Moral dilemma. I received a refund then item was dispatched 2 days later

Impet_Limpet

Help guide my moral compass!

5th May I order tens machine online for hire for home birth. Company chosen (lets call them company A) because they have a deal on, making them cheaper than elsewhere. T&Cs state item will be sent out when I am 37w pregnant and may take 4-6 days to arrive.

5th May Email from Paypal confirming the payment has been made to company, but I get no email confirming/aknowledging the order from the company itself

I email on 14th and 17th May using the address on the website and get no response up to 22nd May, one of these emails informs the company the item hire needs to be for sooner than originally agreed, specifically I request a response so I know this has been done.

Read negative reviews online about company - get worried, concerned I've been had! No contact telephone number anywhere on website. Find their telephone number on the Paypal invoice but it is dead number.

22nd May The date the item is due to be dispatched (under the amended date), I contact them via the online form asking if it has been dispatched as per previous emails I sent. No response. I raise paypal dispute the same day concerned over lack of comms, dead telephone number, and online complaints over failure of items to arrive in time.

22nd May Get response to online query within a few mins of escalating the paypal dispute saying item will be dispatched when I am 37w, I respond to this email within 30mins telling them I am 37w on this day (as I had already informed them), asking when will it be dispatched and when would I expect it to arrive. I get no answer.

24th May, I email stating that if the item has not been dispatched and is not going to arrive by the time I am 37w6d i.e. 28th May (as per their T&C) I would like to cancel and have a refund.

26th May, paypal concludes investigation in my favour and I receive a refund. I order machine from at at a more expensive price. Company

28th May I get an email showing the packing slip from the company informing me my item is ready to be dispatched and will be sent that day. I respond that afternoon saying it is already too late, I am 37w6d, it should have arrived by 28th May at the lastest and I have had no choice but to order from elsewhere at additional expense. I get no reply.

30th May. Item arrives from company A on the same day the voucher for item hire arrives from company B.

So what do I do?
a) Send it straight back to company A unused and use the one I have hired from Company B, and take the more expensive hit (there's £15 difference)

b) Use the machine from company A and send the voucher back to company B for a refund or pass it on to one of my pregnant friends

c) Email company A pointing out I have cancelled and had a refund yet still they dispatched the item 2 days later, ask what they want me to do and if they don't let me know by XXX date [??reasonable timescale??], I will assume it was intentional/an apology and will use the item and return it.

I just can't believe after all the emails and attempts to contact them they have only ever responded once and that was after I raised a paypal dispute, and I've gone from panicking that I'm going to go into labour with no tens machine to paying more money and ending up with two on hire

Takeaway_Addict

Ask A to come and collect at your convenience and that it won't be used it as it is not required and use B.

Seems alot of fuss over something minor

susancs

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Ask A to come and collect at your convenience and that it won't be used it as it is not required and use B.

I agree with the above, as it is the easiest solution.

OlliesDad

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Seems alot of fuss over something minor

I hope you aren't talking about the giving birth!

Impet_Limpet

So, so far 3 for email them, 2 for returning it unused and using the one that cost £15 more to hire (it's £40) and 1 for just use the machine (actually I don't feel comfortable with that option any more so just disregard that one)

Ps They don't collect the machine, I have to post it back by mid July, (they have provided a prepaid label for this :-) )

Thanks for your input so far, it really is appreciated

Impet_Limpet

I've had another option offered which I think is probably the best one.

Cancel the order from Company B under the distance selling regulations for a full refund. I have checked the order and there are no exclusions in the small print and even the P&P is refunded.

Email company A and say it was clearly an oversight the machine being sent after I had requested a cancellation and had a refund. However as I now have the machine I will use it and will they please raise an invoice via paypal in order that I can pay them or email me to arrange payment. (As I cannot ring them as they have no telephone number!) That way I am not sitting around waiting for an email to tell me whether to return it unused or not, I am just waiting for an email requesting payment

That way I am no worse off financially than I was originally and I can pay them for the hire as soon as they get in touch and use it with a clear conscience knowing I have made my intention to pay for the hire clear.

Mind you hubby says chances are they probably won't even respond to that email anyway if their previous form is anything to go by!

robatwork

You sound two tens to me.