Returns under Consumer Contract regulations when company is in China?

ashe

Asking for a friend that doesn't use MSE

Bullet point summary;

• Ordered an item from a site that appears to be in the UK, UK address on their website. Advertising all done with influencers with english accents
• Purport to sell neon signs but in small print says Neon LED; technically I suppose they can get away with this but their advertising all over the internet says things like "Love Neon"? and they are called "Neon Beach" so arguably you would expect it to be a Neon product
• Trustpilot reviews are atrocious, constant flood of 1* reviews saying items damaged, broken take 12 weeks + to arrive, no customer support, no refunds
• He's been trying to get them to cancel the order for weeks now as they said on their website it would be about 3 weeks factoring in Covid 19, its now about 10 weeks in. 
• They've ignored all refund requests and recently sent him what they said were "proofs" of his finished product, but the spec didnt match up to what he ordered in terms of shape, size and colours. He pointed this out and again asked for a refund. They ignored this and offered to pay the import charges, which originally weren't mentioned on their site but they have since edited in to say these will be payable due to numerous negative reviews. 
• Company still ignoring refund talk and offered to cover his import fees (likely to be about £80). 
• Latest update is they've ignored refund request again and offered an additional free sign

essentially the items aren't what he thought he was getting. the website neon beach use makes the signs look like Neon, but its cheap LED which is a very different product. They say repeatedly they are  UK company but production is in China, he's shelled out about £400 for what looked like quality products and instead he's getting stuff that he has since learned he could have ordered for a fraction of the cost from Aliexpress himself. 

he would like to cancel the transaction under Consumer Contract regulations as the items dont seem to be as described and he feels mislead by the company and certainly doesnt want to deal with returns for damage or failures down the line. 

Any advice around if he can just refuse delivery when they send them seeing as he has tried to cancel numerous times? He's tried going to his card company to issue a chargeback but their phone lines are rammed and he would rather stop it before he gets the item rather than trying to charge it back when he does receive it. The items are not "bespoke", as all "customisation" is done via drop down options eg colour size shape, so my understanding is this doesn't invalidate CCR, despite them saying this on their site:

"All our pieces are made by hand to order, meaning each one is as unique as you!

We can only accept returns/refunds on faulty items, and can not accept returns due to change of mind unfortunately, as all pieces are one off made to order. All sales are final once placed on site."

Aylesbury_Duck

Was this a business purchase? If so, it won't be covered under consumer rights anyway.

If it's a private purchase and the company is based in China, UK consumer laws don't apply.  I can't be absolutely sure from their website but it looks like they're UK-based.  In fairness though, they are entirely up-front about the LED nature of the product, it's not exactly hidden in small print.

How did he pay?

davidmcn

ashe said:

They say repeatedly they are UK company but production is in China

First step is to work this bit out. If they're Chinese then it's Chinese consumer laws which will apply. Might help if you told us who they are (there seem to be several, possibly related, websites using similar wording).

shaun_from_Africa

They don't seem to mention where they are based but there is this:

SECTION 18 - GOVERNING LAW
These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of United Kingdom.

https://neonbeach.com/9584181329/checkouts/475d1e1272694c6e4c8cf595f356852d?discount=+
(click on terms of service at the bottom)

mobileron

charge back on credit card

ashe

He paid on credit card but can’t get through to barclaycard in the phone 

uk based telephone number and they say  in correspondence they’re a uk company

it was a personal transaction not business 

I disagree they are totally up front about it, you have to click read more and look under materials to be told it’s neon led, Or read their company history page; all items are listed as neon signs, website neonbeach, ads say “love Neon?”

Copy from site;

“Make a statement and design the mood in any room with this gorgeous neon sign sure to create the vibe you've always dreamed of!”

 Items are titled “'IT WAS ALL A DREAM' NEON SIGN”

“Gorgeous, an insanely high-quality neon sign made by hand and built to last.”

Etc

Sure, if you’re spending time reading their story page etc it’s made clear but as a non-neon expert I’d say it’s misleading and they’ve only recently stepped up adding more references to it due to complaints. Lots of reviews mention this

Story page says london based office. No one answers the phone though 

Aylesbury_Duck

Credit card then.

I disagree on the neon/LED bit. I spent just a few minutes on their site trying to establish where they were based, and came across the product description without even looking for it.  It isn't misleading. Neon is an adjective as well as a gas.  Many years ago I bought a television from Radio Rentals.

ashe

We’ll have to agree to disagree however the swathe of social media comments and reviews suggests otherwise. Coming at it from my post you’re actively looking for it rather than blind buying a product you’ve seen. Ask most people about a neon sign and people will have a specific thing in mind,  and it’s not an led light made to look like one. 

Aylesbury_Duck

To be honest, I wouldn't be blind-buying £400 worth of goods from a company I've never heard of without understanding what I was buying.  But apparently I'm in the minority.

ashe

Aylesbury_Duck said:

To be honest, I wouldn't be blind-buying £400 worth of goods from a company I've never heard of without understanding what I was buying.  But apparently I'm in the minority.

Ok 

ashe

tonyhender said:

No refund if custom made

It’s not custom made. You select drop down options for colour and size; CCR regulations say this isn’t bespoke. 

You can have custom made ones done but these are off the shelf options