Collection of Refunded goods

JackieCarroll

Hi


My daughter bought some garden chairs in July from a seller on Amazon. They arrived in poor condition (rusted) so she applied for a refund. They said as soon as the chairs were received back they would refund her. At their request she organised a courier to collect the chairs but they couldn't give her a time slot. She took the day off work and waited in all day and the courier failed to show. Within a couple of days she was fully refunded. The seller wants the chairs back but my daughter is not willing to organise another courier and missing another day off work so they're at a stalemate. (The seller said he would arrange for collection but again couldn't give a time slot so my daughter offered to leave the chairs outside at the front of the house but they still haven't replied to her email)


They still haven't been collected and this was back in August. The question is how long do you give them to collect the chairs and at what point can she reasonably assume they don't want them and she can dispose of them?


Thanks

[Deleted User]

I believe it's six years. She has a duty of care for that period and cannot simply leave them outside in the elements (to doubtless rust a bit more) or at risk of theft.

She cannot ever "assume" they don't want them, she must get this in writing.

Rob_LB

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

I believe it's six years. She has a duty of care for that period and cannot simply leave them outside in the elements (to doubtless rust a bit more) or at risk of theft.

She cannot ever "assume" they don't want them, she must get this in writing.

The answer to this question may not be as straight forward as you seem. The daughter appears to be an 'involuntary bailee' of the goods where she is now in possession of goods belonging to another that she does not want.

The limitation period on the law of bailment can be tricky because it is something created by common law and is not particularly based on contract (though it can be) but it's not a tort either. There are general duties of an involuntary bailee which requires you to take reasonable care of the goods in your possession and take care in returning the goods back to the rightful owner.

Sometimes the law of bailment has a statutory rule that applies for example the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 the limitation period will be set out in the legislation or it will be set out in the Limitation Act 1980 - for non-monetary claims the period is 12 years and if I recall, the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 act would be covered by this period of time.

The (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 does enable you a right to dispose of the goods provided that you have made reasonable attempts to hand them back to the owner and by giving them a reasonable amount of time to collect them, but the proceeds must be returned to the owner less any reasonable costs in disposing of the goods.

That being said, it does depend on the reason for returning them. Were they not as described, fit for purpose or satisfactory quality? Or did your daughter purchase second hand and wanted to return them?

Assuming the seller is a business and the reason for return was based on the former rather than the latter, it would be up to the seller to collect the goods at their expense. If the latter, it may be at your daughters expense if she was told at the time of purchase she must bear the cost of any returns.

The seller should reasonably make an attempt to give a window of time when he/she expects to collect the goods rather if the collection is a personal one and not a courier. Your daughter should also try and be reasonable too in arranging collection too.

On another note, you said your daughter was refunded, was this the refund of the courier fees or the goods purchased?

JackieCarroll

Hi


My daughter made a very good effort to return the goods. At their request she book a courier to collect through THEIR link (at their cost). She had to take the day off work because they wouldn't give her a time slot and the courier failed to collect. For obvious reasons she doesn't want to do that again as she lost a day's pay for being off work. The seller said he would arrange collection through a another courier but again they wouldn't give her a time slot so she emailed and asked them if it was ok to leave them out the front of the house and they simply didn't reply.


The garden chairs were "new" not used and they arrived with rusted feet. Presumably she was refunded in full because she'd booked the courier to collect but they didn't.


She's in stalemate because they won't respond to her emails.
I had advised her to contact them and give them 14 days to collect before she will dispose of them but she wanted another opinion before she did that.


Thanks for you replies

[Deleted User]

JackieCarroll wrote: »

I had advised her to contact them and give them 14 days to collect before she will dispose of them

Poor advice I'm afraid. Timescale is far too short and you have to give them more than one opportunity. Remember also that "disposing" of the goods does not mean she can keep the proceeds of any sale:

The (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 does provide the right to dispose of the goods provided that you have made sufficient attempts to hand them back to the owner with a suitable amount of time to collect them, but the proceeds must be returned to the owner.

Rob_LB

Before jumping in at the deep end you should be aware of the relevant provision under the Act (see section 12). In essence, your daughter should confirm in writing to the seller (presumably by email as there will be a recorded if disputed) of her intention to sell the goods if they are not collected. She might also want to mention about the fact that she arranged a delivery through the link suggested by the seller and they never turned up. Therefore they should contact her to arrange a window where they expect to collect the goods and, if they are not collected before the date specified then the goods will be disposed of. Here's an example below to help her out.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SELL GOODS UNDER THE TORTS (INTERFERENCE WITH GOODS) ACT 1977

I am writing further to my email of [date] and note that despite repeated requests to arrange collection of the goods, this has not happened.

This email is to put you on notice that unless you collect the goods by [14 days from letter] I will form the reasonable view that the goods have been abandoned and dispose of them via auction. Section 12 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 allows me the right to do this and deduct any reasonable costs in disposing of the goods. Once the goods have been sold I will contact you to arrange the transfer of the remaining proceeds to a bank account of your choosing.

The goods are available for collection at [insert address] and I would suggest that you contact me on [number] to arrange a suitable time for collection.

I look forward to hearing from you by [date].

JackieCarroll

Thanks for that. I'm not sure that they are sellable in the condition they're in but the general format of the letter seems ok. Might I add to that format that they have to give her a reasonable time slot for collection so as not to lose another day's pay?

[Deleted User]

JackieCarroll wrote: »

Might I add to that format that they have to give her a reasonable time slot for collection so as not to lose another day's pay?

No, but of course if they fail to collect after your letter that will mean you can dispose of the goods. I wouldn't be tempted to take them to the tip, by the way, you have to sell them for the best price you can get and send the owner whatever you receive