Paying return postage

Yan23

Hi all, we recently purchased 4 dining chairs and immediately didn’t like them when they arrived as they looked different from the pictures on the website.  They were £240 but we must pay return postage of £81 which seems a lot. The company is based in Borehamwood so I expect I could arrange my own delivery for much less.  Firstly, if we feel they are a different colour could this be classed as faulty? I understand if the item is faulty then the company is responsible for also paying the return postage. I’d appreciate any thought/advice thanks.

MattMattMattUK

Yan23 said:

Firstly, if we feel they are a different colour could this be classed as faulty?

They either are, or are not a different colour, there is no "feel". They would not be faulty either way, but would be "item not as described" if the colour was not accurate. 

Yan23 said:

They were £240 but we must pay return postage of £81 which seems a lot. 

Chairs are usually fairly bulky and heavy, third party collections can cost more, that does not seem an excessive cost.

How did you purchase the chairs, online or in person and they were subsequently delivered? When were they delivered? Did they arrive fully assembled or do/did they require assembly and have you assembled them if needed?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

If you purchased from a website and wish to cancel your contract the trader should advise you are responsible for the cost of return and for goods which can not be returned by normal post they should advise you of the approx cost of returning. 

Regarding the colour, if you can post the image from the website (or a link to it) and a photo of the actual chairs it would be easier for posters to advise, otherwise it's just guess work which won't really help you  

Yan23

Thanks for your replies. It seems then we will need to pay the £81 cost for return delivery.  However, they are in my opinion a different colour and therefore not as described.  Please see pics

Yan23

These arrived 6 days ago purchased through a website.  They have not been assembled and are in the original packaging.  As you can see by the pictures they are much lighter and include brown flecks

neilmcl

Yan23 said:

Thanks for your replies. It seems then we will need to pay the £81 cost for return delivery.  However, they are in my opinion a different colour and therefore not as described.  Please see pics

They look the same to me, which at the end of the day shows that you can't fully rely on a standard computer screen to represent the exact, true to the eye, colour.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Well their terms don't comply with the CCRs

1. An order may be cancelled at any time between the placement of the order and 14 days following delivery of the goods. However if this is not a stock item and has been ordered especially for you there will be a cancellation fee of £45 plus VAT. Where a customer has cancelled their order from one of the following postcodes, AB, DD, FK, IV, KW, KY, PA and PH, there will be an additional cancellation fee to cover the costs of the delivery surcharge. If the Buyer is dissatisfied with their purchase for any reason they may, within 14 days of delivery, contact the Seller’s customer service department to notify them that they wish to return some or all items from their order. The Seller will arrange collection of the goods from the Buyer at a cost of £67.50 plus VAT which will be deducted from the refund. Goods must be returned to the Seller in the same condition they were in at the time of delivery to the Buyer and in their original packaging. They must be in a resaleable condition as good as new. The packaging must be sealed with clear tape only. The items must not have been assembled as by assembling the goods it can be deemed as acceptance. If only part of an order is returned for any reason then the refund would be applied taking into account the full price of the product being kept by the customer any discounts that may have been applied would be nullified. Refunds will be issued within 30 days of receipt of goods and after we have inspected them for damage. We reserve the right to withhold all or part of your refund if items are returned damaged or not in a resaleable condition.
2. Please note that for selected items of leather upholstery there is a 50% cancellation/returns fee and on items ordered especially for you i.e. bespoke made to an individual’s specification unless the order is cancelled within one week of placement. If the item is not a leather upholstery or bespoke item then it can be returned as per the terms above.

It's 14 days beginning the day after delivery. 
Items not held in stock are not excluded from the right to cancel and fee can't be charged.
I'm not sure whether deducting the surcharge is permitted.
Their requirements for the goods to be in certain conditions implies you can't cancel if you've failed to meet them which isn't permitted. 
Refunds should be made within 14 days of receipt of the goods. 
To my knowledge their mention of reducing the refund isn't permitted as they haven't provided the correct information regarding the right to cancel. 
Paragraph 2 would only apply if they advertise a standard chair and you asked to have leather, if they give the option I can't see the fee is permitted. 

@unholyangel might be able to advise whether their poor terms have any bearing on whether the collection fee would apply. 

The photos on their website (at least of this chair) are really poor quality when you zoom in but sorry to say to my eyes I don't think you could claim the goods didn't match the colour.

davidmcn

neilmcl said:

Yan23 said:

Thanks for your replies. It seems then we will need to pay the £81 cost for return delivery.  However, they are in my opinion a different colour and therefore not as described.  Please see pics

They look the same to me

Me too...

m-holland

they look the same to me as well

oldagetraveller1

https://www.oakfurnituresuperstore.co.uk/about-us/terms

I suspected there would be something in their Ts & Cs, there is.

Paragraph 4, "The products" part 3. You did read that?

However, the colour looks correct to me!

MattMattMattUK

Interestingly they look vastly different to me. Also of note, if you go to the actual website the colour differs from one picture to the next on the product itself and even more variation between the product when listed in combination with other items (the list them with different tables etc.). On the product itself the chairs have been Photoshopped at a very low resolution and on all the other listings bar one they also appear to have been Photoshopped, it looks like the product photography was done with only one colour and then every colour variation has been generated in Photoshop. The first images in the link below is the only actual photographic image of those chairs, all the rest are Photoshopped.

https://www.oakfurnituresuperstore.co.uk/ranges/oxford/oxford-120cm-solid-oak-dining-table-with-mia-grey-benches-and-mia-chairs#options=seats:2;benches:1

Colour can also hugely vary due to monitor/device calibration and lighting, so that factors in, which is why most furniture suppliers offer swatches. As others have mentioned as you purchased online you have a right to a full refund in the 14 day window, whether you can actually enforce that however is a different matter.