Order cancelled and told would get refund but received the item

mazhida

I am having an issue with a mattress company regarding an order.

I placed the order and then realise the delivery date was two weeks away.

I emailed them to cancel the order as per their t&c's. They then inform me that I will have to pay £60 to "return" this item as it has already been dispatched.

I then prove to them that I had asked for the order to be cancelled before this item had been dispatched (This is still almost two weeks before they said it would be with me and still showing as not dispatched). They checked and agreed to refund me in full within 5 working days as they had dispatched the item AFTER I had cancelled the order.

 

3 days later, I have the item turn up at my door. I refuse the delivery but its left at my door regardless.

After I contact said company they now refuse to refund me until the item is back with them. They refuse to provide me with any collection details and still refuse to refund me for an order that shouldn't have been sent in the first place. I am now stuck with a rather expensive unwanted item.

Where do I stand with getting a refund for this item without having to pay myself to send the item back to them. This being a £50+ cost to me 

Thanks in advance for any help!!

Sandtree

If you have evidence that they accepted a full refund would be issued as the item hadn't yet been dispatched you are on fairly good grounds.  You have limited (but not no) liability for what is effectively an "unsolicited sample" given it was sent after they'd already agreed a full refund. 

Ultimately if you've evidence of the above its up to them to arrange collection at their own expense. They in theory cannot withhold your refund dependent upon it but the law does give them a reasonable period to actually make the refund.

Did you actually get an alternative mattress delivered before this one turned up? Are you dealing with a principle matter or was the a different mattress delivered a week before?

mazhida

Yes I did get an alternative from elsewhere that arrived the next day.

I have the email from the stating that the order had been cancelled and that I would get a refund. As below

Good Afternoon,
I have now cancelled your order, thank you for this confirmation.
Please accept our apologies for the issues surrounding your order. It seems your email did come through prior to dispatch as shown on the tracking. 
Your refund will be processed to the account purchased with and back with you within 5-7 working days.
If you should need anything in the meantime, do not hesitate to contact us.

It's been such a nightmare!

pinkshoes

I would send a simple LBA (letter before action) stating that you ordered the mattress on <date> then when you realised the delivery was 2 weeks, you cancelled it X hours later, and received an email saying you would be refunded. They then tried to deliver the mattress, you refused the delivery but the courier would not let you refuse blah blah blah and give them 14 days to refund in full and make an arrangement to collect their mattress.

unholyangel

Do their T&C's make acceptance conditional on dispatch? 

mazhida

pinkshoes said:

I would send a simple LBA (letter before action) stating that you ordered the mattress on <date> then when you realised the delivery was 2 weeks, you cancelled it X hours later, and received an email saying you would be refunded. They then tried to deliver the mattress, you refused the delivery but the courier would not let you refuse blah blah blah and give them 14 days to refund in full and make an arrangement to collect their mattress.

Thanks I will look into that!

mazhida

unholyangel said:

Do their T&C's make acceptance conditional on dispatch? 

10.13.Cancellations – You can cancel your order free of charge if you request the cancellation in writing before we have dispatched it. Orders cancelled after Happy Beds have dispatched the product(s) will be considered as a return. See above for the possible charges.

elsien

Their negative reviews on trustpilot make for interesting reading. 

mazhida

elsien said:

Their negative reviews on trustpilot make for interesting reading. 

They sure do! Will teach me to not look 

unholyangel

mazhida said:

unholyangel said:

Do their T&C's make acceptance conditional on dispatch? 

10.13.Cancellations – You can cancel your order free of charge if you request the cancellation in writing before we have dispatched it. Orders cancelled after Happy Beds have dispatched the product(s) will be considered as a return. See above for the possible charges.

This is what I was looking for:

2.2.All orders are subject to acceptance. All details supplied to Happy Beds must be true and accurate. If we accept the order, we enter into a contract with you.

I presume they did accept the order? 

My next consideration would then be whether they informed you before you entered the contract, how much it would cost to return. Because the CCRs require them to tell you (where the goods cannot be returned by normal post) that you are liable and what the cost is. The CCRs also state that if the trader does not comply with that, the contract is to be treated as including a term that the trader is liable for the return costs. 

mazhida

unholyangel said:

mazhida said:

unholyangel said:

Do their T&C's make acceptance conditional on dispatch? 

10.13.Cancellations – You can cancel your order free of charge if you request the cancellation in writing before we have dispatched it. Orders cancelled after Happy Beds have dispatched the product(s) will be considered as a return. See above for the possible charges.

This is what I was looking for:

2.2.All orders are subject to acceptance. All details supplied to Happy Beds must be true and accurate. If we accept the order, we enter into a contract with you.

I presume they did accept the order? 

My next consideration would then be whether they informed you before you entered the contract, how much it would cost to return. Because the CCRs require them to tell you (where the goods cannot be returned by normal post) that you are liable and what the cost is. The CCRs also state that if the trader does not comply with that, the contract is to be treated as including a term that the trader is liable for the return costs. 

I got an order confirmation so I would say yes they did

In terms of costs for return I had no idea until they told me they want £60 as it had been dispatched.

They went back on this after I provided them photos showing they had booked the item in with the courier after I had requested it to be cancelled.