Online purchase from EU, item faulty

rossc1980

I sent them the below email

Hello Bianca


Thanks for your reply. 4-6 weeks isn't acceptable. It's a brand new item not even a week old that is faulty, it's been worn once which is when the fault was noticed. I believe I am covered under the Distance Selling Regulations and Sale of Goods Act. Seeing as you're targeting the UK as a market place (your website is in English, offers delivery here and prices in sterling) I think the Brussels regulation applies which means I am protected by the Sale of Goods Act (UK Law) and the Consumer Contract Regulations (UK Law), these are the UK laws which implement the EU Directive entitled the Consumer Rights Directive. Basically, this means if the item is faulty (a soaked and now non functioning iPhone 5s would suggest so on a jacket that is "guaranteed to keep you dry") I can return for a full refund within 14 days of your receipt of the item. it's not like I've been using the item for 6 months and it has developed the fault, the fault is there from it being manufactured.


I don't really want to start getting litigious here as I'd rather keep it friendly but if you push me I will get the Credit Card company involved to get my money back and if need be I will go the EU small claims route. I'm sorry but this is a £400 jacket I'm not going to mess about here.


Please let me know how you want to proceed. If you would like to speak to me you can call me on


I'd like a response ASAP please as 1 email per day isn't really acceptable either, plus I want this resolved quickly as I want to send the unused trousers that are the wrong size and the jacket back together in the same box to cut down on postage costs. I will foot the cost of postage even though I am entitled to have that refunded as well due to the faulty item.


kind regards


Ross

There response was

Dear Ross,

Thank you for your message.

First of all we want to beg you pardon for the item which you have received in bad conditions.

Please find enclosed the return label so you don't have to pay the shipping costs and send us the item back. As soon as we have received the package we will send a new one.

If you need further information feel free to contact me again.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen / with kind regards
Maria Gomez

so fair enough cant ask for more.


hopefully this might help someone else with a similar issue. I guess the moral is never accept the first offer.

thanks for the responses.

rossc1980

wealdroam wrote: »

What is this 'Brussels regulation' you mention?

If you are talking about EU Directives, then it is up to each EU member state to incorporate the directive into their own legislation.

The UK legislation for things like this is The Sale of Goods Act.
SoGA offers more to the consumer than EU Directives require.

No doubt Germany have also incorporated the EU Directive into their legislation, but the point remains, for a trader based in Germany, it is German Legislation that you need to look to to enforce your rights.
:

See Below


The Brussels Regulation

Under the Brussels Regulation, depending on the circumstances, you may be able to argue that the laws of the country you come from can take priority over that of the seller.
This means you may be able to argue that you're protected by the Sale of Goods Act, which states that goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.
While in most EU countries you'll be entitled to get a repair or replacement for faulty goods, legislation doesn't always give you the right to reject goods and get a refund.
In the UK the Sale of Goods Act allows you to reject a faulty product and get a refund as long as you reject the product within a reasonable time - usually within three or four weeks of purchase.
The Brussels Regulation means you may be able to argue that you're protected by this law.


If you bought your item online

Online sellers from other EU countries may target their products or services to the UK market.
For example, by offering prices in Sterling and delivery options to the UK.
If you buy from such a seller online and something goes wrong, you can argue that your UK statutory rights apply to the contract despite it being subject to the laws of another country.
So, if you purchased your item online from a trader from another EU country, then you should be protected by the Consumer Contracts Regulations, which is the UK law that implements the EU Directive entitled the Consumer Rights Directive.



all quoted from the which web site, google "return item bought in eu", it's the top result.

unholyangel

rossc1980 wrote: »

See Below


The Brussels Regulation

Under the Brussels Regulation, depending on the circumstances, you may be able to argue that the laws of the country you come from can take priority over that of the seller.
This means you may be able to argue that you're protected by the Sale of Goods Act, which states that goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.
While in most EU countries you'll be entitled to get a repair or replacement for faulty goods, legislation doesn't always give you the right to reject goods and get a refund.
In the UK the Sale of Goods Act allows you to reject a faulty product and get a refund as long as you reject the product within a reasonable time - usually within three or four weeks of purchase.
The Brussels Regulation means you may be able to argue that you're protected by this law.


