Cancellation and refund of online order prior to shipment

no1SilverFox

I placed an order online for the new Motorola Moto G with phones4u who stated delivery would be 22nd November. Luckily I found it necessary to contact them as I hadn't received a confirmation email - they advised delivery was now 13th December due to no stock.

I asked if they could guarantee stock for Christmas - they couldn't.

I asked if they'd already taken payment - they had.

I cancelled the order and asked for a refund to which they said it would take 7 to 10 days. Now I can send a sum of money to my Mother-in-Law which she will receive in a matter of seconds. And she can refund it back to me in the same time.

Why, when phones4u have taken my money and I have effectively bought nothing does it take them so long to refund? And do I have any rights to get my money back straightaway?

I know they take the money and place it with a holding company so that the goods can be paid for upon dispatch but if I cancel the refund should be almost immediate and within 24 hours.

I'm in the process of escalating this through the phones4u chain of command so any helpful advice would be much appreciated.

Silk

Under DSR's they are allowed 30 days from date of cancelation to refund the money.

Jon_01

The dry, technical reason these company's give is that they only do refund runs once a week and they all have to be checked before they're processed.
The frontline agents you talk to don't have the systems to give refunds above a few quid...

no1SilverFox

I thought that. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth though especially since the item was never received. DSR's need to change.

I had a similar issue with, I think, e2save last year. I escalated through them at the time and got a manager to use her company credit card to refund me. Enough pressure and it works but it should never have to be like that.

I'll let you know what happens when phones4u contact me later today - they said they would!

WTFH

no1SilverFox wrote: »

I thought that. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth though especially since the item was never received. DSR's need to change.

Why? It will become even more onerous on businesses, will cost them even more money and mean that they won't be able to offer as good deals.

If you really want something, buy it in a shop, then if you return it you get the refund immediately.

no1SilverFox

If they establish a process which benefits the consumer it may well cost them little more in the long run and they could recoup that expense through additional sales due to their excellent customer service. Name me one phone company that has excellent customer service? Quality over quantity can have its rewards.

WTFH

Funnily enough, DSRs aren't just for phone companies, but they are reducing the number of UK businesses who consider selling online, due to the costs of returns, refunds, etc.
You can have perfect customer service, unfortunately you don't always get perfect customers.
Here's an example:
I was talking to a lady a few days ago who buys her clothes online. I asked her about how she makes sure she gets ones that fit well.
Simple, she replied. She orders 2 sizes, tries them both on at home, then "rejects" one size quoting DSR.

Tell me how that is fair on a business? They have to foot the bill to ship out the clothing and then to cover the cost of returning it and restocking it. But if they dared to charge, oh no, they would be under the cosh here for illegal practices, bad customer service, etc.

NFH

I buy everything on credit cards, so delayed refunds are never a problem because the retailer has the card issuer's money rather than my own money. I also receive points, airmiles or cashback, all subsidised by those who pay by debit card.

NFH

WTFH wrote: »

If you really want something, buy it in a shop, then if you return it you get the refund immediately.

If you buy something in a shop, you have no statutory right to return it for a refund.

WTFH

NFH wrote: »

If you buy something in a shop, you have no statutory right to return it for a refund.

You have no statutory right, but thankfully shops are staffed by human beings and most good shops will give you a refund.

It also means when you physically hand over your payment, you physically handle the goods.
DSRs try to replicate that, but both sides are reliant on delivery of product. In a shop, the product is already delivered to their premises and you make the pickup yourself.

grumbler

IMO this case has nothing to do with DSR.

They "stated delivery would be 22nd November", but now can't guarantee it even for Christmas. They shouldn't have taken the money in the first place and if they had, they must refund it ASAP.

False advertising springs to mind that needs reporting to TS and ASA.