Retailer refused to give refund for faulty item, what I can do?

john-bruce

on 10 nov 14, I bought mobile phone battery for £10 from a shop and paid in cash, retailer told me that this is an original battery but later on I discovered battery is faulty and was not working at all, I phoned shop straight away and guy advised me to bring battery back in shop so he can test it.

After 13 days I went back to shop and guy tested battery and confirmed it is faulty then I requested full refund but he refused to give me refund and offered me a replacement or any other thing of my choice for £10.00 but I told him that I already bought battery and I dont need this item any more but he told me that he dont have any refund policy. I have battery and receipt for evidence with me.

What I can do now? either I pursue him under consumer rights or just forget about it as its just £10.00?

thanks in advance

Ms_Chocaholic

Accept replacement and sell it yourself on Ebay.

hollydays

Why did it take 13 days to take it back?

frugal_mike

Well the Sale of Goods Act gives you the right to reject goods for a full refund if they don't conform to contract and you have not yet accepted them. Acceptance in this context has a specific meaning, and doesn't generally happen until the customer has had a reasonable time to inspect the goods. Given you seem to have informed the seller soon after purchase that the battery was faulty its likely that acceptance hasn't occurred.

It's also highly likely to be illegal for him to tell you he has a no refund policy because its not legal to attempt to make consumers think they have less rights than they actually have.

However if he refuses to give you what you're entitled to there may not be much you can do other than take him to the small claim court. For the sake of £10 that might be more hassle than its worth.

gik

hollydays wrote: »

Why did it take 13 days to take it back?

As it's only now just 13 days (by 11 minutes) the OP should use their time machine and go back and stop themselves from buying it in the first place.:D

john-bruce

@Ms Chocaholic, I dont trust them any more and not sure if replacement item would work properly and dont want to give headache to any one on ebay.

@hollydays, I was busy looking after my new born baby and wife.

@thank you for your advice and soon I will call Citizen advice bureau consumer line , Thanks

forgotmyname

I had a brand new Samsung Galaxy S4 with a faulty battery. It happens.

Seems there were lots of faulty ones, Not just the one batch either. A replacement batch was also faulty.

agrinnall

I think you may have harmed your case for a refund by waiting 13 (or however many days it actually was) days to return it. Although you informed the retailer earlier, they have no idea what you were doing with the battery in the intervening period, and they could argue that the delay means you had accepted the battery. I'd go back and try again, but for £10 it may be simpler just to pick something else to the value of £10 that you can be confident will sell on e-bay for some amount and won't give the buyer any problem.

unholyangel

agrinnall wrote: »

I think you may have harmed your case for a refund by waiting 13 (or however many days it actually was) days to return it. Although you informed the retailer earlier, they have no idea what you were doing with the battery in the intervening period, and they could argue that the delay means you had accepted the battery. I'd go back and try again, but for £10 it may be simpler just to pick something else to the value of £10 that you can be confident will sell on e-bay for some amount and won't give the buyer any problem.

If OP had already contacted the retailer saying they had rejected it then it would satisfy SoGA, namely, this part:

(4)The buyer is also deemed to have accepted the goods when after the lapse of a reasonable time he retains the goods without intimating to the seller that he has rejected them.

So acceptance cannot occur as a reasonable length of time has not passed without the OP rejecting them.

agrinnall

unholyangel wrote: »

If OP had already contacted the retailer saying they had rejected it then it would satisfy SoGA, namely, this part:



So acceptance cannot occur as a reasonable length of time has not passed without the OP rejecting them.

I agree, but I still think that the OP's failure to return the item within a few days of rejecting it leaves him open to the accusation from the retailer that he continued to use it and therefore may have accepted it post-rejection. It would probably be for the retailer to prove that the battery had been used further, and that could well be impossible, but the OP could have avoided any argument by taking it back much sooner.

unholyangel

agrinnall wrote: »

I agree, but I still think that the OP's failure to return the item within a few days of rejecting it leaves him open to the accusation from the retailer that he continued to use it and therefore may have accepted it post-rejection. It would probably be for the retailer to prove that the battery had been used further, and that could well be impossible, but the OP could have avoided any argument by taking it back much sooner.

Section 36:

Buyer not bound to return rejected goods.

Unless otherwise agreed, where goods are delivered to the buyer, and he refuses to accept them, having the right to do so, he is not bound to return them to the seller, but it is sufficient if he intimates to the seller that he refuses to accept them.

and from the interpretations part of the act:

“delivery” means voluntary transfer of possession from one person to another ; [F3except that in relation to sections 20A and 20B above it includes such appropriation of goods to the contract as results in property in the goods being transferred to the buyer;]