can choose the most cost effective remedy to them (repair, replacement, refund).

If an item is faulty you can have a cash/card refund but be prepared to accept a reasonable alternative *** Please check the citizens advice website for the most upto date info as things are always changing** and remember there is a short window for this!!

However op, I see nowhere on the direct.gov website that states refunds must be issued is 'cash' if demanded. In fact the law states little about refund methods - although it would be deemed 'reasonable' on many grounds to refund the same method you paid. In this case back on to a gift card.

In fact since you have not even given them cash for the goods, it would be unreasonable for them to actually give you cash as your refund. You have been gifted the ability to purchase goods up to x value - and they have restored this ability.

Fosterdog

arcon5 wrote: »

This is wrong.

Within the first 6 months it is the retailers responsibility to prove the goods conformed to contract and NOT ops responsibility to prove it wasn't.

Yes but that is if the goods are faulty, the first six months it is up to the retailer to prove it is not. This computer was not faulty, OP is claiming that a misdescribed item is legally classed as faulty which it is not.

At best this computer was misdescribed (ex dispaly model not new), if the shop say yes it was brand new and the customer says no it wasn't then it would be down to the customer to prove how they know it is an ex display. Depending on the retailer they should have some proof of stock levels to back up their side that they would be unlikely to sell a display model while they still have boxed stock, they may also still have their display model.

Again the rejection works in the same way, once opened the customer has no automatic right to a refund, the rejection is based on a fault or the computer not performing as it should.

Otherwise a customer could buy a basic £299 dual core 4gb laptop, try it out for a day or two then reject it because it's no good for high end gaming. Rejection only works if it was advertised as being able to perform a function it can't perform.

I do agree with everything you have said for a different situation where the computer was faulty, just backing up why I gave the advice above based on the fact this was not a faulty computer.

neilmcl

Fosterdog wrote: »

Yes but that is if the goods are faulty, the first six months it is up to the retailer to prove it is not. This computer was not faulty, OP is claiming that a misdescribed item is legally classed as faulty which it is not

No, that is if the goods do not "conform to contract", which means either faulty (unsatisfactory quality), unfit for purpose or not as described. If anything I think you're the one who's misinterpreting what you've read.

dalesrider

Why is it faulty?

All it needs is a factory reset and the corect details input.

TBH. The store should have told your wife that they cannot set it up unless she has all the correct details.

arcon5

Yes but that is if the goods are faulty, the first six months it is up to the retailer to prove it is not. This computer was not faulty, OP is claiming that a misdescribed item is legally classed as faulty which it is not.

No op is not. Ops banding 'faulty' and 'misdescribed' in to the same category. Whether or not you agree with that is irrelevant, 'not as described' is specified in the Sales of Goods Act so ops rights and remedies are the same in this instance as they would be had the goods been faulty.

If op went in and bought a PC in good faith that is was 'new' and it turns out to be an ex-display with user data on then they still have the right to reject it outright.

At best this computer was misdescribed (ex dispaly model not new), if the shop say yes it was brand new and the customer says no it wasn't then it would be down to the customer to prove how they know it is an ex display.

No it wouldn't.

If it went to court a judge would be looking for the retailer to provide reasonable proof that they have inspected the goods and they did in fact conform to contract.

Although if this was the case it would be best for op to obtain such prove and submit it to the retailer along with a request for reimbursement. But this would simply be an effort to get a remedy from the retailer without the need of the courts.

Again the rejection works in the same way, once opened the customer has no automatic right to a refund, the rejection is based on a fault or the computer not performing as it should.

Again - you're wrong. If the goods do not conform to contract (faulty, mis-described, what ever) then the rights are the same.

Otherwise a customer could buy a basic £299 dual core 4gb laptop, try it out for a day or two then reject it because it's no good for high end gaming. Rejection only works if it was advertised as being able to perform a function it can't perform.

But that's not whats happened here.

Rejection is based on conformity to contract! :wall:

shaun_from_Africa

Why is it faulty?

Not faulty, but if it was an ex-display model then I would say that it is not as described (new).

It's not uncommon to see display computers with keys missing and other damage where they have been poked, prodded and generally abused by some people playing with them.

If the reason for the computer being registered to the shop was simply because of them setting it up for the OP then I don't see any reason for returning it, but if it was an ex-display model and was sold without the OP being advised of this, then I think they have every right to return it.

arcon5

Sales of Goods Act:

34 Buyer’s right of examining the goods.F5. . .
Unless otherwise agreed, when the seller tenders delivery of goods to the buyer, he is bound on request to afford the buyer a reasonable opportunity of examining the goods for the purpose of ascertaining whether they are in conformity with the contract

Note the bit in bold.

As part of the contract the following term is implied:

(1)Where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied [F9term] that the goods will correspond with the description.

And the item certainly wasn't as described.

miduck

Insisting on a cash refund when paying with gift vouchers? Money laundering springs to mind!

SuperHan

I sincerely doubt you can legally demand a cash refund for a purchase made my vouchers, especially vouchers from a different establishment for money laundering reasons. Why did she buy vouchers first, and not just pay cash?! The retailer should put you back in the position before you purchased the faulty/misdescribed/unfit goods, and so give you the voucher back.