AO.com holding charge legal?

Diem1000000

Hi All.

First time poster but long time reader of these forums. Hoping someone can clarify my consumer rights. I recently purchased a TV through AO.com. I have to say I can't fault the customer service. The original price was excellent with next day delivery and communication was great. I noticed the following day that the price had dropped by a further £35 and they price matched immediately and issued a credit to my account straight away. Brilliant.

However, 11 days after receiving the TV I am disappointed in its performance (no fault, just blacks could be much blacker) so I contacted AO to arrange a return under the Consumer Rights act, distance selling regs. I have read what my rights are both on here, gov.uk, and Which.co.uk and understood them to mean I should be entitled to a full refund but would likely have to pay the cost of returning the TV to AO. Fine.

However, AO have told me that they will only offer a partial refund/will apply a holding charge as the item has been opened and they want to knock 30% off or 15% if I exchange. I understand that they will not be able to sell the TV as new as it has been opened and used so can see the logic of the charge, but after reading and re-reading my consumer rights are they allowed to impose this charge legally? I have changed my mind within 14 days of receipt so aren't they obliged to offer a full refund as it was an online purchase? Do I have it right and should I challenge them?

If the answer is they are within their rights I will likely keep the TV as a 30% hit is not worth it. However if I am right in my understanding and I should only be paying for the cost of returning, I'd much rather have a TV that I am 100% happy with.

It's also worth noting that all original packaging is present and in pristine condition. Even down to the plug cover!

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Cheers.

JReacher1

According to “Which” it says :

“A deduction can be made if the value of the goods has been reduced as a result of you handling the goods more than was necessary.”

I would suggest keeping and using the TV for 11 days meets this criteria.

Diem1000000

Thanks Jreacher1.

I see your what you're saying but is that not the point of the 14 days? To be able to make an objective assessment with the product in place as to whether it suits?

Unnecessary handling is surely subjective here? In honesty the TV is in that good condition with all original packaging that I could have told AO I hadn't used it but that wouldn't be right.

Just a shame it's got this slight issue as otherwise it's a great TV!

Thanks for your input.

zoob

You have the right to inspect the tv as you would in a bricks and mortar shop, that would be 10-20 a normal person would take mins on average, so taking 11 days in your home is taking the p###
Definitely entitled to deduct a percentage as it’s not just tried out to see the characteristics of the tv, it’s a used and second hand tv now

mattyprice4004

As above really, try and sit in Currys for 11 days watching it and see if you can...

It's perfectly fair as they can't sell it as unused. Why should they be out of pocket if you just don't like it?

Diem1000000

Fair enough.

It looks like the consensus is that I've had it too long so I won't bother pursuing. It's a shame really as the only reason I've had it this long is to try and find some settings online to improve the issue. While I have improved the picture considerably from the out of the box settings, the light bleed from the blacks is still noticeable to me. Ah well, you live and learn.

I will say in response to this: "Why should they be out of pocket if you just don't like it?", while I do sympathise with the retailer isn't the point of the distance selling regs to protect the consumer and make sure we are not out of pocket for a product that we don't like? Not liking it is a perfectly legitimate reason to return under the law. There doesn't have to be a fault. That's why it's called a cooling off period. Amazon for example are excellent at this.

Anyway, thanks for the advice all.

Much appreciated.

DCFC79

Try adjusting the settings.

DoaM

DCFC79 wrote: »

Try adjusting the settings.

Try reading the thread?

neilmcl

Diem1000000 wrote: »

Fair enough.

It looks like the consensus is that I've had it too long so I won't bother pursuing. It's a shame really as the only reason I've had it this long is to try and find some settings online to improve the issue. While I have improved the picture considerably from the out of the box settings, the light bleed from the blacks is still noticeable to me. Ah well, you live and learn.

I will say in response to this: "Why should they be out of pocket if you just don't like it?", while I do sympathise with the retailer isn't the point of the distance selling regs to protect the consumer and make sure we are not out of pocket for a product that we don't like? Not liking it is a perfectly legitimate reason to return under the law. There doesn't have to be a fault. That's why it's called a cooling off period. Amazon for example are excellent at this.

Anyway, thanks for the advice all.

Much appreciated.

The 14 days is simply there because it's a period that gives you enough time to assess your purchase, in the same way you would be able to do instore, make your decision, cancel and get it back to the seller. It's not there to allow you to use a product for an extended period to see if you like it or not.

born_again

Cynical mode on... :rotfl:

New large screen TV for RWC (or other event). Now needs excuse to send back

Blacks not being black enough is a common TV issue. Often solved by either adjustment in functions (TV, news etc) or by actually moving TV is it does not have light shining on it.

Diem1000000

Very cynical indeed! :rotfl:

If I'd wanted to do that I would just have told them it was faulty or that I hadn't used it. But as stated above that wouldn't be right. :A

Just going to keep an eye on their black Friday prices now as if it drops they'll price match. Can't fault AO in general for customer service.

As for settings fixing the issue, while I can make blacks blacker I can't do anything about light bleed from the backlight. Further reading suggests this is the trade off you make to get the better viewing angles of IPS screens.

Such is life.

Thanks again all.