3 months for DSR returns at Ebuyer

GraceCourt

Users of these forums will no doubt be aware of their rights to cancel a contract of sale under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 ("DSR").

Normally, the consumer has 7 working days (beginning with the day after the date on which the goods in question are delivered) to notify the seller that the buyer is exercising his or her right to cancel under DSR - Regulation 11(2) in the case of goods.

But what you might not be aware of is the fact that, for Regulation 11(2) to apply, the seller must comply with Regulation 8, by providing the information set out in paragraphs (i) to (vi) of Regulation 7(1)(a).

And in connection with a dispute with Ebuyer (UK) Limited, of Ferry Road, Howden, Goole, East Yorkshire DN14 7UW, who are refusing to honour my rights under DSR, I have just spotted that their Web site does not comply with Regulation 8, because it does not provide the information required in Regulation 7(1)(a)(vi) - it makes no reference to the consumer's right to cancel, it only provides general information about "returns", which is legally insufficient - they must explicitly refer to the right to cancel.

So, if you have bought goods as a "consumer" in a purchase governed by a "distance contract" (both terms as defined in Regulation 3), the period during which you can cancel is governed not by Regulation 11(2), but by Regulation 11(4), which states that:

... the cancellation period ends on the expiry of the period of three months and seven working days beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods.

So your rights to cancel the contract and return the goods apply for an awful lot longer than you might think!

Hintza

If you have simply changed your mind about any item ordered and you wish to return it, then in line with the Distance Selling Regulations (DSR) you can do so provided you inform us of your decision within 7 working days of receipt.

Are you a barrack room lawyer perchance OP?

unholyangel

Also worth noting the info needs to be provided in a durable medium.....and websites arent durable.

bris

Makes no difference what the website states, but what's provided along with the purchase.
Did you receive the necessary information with your order, this is what counts, so forget about the website, it's irrelevant.

shaun_from_Africa

GraceCourt wrote: »

U... the cancellation period ends on the expiry of the period of three months and seven working days beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods.
So your rights to cancel the contract and return the goods apply for an awful lot longer than you might think!

You also missed out another very important part of the reg's.

(3) Where a supplier who has not complied with regulation 8 provides to the consumer the information referred to in regulation 8(2), and does so in writing or in another durable medium available and accessible to the consumer, within the period of three months beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods, the cancellation period ends on the expiry of the period of seven working days beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the information

So you don't always get 3 months and seven days. That is the maximum, and if the seller contacts you within 3 months of when you received the goods and gives you notice of your rights, then you have 7 working days from that time to notify them of your wish to cancel.

bod1467

bris wrote: »

Makes no difference what the website states, but what's provided along with the purchase.
Did you receive the necessary information with your order, this is what counts

Sort of. What matters is what was provided pre-contract. So what was provided with an order acknowledgement, for example.

However providing such details WITH the delivery would probably come under what Shaun mentions.

GraceCourt

Hintza wrote: »

If you have simply changed your mind about any item ordered and you wish to return it, then in line with the Distance Selling Regulations (DSR) you can do so provided you inform us of your decision within 7 working days of receipt.

Are you a barrack room lawyer perchance OP?

No, I'm not. For some years I prosecuted MCA1980 criminal cases but in more recent years I've assisted litigants as a lay representative in Part 27 CPR proceedings.

I'm puzzled, you've reproduced exactly the part of the Web site to which I'm referring, as being defective. It makes reference to "returning", with no reference whatsoever to any cancellation of the contract, or the rights of a consumer under DSR to cancel it - Regulation 7(1)(a)(vi) is quite explicit, the information required is notification of the existence of a right of cancellation except in the cases referred to in Regulation 13. And that required information is missing.

Unless you've found it somewhere else???

GraceCourt

bris wrote: »

Makes no difference what the website states, but what's provided along with the purchase.
Did you receive the necessary information with your order, this is what counts, so forget about the website, it's irrelevant.

No, nothing except a packing note with the goods, and nothing provided in response to the order except an "acknowledgement" (the company tries hard to wriggle out of accepting that there is any contract of sale until it actually dispatches the goods... but - and it's a separate argument - that is likely to be regarded as an "unfair contract term" - see the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999).

But orders placed through the Web site fall into the definition of a "distance contract" (Regulation 3) and the terms and conditions there will almost certainly be accepted in a Part 27 hearing as binding on both parties.

But neither the DSRs nor any Ts and Cs relating to returns are even mentioned there... just a "returns policy" mentioned elsewhere on the site.

GraceCourt

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

So you don't always get 3 months and seven days. That is the maximum, and if the seller contacts you within 3 months of when you received the goods and gives you notice of your rights, then you have 7 working days from that time to notify them of your wish to cancel.

Agreed... I was trying to keep it simple, but the practical point is that, if the company does this, it's 99.9% likely to be a coping strategy after the goods are delivered and after receiving a notice of cancellation, so it would in all practical senses be too late anyway.

If they now send out this information in writing, proactively to all of their thousands of customers, then yes, after a further seven days it plugs the loophole... but I can't see that happening!

wealdroam

GraceCourt wrote: »

...the company tries hard to wriggle out of accepting that there is any contract of sale until it actually dispatches the goods... but - and it's a separate argument - that is likely to be regarded as an "unfair contract term" - see the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999.

I don't consider it unfair.

Only four days ago on another thread I explained why...

wealdroam wrote: »

Section 28 of the sale of Goods Act 1979 says...

28 Payment and delivery are concurrent conditions.
Unless otherwise agreed, delivery of the goods and payment of the price are concurrent conditions, that is to say, the seller must be ready and willing to give possession of the goods to the buyer in exchange for the price and the buyer must be ready and willing to pay the price in exchange for possession of the goods.

The important bit is the phrase Unless otherwise agreed.

In other words, because the buyer has agreed to the T&Cs, and there is a term in them stating that the contract is formed later, the parties have agreed that delivery of the goods and payment of the price are not concurrent actions.

There is nothing unfair here... both parties have made an agreement that is provided for in the legislation.

GraceCourt wrote: »

For some years I prosecuted MCA1980 criminal cases but in more recent years I've assisted litigants as a lay representative in Part 27 CPR proceedings.

For us mere mortals, can you please explain what you are talking about?

What are MCA1980 cases?

What are Part 27 CPR proceedings?

mo786uk

Magistrates Court Act - prosecuting criminal cases I would suggest

Civil Procedure Rules? Assisting in civil cases.

I have just bought something from eBuyer. They sent me an email straight away which says this at the bottom:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Under the Distance Selling Regulations, our home customers are entitled to cancel this contract with Ebuyer.com within seven days from date of delivery of the goods purchased. If you decide to cancel the contract within this time frame a full refund will be issued. Please note, this right of cancellation does not include computer software unsealed by you and consumable goods that, due to their nature, cannot be returned. To view our full terms and conditions, please log on to www.ebuyer.com[/FONT]