Sooo, I bought a bed online ...

Kevin_M_2

Hello all,

On the 3rd of March I bought a bed from bedzrus.co.uk using my credit card. The bed was delivered to me today via courier. Upon delivery I inspected the parcels and noticed one of them had been patched up with extra tape, but it didn't look too bad so I didn't sign for it as damaged.

However, upon opening the box I discovered that the contents were in fact damaged. I emailed the company with a photo of the damaged part and requested a replacement. A lady replied and asked for a photo of the box itself and asked me if I had signed for it damaged. I emailed the photo and told her I hadn't. She then told me that because I hadn't signed for it damaged, it's basically my fault as per their terms and conditions and that she would get a quote from the manufacturer for a replacement, but I would have to pay for it. Needless to say, I wasn't having that. I told her that I would send the entire bed back for a refund, and if that wasn't acceptable to them I would seek further advice as to my rights on the matter. I received no reply.

According to their website's return policy, I have the right to cancel within 7 days as per the distance selling regs, but it seems to come with a caveat; only if the parcels are unopened. But how can I check to see if something is actually damaged if I don't open the parcels?

Where do I stand on this? I have been doing as much reading as I can to wrap my head around it but my head is spinning at the moment. That's why I thought I would ask here, as well as ringing Citizen's Advice in the morning.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

-Kev

shaun_from_Africa

First thing, at least you paid with a credit card so if the retailer refuses a refund then you have "section 75" rights against them.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases

More importantly, what you were told about having to sign for it as damaged is not a legal requirement, and in fact it's actually illegal for a retailer to refuse a refund because of it.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft311.pdf

(see page 19)

Terms requiring that the goods are accepted as satisfactory on
delivery, or imposing unreasonable conditions on their return.
Consumers have a right to a reasonable opportunity to examine goods and reject them if faulty. In the case of complex goods, a reasonable opportunity to examine means a chance to try the goods out.
Consumers cannot legally be deprived of this right by being required to sign 'satisfaction' notes on delivery, or by being required to return goods in a way that may not be possible – for example, in disposable packaging that they are likely to discard after opening.

According to their website's return policy, I have the right to cancel within 7 days as per the distance selling regs, but it seems to come with a caveat; only if the parcels are unopened

Again, totally illegal and unenforceable.

supergran2007

Kevin_M wrote: »

Hello all,

On the 3rd of March I bought a bed from bedzrus.co.uk using my credit card. The bed was delivered to me today via courier. Upon delivery I inspected the parcels and noticed one of them had been patched up with extra tape, but it didn't look too bad so I didn't sign for it as damaged.

However, upon opening the box I discovered that the contents were in fact damaged. I emailed the company with a photo of the damaged part and requested a replacement. A lady replied and asked for a photo of the box itself and asked me if I had signed for it damaged. I emailed the photo and told her I hadn't. She then told me that because I hadn't signed for it damaged, it's basically my fault as per their terms and conditions and that she would get a quote from the manufacturer for a replacement, but I would have to pay for it. Needless to say, I wasn't having that. I told her that I would send the entire bed back for a refund, and if that wasn't acceptable to them I would seek further advice as to my rights on the matter. I received no reply.

According to their website's return policy, I have the right to cancel within 7 days as per the distance selling regs, but it seems to come with a caveat; only if the parcels are unopened. But how can I check to see if something is actually damaged if I don't open the parcels?

Where do I stand on this? I have been doing as much reading as I can to wrap my head around it but my head is spinning at the moment. That's why I thought I would ask here, as well as ringing Citizen's Advice in the morning.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

-Kev

Hi there

Try having a look here https://www.whatconsumer.co.uk/DSR

Scroll down & click on returns. This should answer your question.
Basically, you have the right to open the package to examine it.

You could also google Distance selling regulations.
This brings up a lot of info.

Hope this helps!

Good luck!!:)

supergran2007

Sorry shaun!!

Cross-posted !! OOps!!

My apologies:o:o

Kevin_M_2

Thanks Shaun and Supergran. :beer:
I have drafted a letter to write to them, which I will also send them an email copy of. Tell me What you think:

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to you because I purchased a bed from you on 03/03/13, which was delivered to me on 05/03/13. The bed arrived in two parcels, which I inspected before signing for. One of the parcels looked like it had been patched up using extra tape, but it looked okay so I didn’t sign for the parcel as damaged. It was only upon opening the parcel that I realized the contents were damaged. I reported it straight away via email to your aftersales team and sent a photo of the damaged part, and also requested a replacement. A lady named Louise Cooley replied, who then asked me to take a photo of the box, which I did. She then replied again to tell me that because I didn’t sign for the parcel as damaged, that I am at fault and any replacement parts would be at my own cost. This is unacceptable.

