Fridge delivery/collection hell

danifox6

Im wondering if someone could HELP me pleaze.

I bought my Mum a fridge online for her birthday (12th October). My Mum is recovering from lung cancer and has a hugevlump in her breast they are currently testing. On the 11th she was called in to the hospital urgently the next day for a morning appointment at 10 am. On the 12th i received a text saying the fridge would be delivered between 8.30 and 10. Which was fine. Then they text and said it would be between 10 and 12.30 so I arranged for her neighbour to keep an eye out to let them in.

I received a call about 11.20 am from the delivery to say they were there and no one was in. I called the neighbour who said they would pop out. I then called back 2 minutes later to see how they were getting on and was everything ok. She said yes but they decided it wouldn't go in the front door so dumped it on the drive and drove off !!!! I said to my neighbour well what do we do now (mum being 73 and disabled, me living 3 hours away...) She said she would ask her husband if he could help to see if it would go in the back. I called back the delivery compan y and made a complaint and said they needed to go back since it was only 3 4 minutes after they had left they could go back as if the fridge didn't fit in it needed to be returned. They said they were not interested and to call the people of purchased it from.

So I called the people who I ordered it from who were mortified by not only the actions of the delivery people but also those on the phone who were not interested in trying to help. I said to her the neighbours were going to try and get it in the back but if not it needed to be picked up asap as would be outside. She completely agreed and said to call her back. The fridge did not fit. I called her back she was not there so I left a message. She did not call back. I called back on the Friday (13th) and was told she didn't work on a Friday but her stand in would call me back. They did not.

I then emailed the company that evening and said the fridge needed to be returned urgently after the debacle of delivery. Then ensued a variety of messages where they ignored my request and tried to find a fridge that would fit and apparently the size has changed so I said you need to come and get this fridge at which point they decided to tell me that I would be charged for this ! I said definitely not, if the delivery men had stuck around they could have taken it back with them and there was never a mention of it beforehand. Where do I stand with this please it's really upset me and my Mum is going in to hospital in a week for her lumpectomy so I need to focus on that plus it's stuck on her drive !!!!! I paid 424 pds for the fridge by PayPal (if thats relevant). Thank you for any help.

soolin

I think you will get more responses if you add some paragraphs, as it is as the moment it is a bit difficult to read , especially with all the 'he said/ she said' bits.

Can you also clarify if you bought this online or in a shop. If you bought it from a shop then you may well have no right to a return. If you bought online then you can return, as long as it is unused and undamaged (and being outside may well mean that it is not now as delivered) but will need to see the return policy for a change of mind return to see who arranges and pays for the return shipping. Assuming they will still take it back having sat outside for a couple of days, you may well be responsible for arranging and paying for return.

You have no automatic right to a return because you bought the wrong size. I am sorry that your mum is going through a rough time, but ultimately none of that overrides the legal side of returns and any rights you may have.

danifox6

Yes I don't find that at all helpful. It's not my issue I told them 3 minutes after delivery to come back and get it and they said they weren't interested.

soolin

danifox6 wrote: »

Yes I don't find that at all helpful. It's not my issue I told them 3 minutes after delivery to come back and get it and they said they weren't interested.

Sorry you don't find it helpful, but out of interest who do you think is at fault for buying the wrong size fridge? I also wonder why you think a third party delivery company that was paid to deliver a fridge, which they did, is somehow responsible for just taking it back without any further payment ?

Anyway, I'm obviously not able to tell you what you want to hear, so I'll leave it to others to see if they can re assure you that the fridge will be uplifted, at no cost to you, and that you will receive a full refund.

Edit @ just out of interest read this:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/changed-your-mind/changing-your-mind-about-something-youve-bought/

You need to tell the seller you don’t want the item within 14 days of receiving it. Once you’ve told the seller, you’ve got another 14 days to actually send the item back. ~~

How to return the item
Most sellers give instructions on how to return items, and often include returns labels with your order. You usually have 14 days to return the item after telling the seller - check your terms and conditions for how long you have.
You may have to pay the cost of posting something back to the seller. The seller should have told you who has to pay for this when you bought the item. For example, it could have been in the terms and conditions. If they didn’t tell you, they will have to refund your postage costs.
You don't have to return the item in its original packaging, but you do need to make sure it’s packaged in a way that means it doesn’t get damaged. Sellers can ask you to pay if something gets damaged because it wasn’t packaged properly. The seller can also ask you to pay (or reduce your refund) if you’ve reduced the value of the item, eg if you wore shoes outside and scuffed the soles - but they can only do this if it’s in the terms and conditions.

soolin

One final thing , check the definition of 'delivered'. Unloading the goods and placing them on the property will almost certainly count as 'delivered' which means you need to use the right to cancel clause (assuming this was bought online and not from a shop) . As soon as item was unloaded it became your problem. Unless the online shop has a better than standard policy for change of mind you need to watch your times, as you are running out of time to officially tell them you will be returning it. I also imagine that the longer it sits outside the more the value will be reduced.

bsod

remove the packaging

theonlywayisup

danifox6 wrote: »

Yes I don't find that at all helpful. It's not my issue I told them 3 minutes after delivery to come back and get it and they said they weren't interested.

Take your fingers from your ears. People cannot offer help if you don't answer the crucial question on whether this was a distance sale or not.

photome

Why so much hassle to the OP. It says in the first line that the fridge was ordered online, so the OP should be able to cancel it

theonlywayisup

photome wrote: »

Why so much hassle to the OP. It says in the first line that the fridge was ordered online, so the OP should be able to cancel it

Granted it says it in the second line. It is way too much block of text. The way she continues in 'he says she says' etc is difficult to decipher no wonder many of us missed the important bit.

The OP's response in post 3 doesn't address the request for clarity in post 2, if she can't be bothered why should we....I'm out.

foxtrotoscar_2

photome wrote: »

Why so much hassle to the OP. It says in the first line that the fridge was ordered online, so the OP should be able to cancel it

Of course she can...she just needs to return the fridge, preferably before it's weather damaged.

SuperHan

You should see what type of delivery was referred to on the terms and conditions of the delivery. A doorstep delivery is very common for large white goods given how difficult they are to handle and the inherent risk of damaging property when delivering them.


If it doesn't fit and you don't think it ever will, then you should refuse delivery. Lots of people remove packaging and doors to get it into their property, particularly with bigger, American style fridges.


Of course the delivery drivers didn't come back - they did their job, the delivery. They have quotas and time frames to meet - they can't come back because you've changed your mind.


You can return the fridge, but if it's damaged from it's time outside, you won't get a full refund. You may have to pay the cost of getting it back to the retailer.


Ultimately, it's your fault for ordering a fridge that doesn't fit through the door. Nobody else (other than your mum) could have known that would be the case, so you can't expect anyone to go above and beyond to rectify it for you.


It's a good sign the retailer is "mortified" though - they may be more lenient to give you some sort of goodwill (and it is up to them to assist you in any remedy, not the delivery drivers).