Supplier not collected faulty item

patcat

I ordered an item over the internet that on delivery was found to be broken. I duly informed the supplier who agreed to send out a new item and to arrange for the broken item to be collected. They next phoned to confirm a delivery date for the new item and I checked that the broken one would be collected and they confirmed that this had been organised.. The new item was duly delivered 2 weeks ago and works fine but the broken one has not been collected.
Whats my legal rights with regard to this item, how long do I have to keep it safe before being able to dispose of it.

imnoexpert_3

This is a tricky one and depends on the item and the agreement you have with the supplier.

In law the supplier has a 'resonable time' in which to collect the goods, now there is no set time limit and the definition of reasonable to an extent is determined by what the item is.

e.g if the item is a small item and is not really taking up much space, a reasonable time would generally be deemed to be longer, if however the item is a large item taking up lots of space the need for it to be removed is greater and what is looked at being reasonable would be avery short space of time, as your health and safety should not be compromised for example if you had a three piece suite in your hallway.

if you actually do want the item collected and have no use for it then perhaps call the company and explain it is still there and ask when it will be collected and push for a date a.s.a.p

If you are looking to keep the item then write to the retailer giving them 14 days to collect the item or advise them you will arrange for its disposal.

depending where you got the item from some mail order company's have a clause in their returns policy advising you that you must keep the item safe until they can arrange collection, or that the item remains the property of the said company until it is returned, (potentially meaning they could charge your account for the item if you dispose of it.)following the above however you have pretty much covered yourself.