Online clothing company not responding to my refund request

emabevington

Hello,

I ordered a t-shirt from an online clothing company Dope Chef

They are based in London, took a while to send my order out but when I did get it, it was the wrong size. It stated on the sizing chart it would be 25.25" across the chest I measured it and it is actually just about 24" so I emailed them straight away to ask for a refund, this was last Thursday.

This was my email:

Hello,

I have just received my order and would like to return it as it is too small. My order number is 168933. I do not have a printer so can I write my order number etc on paper rather than print out my order details?

I am also very disappointed as on the size chart it states that the t-shirt is 25.25" on the chest however I have just measured it at 24" if I had of known this was the actual size I wouldn't of purchased it and in that case I would appreciate it if I was refunded for the t-shirt and the postage so a total of £44.75 and I will pay for my return postage.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Thanks,
Emma

They state on the website that they won't pay for return postage and they won't refund the original postage either, since the size wasn't right I thought it would be fair of them to at least refund the original postage and I will pay the return.

I heard nothing from them so emailed again yesterday (Monday) asking for them to get back to me by the morning so I can post it back. Heard nothing from them so tried Facebook and Twitter and also calling their phone number. Nothing from either social networks and the phone keeps going through to line busy.

What can I do, I really need this refund as it wasn't cheap for a t-shirt and they are completely ignoring every message I send? Im also worried since it states on their site that I have 7 days to request the refund?

Thanks,
Emma

agrinnall

Given that it wasn't as described you can reject under the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) and you definitely won't be responsible for return postage charges, and they should also refund everything you paid. You can also reject under the Distance Selling Regulations (as long as the shirt wasn't customised for you) to recover what you paid, and in some cases the seller cannot charge for return postage. Their 7 day refund limit is nonsense.

Read up about your rights, and insist that they honour the law rather than whatever they might try to get away with in their terms and conditions.

MSE useful links guide

emabevington

agrinnall wrote: »

Given that it wasn't as described you can reject under the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) and you definitely won't be responsible for return postage charges, and they should also refund everything you paid. You can also reject under the Distance Selling Regulations (as long as the shirt wasn't customised for you) to recover what you paid, and in some cases the seller cannot charge for return postage. Their 7 day refund limit is nonsense.

Read up about your rights, and insist that they honour the law rather than whatever they might try to get away with in their terms and conditions.

Thanks for your reply, should I quote the Sales of Goods Act and Distance Selling Regulations to them? My main problem at the moment is getting a response from them, they are clearly ignoring all of my forms of contact and I see other people are also having problems with them. What can I do if they refuse to respond?

I will have a read up on some of those useful links, thank you.

agrinnall

DSRs are easier to use (as long as you notified them of your intention to return within the time limit specified in the regulations) as it's an absolute right to return - but you may not be entitled to get return postage paid if they have used the correct wording in their T&Cs.

SOGA is a bit trickier to use, although it really shouldn't be an issue in your case, but is more powerful in what you are entitled to.

I wouldn't mention both, just pick whichever seems to suit best and make your claim based on that. They sound like they might prove troublesome to get money back from, so hopefully you paid with a card which may give you the option of initiating a Chargeback.

Also read this about your Consumer Rights.

j0nathon2

agrinnall wrote: »

but you may not be entitled to get return postage paid if they have used the correct wording in their T&Cs.

T&C on their website are a joke. Would be interesting to see what they sent on order confirmation and in the box. Seems they claim that everything is made to order so excluded - from what I can see you just choose a standard size (e.g. Large)!

emabevington

agrinnall wrote: »

DSRs are easier to use (as long as you notified them of your intention to return within the time limit specified in the regulations) as it's an absolute right to return - but you may not be entitled to get return postage paid if they have used the correct wording in their T&Cs.

SOGA is a bit trickier to use, although it really shouldn't be an issue in your case, but is more powerful in what you are entitled to.

I wouldn't mention both, just pick whichever seems to suit best and make your claim based on that. They sound like they might prove troublesome to get money back from, so hopefully you paid with a card which may give you the option of initiating a.

Thanks for your help I have read about chargeback and consumer rights. So if I was to go with DSRs how would I go about doing this? Do I just contact the seller? Also can I contact my bank about a chargeback at the same time as trying to resolve using DSR?

I have found a template letter via google it reads:

Dear (insert name here)

RE: Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000

On (insert date) I ordered (insert goods). I received the goods on (insert date)/ I have not yet received the goods.

Under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 I am entitled to a seven-day cooling off period, starting from the day after I bought the goods. I am therefore writing to cancel the order and request that you provide a full refund within 30 days.

Please contact me within 14 days to arrange collection/return of the goods.

Yours sincerely

Insert name here

Is this the best thing to send them?

Thanks,
Emma

emabevington

j0nathon2 wrote: »

T&C on their website are a joke. Would be interesting to see what they sent on order confirmation and in the box. Seems they claim that everything is made to order so excluded - from what I can see you just choose a standard size (e.g. Large)!

Yes I thought the T&C's where a bit odd and it is defiantly not made to order you pick a size and there is a size guide. The order confirmation email was very basic:

This is to confirm that your order has been received. Your order number in 168933.
You can check the status of this order on your account page.

The Dope Chef flagship boat store is open Monday - Saturday 11AM - 6PM.
If you need to contact us, please call us on +44 (0) 20 801 6231 or e-mail us on shop@dopechef.co.uk

And there was absolutely nothing inside the package, no returns form or order form and no return address! The only address for them is the one at the bottom of their website but they say to return you first have to contact them but they are ignoring everything, phone is at least ringing through today but no one is picking up.

emabevington

Update

So I emailed them again today and said if I didn't hear back from them I would contact Trading Standards. They finally answered the phone and it was some idiot mumbling, anyway they said to return the item to the address on the website and write a note with order number and what is wrong and I should get a full refund but the person who deals with the refunds wasn't there.

I'll have to send it tracked so I know when it arrives and hopefully I won't have any problems with getting the refund!