Being Charged a restocking FEE Help! Paypal Credit

fwor

So, the suggestion to just call them up and chat about it was a good one? Sometimes even "Randoms on the internet" have something useful to say...

gags

fwor said:

So, the suggestion to just call them up and chat about it was a good one? Sometimes even "Randoms on the internet" have something useful to say...

I tried to call them but hey didn't answer...I sent an email but they didn't reply. I managed to get them online on webchat after waiting for nearly an hour....
The whole business has been a joke... What is clear here is that anybody else in this situation needs to question everything....Most people on here posted it was my fault, I was wrong, Its the companies policy etc...Nothing I could do....
When in fact this was bad advice....These are the Randoms I was referring to.
What I find utterly bizarre is that people sided with the company in what is supposed to be a consumer led support forum...
If I had been naïve and not savvy enough to question the partial refund....I would have just accepted this loss of £146 as advised by forum users here who really should know better.
The internet gives keyboard warriors a voice....And I wasn't expecting such a backlash for a genuine mistake on my behalf....
You live and learn.....Its a shame certain people here feel the need to post nonsense about a genuine question about consumer rights and law.
Refund just hit my Paypal account...I'm home and dry...and I have survived the internet sharks....

fwor

I don't think that - on balance - you got bad advice in this thread.

You have to admit - even if you don't want to - that you made a mistake. You failed to return something that was part of what you bought, and that was no longer yours when you got a refund.

When you make a mistake, the best advice (IMO) is to phone up and talk to the supplier and see what they can do to help you out, before you start talking about Small Claims, Trading Standards and the like. Save all that until you know for sure that you really do have a problem, or you'll wind yourself up with no need.

Thinking in terms of "Consumer = good, Supplier = bad" doesn't help, really. Some of us here are both consumers and suppliers, and it's valid to try to see a situation like this from both sides, rather than the standard knee-jerk "the supplier is always bad" reaction.

FWIW, I've taken a (fairly) close look at the relevant legislation (The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) and as far as I can see, the legislation does not say that you don't have to return packaging, despite what CAB says.

gags

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you read my post again just above I do say it was a genuine mistake on my behalf....

I guess I was annoyed at the amount of refund reduction....it being so huge....but the company has lost a customer as I will never be buying from them again and I will advise others the same....
Customer service is key to any business..not making money on dark profits from customers...the initial price of the item was scalped to high heaven as well due to demand and supply....so they were still not going to make a loss even if it was resold as B grade stock....other retailers took a more honest approach with the same item and were completely honest with their customers....
Lesson learnt....Give in to scalpers is a mugs game....

fwor

Lesson learnt, I hope. If you have to return something, return all of it, and package it properly.

Here's a story from the "other side":

I recently sold an amplifier to someone. It weighed 6 kilos, and I custom-made packaging for it specifically so that it didn't get damaged in transit. The buyer didn't like it, and wanted his money back, so I paid for a return shipping label. Instead of using the packaging properly he just bunged it back in the box, and it got damaged on the way back to me - the whole front of the amp smashed in because he just didn't care. I couldn't claim from the shipping company because it clearly wasn't packaged properly - it would be impossible to argue that it was.

So, I lost the outward shipping cost, the return shipping cost and the cost to repair the item. Total cost for me was over £100, on a £200 item.

Jumblebumble

fwor said:

I don't think that - on balance - you got bad advice in this thread.

You have to admit - even if you don't want to - that you made a mistake. You failed to return something that was part of what you bought, and that was no longer yours when you got a refund.

.

I have been proved right that uninformed speculation was completely unnecessary and only meant that the OP would get more distressed about a non event
I guess the speculators never realised that the supplier did not say that if the OP subsequently returned the foam that there would not be a problem.
Of course the OP made a mistake. So what !
 We all do.

phillw

fwor said:

FWIW, I've taken a (fairly) close look at the relevant legislation (The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) and as far as I can see, the legislation does not say that you don't have to return packaging, despite what CAB says.

I think it would come under this:
(9) If (in the case of a sales contract) the value of the goods is diminished by any amount as a result of handling of the goods by the consumer beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods, the trader may recover that amount from the consumer, up to the contract price.

However I suspect their blanket % cost to cover the missing foam would might be deemed unfair.

fwor

phillw said:

fwor said:

FWIW, I've taken a (fairly) close look at the relevant legislation (The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) and as far as I can see, the legislation does not say that you don't have to return packaging, despite what CAB says.

I think it would come under this:
(9) If (in the case of a sales contract) the value of the goods is diminished by any amount as a result of handling of the goods by the consumer beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods, the trader may recover that amount from the consumer, up to the contract price.

However I suspect their blanket % cost to cover the missing foam would might be deemed unfair.

I was referring to the fact that Citizens Advice say that you don't have to return the packaging, but that doesn't seem to be stated in the relevant CCR 2013 - so I don't know what Citizens Advice base their "advice" on.

jsmith9

Yes, I wondered where they had got that from too - no obligation to return packaging.. 

It could be (and I think this has been stated before) that they may be referring to the 'big cardboard box and bubble wrap' it was packaged in, rather than the actual manufacturer's retail packaging of the item itself (which i would have thought you would have to return).

jsmith9

Being Charged a restocking FEE Help! Paypal Credit - Page 8 — MoneySavingExpert Forum


"On Sports Directs website it said: “you may cancel your order at any time within 7 working days… We will refund the goods in full and reimburse you the delivery costs”. But went on to say that you have to return the goods “in their original packaging”. However the OFT guidance clearly states the Distance Selling Regulations allow consumers to examine the goods they have ordered as they would in a shop, which means companies can’t insist on it being returned “as new” or in the original packaging."


Consumers obligations to return mail order goods (whatconsumer.co.uk)

Packaging

Under a distance selling contract, a supplier cannot make refunds subject to the goods being returned unopened in their original packaging. One of the principles of the distance selling regulations is to give you a chance to examine the goods at home, not having had a chance to do so in the shop. It would be impossible for you to do this without opening the packaging and trying the product out. Having said this, you will still be under a duty to take reasonable care of the goods while in your possession, and may be subject to certain instructions such as not to wear shoes outdoors, or remove hygiene seals. But you can  never be penalised simply because you did not return the goods in their original packaging.

What Do I Do When A Return Is Not In Its Original Packaging? – Blog (parcelhero.com)

Charge for a reduction in the value of the return item

Depending on the item, the lack of its original packaging – including things like price tags and labels – could make a big difference in the price that they are sold for. This is most relevant in the sales of collectibles, but it could be a big deal with other items too. Clothes that come back without their price tags for example, could never be sold as new again, and there’s one notable anecdote in the eBay community of a necklace sold in a genuine Tiffany’s box. When it was returned it was simply in a small plastic bag, with no sign of the box it had been dispatched in, greatly impacting how much the merchant could have sold it for on their next attempt.

It’s important to note here, that you can only charge if the value of the item has been reduced by “excessive handling”. That means you can’t do it if they’ve tried it on and sent it straight back, but if they’ve sent it back without its tags, or returned a model without its box, then value has clearly been reduced. It also has to state in your terms and conditions that returns may be charged if the value of the item has been reduced.