Can An Epilator be returned under LDS rules?

Emceehamster

Bought from Littlewoods Catalgue.

Baby doesn't like the noise AT ALL. Cannot be used (was used once)

Littlewoods say it cannot be returned under their home approval rules because of what it is.

It does say that this is the case, but can they legally do this?

comeandgo

Is this a joke? Why would you use it on a baby? I would think Littlewoods is correct, they certainly can not sell it again as you or baby have used it and its not its peformance thats in question, its the noise.

Caz3121

use it when baby is sleeping

arcon5

As far as i'm aware this kind of product isn't excluded from DSRs (i'm assuming you meant this, not LDS ? Otherwise i'm not sure what LDS is..) so you would have a right to return if they are notified within 7 working days

arcon5

comeandgo wrote: »

Is this a joke? Why would you use it on a baby? I would think Littlewoods is correct, they certainly can not sell it again as you or baby have used it and its not its peformance thats in question, its the noise.

I'm reading it to mean when using it herself the baby doesn't like the noise.... although not sure why she can't put the baby in a different room when grooming.

MamaMoo_2

Use it away from the baby/when the baby's asleep?

Emceehamster

Okay...

It is not being used on a baby.

I want to return it, not get tips on when to use it.

Can Littlewoods exempt it from SDRs?

tinkerbell28

I'm not quite sure how a baby can't like the noise. How does it cope with other sounds!?

There's some I can say....but I thought better of it.

tomwakefield

comeandgo wrote: »

Is this a joke? Why would you use it on a baby? I would think Littlewoods is correct, they certainly can not sell it again as you or baby have used it and its not its peformance thats in question, its the noise.

DSRs say this:
Exceptions to the right to cancel

13.—(1) Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the consumer will not have the right to cancel the contract by giving notice of cancellation pursuant to regulation 10 in respect of contracts—

(a)for the supply of services if the supplier has complied with regulation 8(3) and performance of the contract has begun with the consumer’s agreement before the end of the cancellation period applicable under regulation 12;
(b)for the supply of goods or services the price of which is dependent on fluctuations in the financial market which cannot be controlled by the supplier;
(c)for the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalised or which by reason of their nature cannot be returned or are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly;
(d)for the supply of audio or video recordings or computer software if they are unsealed by the consumer;
(e)for the supply of newspapers, periodicals or magazines; or
(f)for gaming, betting or lottery services.

The right to cancel is not linked to the ability for the store to resell the returned item.

In their returns policy, Littlewoods says this

Our Approval Guarantee does not apply to some items or may apply only if certain conditions are met. We will advise you of these exceptions when placing your order. These items are clearly identified on the product page and any conditions are set out there. This does not affect your statutory rights.

When you look at the relevant page (I picked a couple of random epilators), epilators are excluded for "Health and Hygiene reasons".

There is no mention of hygiene being a legitimate exemption for the right to cancel, so I would think you would have a case, although it would be a lot of work as it's a common clause used by a lot of big companies to refuse refunds on a variety of things - typically grooming products, underwear and (for some reason) mattresses.

frugal_mike

Emceehamster wrote: »

Okay...

It is not being used on a baby.

I want to return it, not get tips on when to use it.

Can Littlewoods exempt it from SDRs?

Distance Selling Regulations section 13-1 deals with situations where there is no right to cancel:

a) for the supply of services if the supplier has complied with regulation 8(3) and performance of the contract has begun with the consumer’s agreement before the end of the cancellation period applicable under regulation 12

b) for the supply of goods or services the price of which is dependent on fluctuations in the financial market which cannot be controlled by the supplier

c) for the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or clearly personalised or which by reason of their nature cannot be returned or are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly

d) for the supply of audio or video recordings or computer software if they are unsealed by the consumer

e) for the supply of newspapers, periodicals or magazines; orfor gaming, betting or lottery services.

There is no mention of products that for health reasons can not be resold, so it doesn't appear that they can be exempted.

There may be a clause elsewhere that deals with this though, perhaps under what constitutes reasonable inspection of the product?

frugal_mike

It seems today is my day to be beaten when posting in forums!