Distance Selling Regulation - returning goods rights?

iBoudica

Hi,

I purchased a piece of kitchen equipment (£239.00) from a company and when it arrived the following day I realised that it was far too large (I removed it from the box but then returned it straight away when I realised how big it was, the box is undamaged) for my tiny kitchen and immediately contacted the company to return it under the distance selling regulations.

Two days later they emailed me back and have eventually agreed to refund it if I returned it in perfect condition etc (which it is).

It was posted to me from a 'state of the art warehouse in London' (according top the blurb on their website) but they have informed me that I need to return it to an 'address' in the Republic of Ireland consisting of a c/o Name, Town and County, e.g. c/o Tom O'Connor (not the real name), Mulroog East, Ballinderreen. Co Galway
Ireland. In their returns policy it states the distance selling regulations and that they will refund 30 days after its return in perfect condition.

My (two ) problems are:

1. How can I know if this is the real address - I queried with the company and they assure me it is, however, when I've tried to enter it into UPS as they recommend, it is 'not recognized'.

2. The item cost £239.00, it will cost me £100.00 + with insurance to return it to the Republic of Ireland assuming I DO find a courier who recognizes the address.

It doesn't say anything in the returns policy about returning to a different address from whence it came with the additional costs of shipping to the Republic of Ireland rather than the UK mainland.

Is there anything I can do or will I have to return it to the address they have specified?

Many thanks

neilmcl

Can you post a link to their site so we can have a look at the T&Cs?

Was it a consumer purchase or business?

iBoudica

Hi,

This was a personal purchase - the FAQ's are: http://www.energiseyourlife.com/pages/FAQ.html

Thank You.

bod1467

Assuming that our return's policy has been adhered to returned goods will be credited within 30 day of our receiving them.

Well there's an unfair/illegal term to start ... refunds must be within 30 days of cancellation, irrespective of whether the goods have been received back. (Although no supplier will refund until they have the goods).

But they can't refuse to refund for not following their returns policy. And there's nothing in the DSRs that says the goods have to be in a perfect, resalable condition.

visidigi

How many places does this seller have exactly?!?

http://www.energiseyourlife.com/warranty-and-support-requests/

In most cases we can reply to warranty and support requests within 24hrs Monday to Friday, however in some circumstances depending on the issue it may take a little longer.

Please note warranties do not cover miss use or excessive use that could be classified as commercial usage.

Customers will be advised in writing as to where to return faulty goods if required to do so. Depending on the fault and product, the item can be sent to different locations, so please make sure you have been instructed on the correct address before you attempt to return any goods.

Please note warranties are back to base and cover parts and labour and do not cover postage or packaging costs. If you do not wish to pay for postage and packaging, once approved it is possible to arrange for drop off and collection of repaired items from our Swansea service centre and collection of replacement parts from our Gatwick parts and storage facility.

For smaller items we recommend using a Royal Mail signed for service.

For larger items we recommend using a courier service such as UPS booked through https://www.interparcel.com (most items weighing less than 8kgs cost less than £8 to collect from a UK address and deliver to another UK address).

Thank you for your time with this, supplying us with these details will allow us to resolve your issue as soon as possible.

Personally introducing an out of area return address would be unreasonable considering at no point is such a location referred to anywhere on the website.

Its like selling from London and saying all returns must be made to Pluto.

visidigi

A bit of digging brings up the address as...

http://www.companiesmadesimple.com/company-services-registered-office.html

Oh dear...making out they are 'London Based' have a ware house in 'London' and have offices in Scotland. A service Center in Swansea and a return address in Ireland.

The offices in Scotland are a residential address in stirlingshire.

I would refuse to return to the Ireland, and ask for one of the many locations they purport to have in the mainland of the UK.

neilmcl

Also their T&Cs - https://www.energiseyourlife.com/pages/Terms-%26-Conditions.html

OP have you been given these T&Cs in a durable form, eg, via email, on your invoice/receipt etc (the website is not classed as a durable form)?

Personally I'd argue that if you purchased from a UK seller then being asked to return outside of the UK would be classed as an unreasonable term.

OP, I'd pay to have it delivered to their UK address, ensuring you get proof of receipt. The rest is up to them.

bod1467

neilmcl wrote: »

OP have you been given these T&Cs in a durable form, eg, via email, on your invoice/receipt etc (the website is not classed as a durable form)?

This is important ... if you haven't received notification of your rights via durable means then it could be argued that THEY are liable for the return costs.

iBoudica

As their T's & C's state:

To exercise this right please contact us. We will need confirmation in writing, as well as your name, address and invoice number, please submit this via email to enquiries@energiseyourlife.com. When exercising the right to cancel during the cooling-off period, goods are to be returned at the customer's expense. We will send you the correct address to return the goods, this may not be the same address from which the goods were sent.

I've never checked where the return address would be, I just checked that I could return if the product was unsuitable - as it says that 'this may not be the same address from which the goods were sent', can I still argue that to return to the RoI rather than the UK is unreasonable?

Thank you again

shaun_from_Africa

It might be worth contacting the company and asking them how much they would charge for collecting the goods. (bearing in mind that legally they are only allowed to charge the actual costs incurred in doing this).

Their terms do state:

Refunds are not dependent on the goods being returned. If goods are not returned to us after a customer has exercised the right to cancel, we require that they are made available for collection. The direct cost of collection will be deducted from the refund. You will remain liable for the cost of any goods that are not returned or made available for collection.

.

neilmcl

iBoudica wrote: »

As their T's & C's state:

To exercise this right please contact us. We will need confirmation in writing, as well as your name, address and invoice number, please submit this via email to enquiries@energiseyourlife.com. When exercising the right to cancel during the cooling-off period, goods are to be returned at the customer's expense. We will send you the correct address to return the goods, this may not be the same address from which the goods were sent.

I've never checked where the return address would be, I just checked that I could return if the product was unsuitable - as it says that 'this may not be the same address from which the goods were sent', can I still argue that to return to the RoI rather than the UK is unreasonable?

Thank you again

Again, have you received them in a durable form?