Money Moral Dilemma: Should I return the 'free' sawhorse that arrived after I cancelled the order?

keithyno.1

cotsvale said:

Yes, you should return it. It arriving late was probably not their fault. Someone has had to pay for the materials, for it being made and for packaging and postage. In these times where business are struggling and just out of plain honesty , you should contact them. I had a similar thing happen and was told to keep the item. Clean conscience.

Well, when you say, “Yes, you should return it” that may incur either a cost (courier charges etc) or the inconvenience of yet another trip to the store for the saw-horse buyer, when he/she’s been messed around enough as it is. 

The best reply without doubt up to now has been the first one by CapricornLass - email them and ask them to come and collect it if they want it back. It’s their mistake, and any issues they have with their courier firm is hardly the customer’s fault is it, so why should the customer face any cost or inconvenience in it being put right? 

consumers_revenge

Ive had this happen. Contacted them, and its more expensive to arrange the paperwork, staff resource and courier. Just said keep it with our compliments.

gloriouslyhappy

Contact them and see what they say. If they want it back, they'll arrange a courier. I ordered a pair of joggers from ebay, they arrived on time but but were poorly stitched and they supplied me with a postage label when I told them I wanted to return them. They refunded me and I posted the item at a post office with proof of purchase, using their pre-printed label. To my surprise, Royal Mail returned the parcel a week later, reason given 'incomplete address'! This from their printed label, sheer incompetence to issue a postage label with the wrong address. I'm not going to go through all that again including going out of my way to the post office when I'm shielding so I left them outside the door with a note for the window washer on his next visit, and he took them happily. 

Sometimes it's out of your control, but I did my part so my conscience is clear.

veggiehouse

Don't waste any more time. Just give it to someone who might be struggling at the moment. They'll be happy, you'll feel better and the company will have supported somebody in the community.

powerful_Rogue

Don't worry. They will reverse the refund when they finally realise it has been sent out and received.

Duncdude

A very similar thing happened to my mum some years ago. She ordered a Sony HiFi from a well known catalogue chain and received two within a week of each other. She did contact them to explain as that is how her conscience worked, and they said they would collect one back from her. No one ever came so she ended up with two stereos. The point is though she did inform them though and leave any resultant action with them. 

Emerion

This has happened to me a few times over the years. I always tell the truth, and offer to send it back myself if they pay the postage, or for them to send a courier to collect it. I don’t think you should have to pay return postage because it wasn’t  your error. Even if it wasn’t their error either, their problem is with the delivery people that they chose to use, not you. Almost no one has ever taken the item back because they don’t want to pay for the postage, but they do appreciate my honesty, and I feel good about what I’ve done.

Bob_Fletcher

Of course you should return it - it is not yours and you have no right to keep it or sell it.

Hodgie

Legally, the item should be offered for return but you have no obligation to physically return it yourself.
Tell the supplier what has happened and ...'if they have failed to collect it by XX/XX/XXXX (a reasonable date that you stipulate) you will dispose of it yourself'.
You could, if they fail to collect it, charge them for its disposal but that would be a little extreme.

Aberbud

Of course you should contact the supplier and invite them to collect it. To keep it without their permission would be theft.