Retailer refusing me a refund until supplier has refunded THEM

KIlona

- Three years ago, I bought 2 items from an online shop. They were faulty and the online retailer agreed to take back the items and offer me a refund (they accepted the items had actually been faulty from the beginning, which is the case).
- They collected the items via courier.
- This was in December. I still haven't received a refund although they have my items. 
- They say they are waiting for their supplier to refund THEM before they can then refund ME.
- Is that the correct procedure? Should they not refund me straight away?
Thanks in advance for any responses. It's no small sum of money so I appreciate it.

neilmcl

More details regarding the goods purchased would be handy, in particular whether this was a consumer or business purchase. As a consumer they cannot insist you wait until they are paid for the goods themselves, they're ability to be refunded by the manufacturer has no bearing on the contract you have with them and now that they've agree to refund they have no more than 14 days to comply.

"15)A refund under this section must be given without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to a refund." (Consumer Rights Act 2015).

KIlona

Thank you. They were radiators for my home.

unholyangel

No, they can't make your rights contingent on their claim against the supplier.

However, are they being more generous than the law allows? Are they giving a full refund? Or partial? Also, perhaps wise to remember a lot of businesses are struggling with cashflow at the moment and it may be a case that they don't have the funds to refund. With that in mind, that they could potentially have cashflow or insolvency issues.....how did you pay originally? 

KIlona

I paid by debit card. Yes, good point and I appreciate many businesses are struggling right now. I have been waiting since December though, when they received the items back, so I have been patient and do now want my money back asap.

eddddy

KIlona said:

Thank you. They were radiators for my home.

Just to double check - did the online shop say anything like "trade sales only"?

If they did, and/or you misrepresented yourself as being a trader, you can't expect to be protected by consumer rights legislation.

KIlona

No, they definitely don't deal only in trade and I didn't claim to be a trader.

Sandtree

KIlona said:

I paid by debit card. Yes, good point and I appreciate many businesses are struggling right now. I have been waiting since December though, when they received the items back, so I have been patient and do now want my money back asap.

This is one of those scenarios where you need to consider if you'd rather 50% of your money back "now" or 100% of your money back in 2 months.

Your statutory rights allow the merchant to determine the mechanism for correction out of repair, replace or refund and it allows the merchant to reduce the refund to reflect the use you've had out of the items. If you start being more annoying and start demanding your rights you may find that they decide to be less generous and give you a reduced refund whereas if you remain more amicable you may end up with the full refund promised. 

KIlona

Can they reduce the refund just if I'm 'annoying' when they've already promised a full refund?

davidmcn

Your difficulty is what practical steps you can take to get the refund any faster. A small claim may well be considerably slower than just waiting for them to get round to it.

mattyprice4004

KIlona said:

Can they reduce the refund just if I'm 'annoying' when they've already promised a full refund?

Yes, they can - there's nothing stopping them doing this, they'll just say you were mis-advised by whoever you spoke to. 
A full refund after 3 years is a great result, I'd not want to rock the boat too much!