C C Regulations. Is it 14 days from written cancellation to post or to receive item?

delays7777

Consumer Contracts Regulations - Returns.
Is it 14 days (from written cancellation) to post the item or 14 days for the company to receive it?
I ordered an electrical product online (general product, not tailor-made) which I am returning. I provided several written notices of return by email within 14 days. However, the company states if I return the item without a returns number, they will charge a large fee, as stated on their website. So I wait for a returns number, and I receive this in an email a week later. The company then tries to stall by about the returns procedure, saying I can't return. So I hear back from them later on during the week and they now say I can return product,
but as the 14 days since my first written notice is nearing, my question is:

Do I have 14 days (from written cancellation) to show proof I have sent the item back, or is it 14 days for the company to receive the item (from written cancellation)?

If it is the latter, what happens if my delivery gets delayed by a day or two (even if I send it out on 24 or 48 delivery) and the company receives the item on the 15th day from me sending my notice of return.

Thanks for help, regards,

unholyangel

Did the company actually inform you of your right to cancel under the CCRs?

But to answer your question, its 14 days (starting day after you inform the trader of your decision to withdraw) to send them back.

delays7777

Thanks. Yes, I know it is 14 days to 'send them back,' but it can be interpreted in more than one way, which is why I was enquiring about it, as it could mean to post the item,
or for the seller to receive the item. Anyway, from further research, I found it means
14 days to post the item and not 14 days for the seller to receive the item by post.

As found here in the Consumer Contracts Regulations legislation:
The consumer must send off the goods under paragraph (2)(a), or hand them over under paragraph (2)(b), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days after the day on which the consumer informs the trader as required by regulation 31(2)

Obviously, proof of posting is evidence the goods have been sent off, so it doesn't mean a company has to receive the item, as the postal system can be unreliable at times. If a company receives the item after these 14 days, the buyer is still allowed a refund, as long as you can provide proof the item was posted back within the 14 days.

wealdroam

14 days to send them back is not open to the interpretation you suggest - as you subsequently found.

What about the question Unholyangel asked?
You may have a year and fourteen days to 'send them back'.
Read Regulation 31.

theonlywayisup

As has been said, it's vital what their T&C did or didn't say ie, did they inform you or not. But in any event the 14 days isn't a returns time, but the time you have to return (not deliver) it isn't a delivery time.

Is the seller in the UK?

unholyangel

delays7777 wrote: »

Thanks. Yes, I know it is 14 days to 'send them back,' but it can be interpreted in more than one way, which is why I was enquiring about it, as it could mean to post the item,
or for the seller to receive the item. Anyway, from further research, I found it means
14 days to post the item and not 14 days for the seller to receive the item by post.

As found here in the Consumer Contracts Regulations legislation:
The consumer must send off the goods under paragraph (2)(a), or hand them over under paragraph (2)(b), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days after the day on which the consumer informs the trader as required by regulation 31(2)

Obviously, proof of posting is evidence the goods have been sent off, so it doesn't mean a company has to receive the item, as the postal system can be unreliable at times. If a company receives the item after these 14 days, the buyer is still allowed a refund, as long as you can provide proof the item was posted back within the 14 days.

Can it?

The regulations say send them back within 14 days, not that they must be received by the trader within 14 days. In fact, the article about returning the goods makes no mention of the trader receiving them or what happens if they're not returned. In comparison, the regulations do state what happens if the trader fails to provide the necessary information, what happens if they fail to advise the consumer is liable for return costs etc.