How long can a shop wait before charging me for an item?

H57454

I recently sent a faulty electrical item back to a shop. The item was still in warranty, and the shop told me it was unrepairable and therefore they would replace it or I could choose another item and put the value of the original item towards it.

I chose the latter option, and when I ordered my new item, I received conflicting messages from the shop over the value of the item I had returned, and therefore whether I owed them money or they owed me a partial refund (though my suspicion is that I owe them money).

The item has since been delivered, and the shop said someone would be in touch with me soon to arrange the settlement of the balance, but I have heard nothing from them.

Obviously I am reluctant to contact them as I suspect I owe them money, and at any rate they said explicitly that they would contact me. The question I have is whether I would be within my rights to demand some sort of redress in the event that the shop were to contact me several months down the line to demand payment? If I owe them money, can they demand payment at any time or is there a time limit on what is deemed a reasonable period within which to do so?

Thanks all!

somethingcorporate

Under contract law the statute of limitations is 6 years (or 5 in Scotland iirc).

What sort of redress do you think you would be due for not paying someone money you owe them?

H57454

somethingcorporate wrote: »

What sort of redress do you think you would be due for not paying someone money you owe them?

Well in an extreme hypothetical case, I think you would have a right to be at least a little bit irritated if a company contacted you 5 years after you purchased something to tell you that they charged you the wrong amount 5 years earlier, whether or not they are correct in saying so.

Fire_Fox

H57454 wrote: »

Well in an extreme hypothetical case, I think you would have a right to be at least a little bit irritated if a company contacted you 5 years after you purchased something to tell you that they charged you the wrong amount 5 years earlier, whether or not they are correct in saying so.

So what sort of redress do you think you would be due? What are your losses as a result of being irritated?

unholyangel

H57454 wrote: »

Well in an extreme hypothetical case, I think you would have a right to be at least a little bit irritated if a company contacted you 5 years after you purchased something to tell you that they charged you the wrong amount 5 years earlier, whether or not they are correct in saying so.

I imagine they might be a little bit irritated you didnt contact them to remind them that the matter was unresolved.

And we're not saying money would still be owing after 5-6 years, just that it is the statute of limitations. But say for instance, you agree to buy item x @ £100 and the retailer mistakenly doesnt take payment or only takes partial payment....they're still entitled to the rest because that is what is contracted.

There are also circumstances where the retailer might lose that entitlement, say if the company had previously told the customer it was ok, it was their mistake and wouldnt be taking any further payment etc

somethingcorporate

H57454 wrote: »

Well in an extreme hypothetical case, I think you would have a right to be at least a little bit irritated if a company contacted you 5 years after you purchased something to tell you that they charged you the wrong amount 5 years earlier, whether or not they are correct in saying so.

Irritated - yes, financial redress - no.

Count yourself lucky, 5 years later that amount of money has been inflated to be worth significantly less when the transaction took place.

ThumbRemote

It would help to know a little about the actual costs of the item. If there is a possibility the balance could go either way, it sounds like there isn't a major amount payable whatever way it goes.

It may just be that the amount is so small it's not worth them chasing.

Looksguywalker

Post them a cheque now..and avoid being irritated in the future if that's what concerns you. That could may be an answer?

mattyprice4004

The sensible thing to do would be to contact them, rather than risk them chasing you in the future.