If you bought your item online

Online sellers from other EU countries may target their products or services to the UK market.
For example, by offering prices in Sterling and delivery options to the UK.
If you buy from such a seller online and something goes wrong, you can argue that your UK statutory rights apply to the contract despite it being subject to the laws of another country.
So, if you purchased your item online from a trader from another EU country, then you should be protected by the Consumer Contracts Regulations, which is the UK law that implements the EU Directive entitled the Consumer Rights Directive.



all quoted from the which web site, google "return item bought in eu", it's the top result.

You seem to be reading selectively (assuming you were quoting from which? (which i've often said have really declined in the accuracy of their info over the last year or so):

Shopping in the EU
When you buy goods or services from a trader based in another EU country, some of your rights could depend on the laws of that country.
But some consumer rights laws are broadly the same across the EU.
This includes the Consumer Contracts Regulations, but others depend on the legislation of a particular country, for example the Sale of Goods Act.
Check what the seller's terms and conditions say about returns before placing your order. The law sets out the minimum requirements for returns, but some traders may choose to exceed this.

And whats more, if you actually look up "the brussels regulation" you'll find it related to jurisdiction rather than choice of law. That means that you can sue them in your home country - but jurisdiction and governing law are two different things. Jurisdiction is merely where the case is heard, not which laws it is heard under.

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/justice_freedom_security/judicial_cooperation_in_civil_matters/l33054_en.htm

rossc1980

unholyangel wrote: »

You seem to be reading selectively (assuming you were quoting from which? (which i've often said have really declined in the accuracy of their info over the last year or so):


And whats more, if you actually look up "the brussels regulation" you'll find it related to jurisdiction rather than choice of law. That means that you can sue them in your home country - but jurisdiction and governing law are two different things. Jurisdiction is merely where the case is heard, not which laws it is heard under.

I just quoted the bits that I thought were appropriate. I'd link the page but I don't have enough posts yet.


Either way it worked, they've agreed a full refund on receiving the returned items rather than 4-6 weeks for warranty repair/replacement of the faulty one so job done.

wealdroam

rossc1980 wrote: »

I'd link the page but I don't have enough posts yet.

Here's the link:

Can I return an item bought from another EU country?

Here's the first sentence from that page:

If something goes wrong with an item you've bought from another EU country, you may not have the same rights you'd have at home.

Anyway, glad to see you have a good outcome.

rossc1980

thanks and thanks for your input.

it's subjective and open to interpretation. I know it says you may or may not have the same rights. But I do have the same rights, in this instance, as I would in my country of origin because of what it says farther down the page. i.e. they target the UK as a market place, hence I could argue that our law applies, which is what I did and they backed down.

Anyway thanks again everyone. I'll see you next time.

Caz3121

bit off topic to the actual question but re the phone
I dropped my iphone in the loo! (clean water)
switched it off, took the sim out, got the excess water out and put it in a freezer-type ziplock bag full of rice and left it for 2 days....in that time I started looking online to choose my replacement handset and nobody was more surprised than me to find that it came out the rice and works absolutely fine...worth a shot

agrinnall

Caz3121 wrote: »

bit off topic to the actual question but re the phone
I dropped my iphone in the loo! (clean water)
switched it off, took the sim out, got the excess water out and put it in a freezer-type ziplock bag full of rice and left it for 2 days....in that time I started looking online to choose my replacement handset and nobody was more surprised than me to find that it came out the rice and works absolutely fine...worth a shot

Although a lot of people say it I suspect that the rice is just coincidence, and that it was leaving it for 2 days to dry out that did the trick. Anyway, there's some guidance here:

http://www.gottabemobile.com/2014/07/21/how-to-save-your-iphone-from-water-damage/

rossc1980

Caz3121 wrote: »

bit off topic to the actual question but re the phone
I dropped my iphone in the loo! (clean water)
switched it off, took the sim out, got the excess water out and put it in a freezer-type ziplock bag full of rice and left it for 2 days....in that time I started looking online to choose my replacement handset and nobody was more surprised than me to find that it came out the rice and works absolutely fine...worth a shot

yea I've already tried that. I think I might have been a bit impatient as only waited about 36 hours then tried to turn it on. got the apple logo for about 3 seconds then nothing since. phone is currently in bits to dry out completely, swapping the battery tonight as this, i'm reliably informed, can fix it. battery was £4 from ebay. otherwise I might try the isopropyl bath of the motherboard then give up if that doesn't work as probably shorted the board when I tried to turn it on too soon.