I have since taken advice on this matter and according to The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 having to sign for a parcel as damaged is not a legal requirement, and in fact it's actually illegal for a retailer to refuse a refund because of it:

From here: Link to .pdf (Page 19)

Terms requiring that the goods are accepted as satisfactory on
delivery, or imposing unreasonable conditions on their return.
Consumers have a right to a reasonable opportunity to examine goods and reject them if faulty. In the case of complex goods, a reasonable opportunity to examine means a chance to try the goods out.

Consumers cannot legally be deprived of this right by being required to sign 'satisfaction' notes on delivery, or by being required to return goods in a way that may not be possible – for example, in disposable packaging that they are likely to discard after opening.

With this in mind I would like to exercise my right to cancel my contract with you within 7 days of receipt of the goods, as per the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 and I have enclosed a formal letter stating as such. I will return the goods to you at my own cost, for a full refund.

Regards,

Does that sound okay? I might ring the CAB tomorrow, just to make doubly sure, but it's a start at least.

Thanks again,

-Kevin

marleyboy

It sounds perfectly acceptable, keep us all up to date on how it is getting on and good luck.

unholyangel

Kevin_M wrote: »

Thanks Shaun and Supergran. :beer:
I have drafted a letter to write to them, which I will also send them an email copy of. Tell me What you think:

Does that sound okay? I might ring the CAB tomorrow, just to make doubly sure, but it's a start at least.

Thanks again,

-Kevin

Personally I wouldnt include the part about inspecting it, signing etc. I'd just say received the damaged item on x date. Any additional details are pretty much irrelevant since the item was indeed damaged when you received it and it is between the retailer and courier company.

Kevin_M_2

unholyangel wrote: »

Personally I wouldnt include the part about inspecting it, signing etc. I'd just say received the damaged item on x date. Any additional details are pretty much irrelevant since the item was indeed damaged when you received it and it is between the retailer and courier company.

I know what you're saying, but I thought it best to include the part about signing for it, etc, because those are the grounds on which they're attempting to hide behind their T&Cs instead of taking responsibility. And they already have an email conversation between me and their member of staff which states all that anyway, so I wondered if leaving it out of the letter would seem like I was trying to hide something.

Argh. Now I'm not sure!

Equaliser123

I would strongly suggest that you reject under the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

Rejection under DSR may require you to pay the return costs.

Kevin_M_2

Equaliser123 wrote: »

I would strongly suggest that you reject under the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

Rejection under DSR may require you to pay the return costs.

This gets ever more complicated! :undecided

I just had a reply from the company to the email I sent yesterday afternoon which reads:

"Dear Kevin

I'm sorry we will not accept the bed back unless it is in the original
condition that this was sent out which was brand new boxed item."

I've drafted a reply, using snippets of a template letter I found regarding the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the other letter I wrote:

Hi Louise,

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 makes it an implied term of the contract that goods be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. Any returns policy that says I have to cover the cost of returning items must only relate to the situation where I change my mind about the item ordered and not where there is a problem with the item. I should not lose out financially as a result of your breach of contract and accordingly all costs of returning the item should be met by you.

Since the item arrived damaged, it is clearly not of satisfactory quality and/or fit for purpose. Furthermore, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 state that having to sign for a parcel as damaged is not a legal requirement, and in fact it's actually illegal for a seller to refuse a refund because of it:

Terms requiring that the goods are accepted as satisfactory on
delivery, or imposing unreasonable conditions on their return.
Consumers have a right to a reasonable opportunity to examine goods and reject them if faulty. In the case of complex goods, a reasonable opportunity to examine means a chance to try the goods out.

Consumers cannot legally be deprived of this right by being required to sign 'satisfaction' notes on delivery, or by being required to return goods in a way that may not be possible – for example, in disposable packaging that they are likely to discard after opening.

As you can see, I am well aware of my rights on this matter and will take any measures necessary to protect them.

I also require you to confirm whether you will arrange for the item to be collected or will reimburse me for the cost of returning it.

I look forward to your response,

-Kevin

Does that sound okay?

ThumbRemote

Kevin_M wrote: »

I also require you to confirm whether you will arrange for the item to be collected or will reimburse me for the cost of returning it.

Given that they seem to have a loose grasp of the law, I'd be tempted to phrase this as "The bed is available for collection from my address, so could you arrange a courier to collect it as the earliest opportunity".

Otherwise if you pay to send it back you'll just be chasing more monye off them.