Consumer Rights vs Vendor T & C’s

Butter_Crunch

I bought an electronic e-cigarette kit on-line along with a spare tank. As I was opening the tank, I realised (stupidly), I ordered the wrong tank. It takes completely different coils to the tank with the kit I bought.  Apart from some missing cellophane at the top of the box, the item is as brand new as it could be. Everything inside, is untouched & unused.  I contacted the shop & asked if I could return it for a refund. I mentioned the missing cellophane. They said I couldn’t have a refund as per their T & C’s which states, due to hygiene, e-cigarettes, pods etc, which have been opened won’t be refunded. If that was the case, why aren’t all vaping products sealed, like cosmetics.

It seems ironic, that in this instance, the tank was in a cellophane sealed box, yet a box of refillable pods I bought from another vendor was received in an unsealed box with the pods in a plastic cage holder that wasn’t sealed either.

Can I politely insist that they have to take it back under distance selling. I’m more than willing to pay their 10% re-stocking fee.  Do their vendor T & C’s over-ride the distance selling regulations?  

zzyzx1221

Butter_Crunch said:

Everything inside, is untouched & unused.  I contacted the shop & asked if I could return it for a refund. I mentioned the missing cellophane. They said I couldn’t have a refund as per their T & C’s which states, due to hygiene, e-cigarettes, pods etc, which have been opened won’t be refunded. If that was the case, why aren’t all vaping products sealed, like cosmetics.

I don't know but

It seems ironic, that in this instance, the tank was in a cellophane sealed box

it seems like this one was.  I'd say it's entirely reasonable that something that you stick in your mouth can't be returned for hygiene reasons, and it appears that they did seal it and you broke the seal

Butter_Crunch

It was factory sealed in cellophane, as a lot of items are, not just vape products. The coils that you use in the tank are still in the box, sealed. The issue I have, is, not all vape products are sealed. You buy cosmetics sealed for a reason. If they’re quoting hygiene, why aren’t all vape products sealed? It just seems a bit of a contradiction & they’re being super picky because they don’t want to refund. I wouldn’t dream of asking for a refund if I’d used it.  

zzyzx1221

Butter_Crunch said:

It was factory sealed in cellophane, as a lot of items are, not just vape products. The coils that you use in the tank are still in the box, sealed. The issue I have, is, not all vape products are sealed. You buy cosmetics sealed for a reason. If they’re quoting hygiene, why aren’t all vape products sealed? It just seems a bit of a contradiction & they’re being super picky because they don’t want to refund. I wouldn’t dream of asking for a refund if I’d used it.  

Whether other vape products are sealed or not isn't relevant.  If you buy a vape product (that you're going to stick in your mouth ) and it's not sealed, and you wish to return it as a change of mind return, AND they refuse for hygiene reasons, THEN you can tell them there was no hygiene seal to break.  But that's not what happened here.  You broke the seal of a sealed product, part of which is going to end up in your mouth.  And they don't want it back, because no customer is going to want to stick it in their mouth after someone else might have.  That's really all there is to it.

They can refuse a change of mind return under the CRA if the hygiene seal is broken.

Butter_Crunch

It would be quite easy to tell if it’d been used. You can never eradicate completely, the smell of e liquid. If hygiene was that important, then all vape products should be sealed. It’s slightly frustrating, reiterating, that the tank hasn’t been used & despite the torn cellophane, the item is still as new & they won’t believe you. They’ll send items out that aren’t sealed & customers have to accept that, but they won’t accept unsealed items back. It just seems to be rather shoddy customer service in that they had a loophole & used to their advantage. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Customers don't have to accept items that aren't sealed.  If you felt that an unsealed product was unsatisfactory, you could simply return it using your 14 day right to return, for a full refund.  That's a very different proposition from a sealed item you've opened.

zzyzx1221

Butter_Crunch said:

It would be quite easy to tell if it’d been used. You can never eradicate completely, the smell of e liquid. If hygiene was that important, then all vape products should be sealed. It’s slightly frustrating, reiterating, that the tank hasn’t been used & despite the torn cellophane, the item is still as new & they won’t believe you. They’ll send items out that aren’t sealed & customers have to accept that, but they won’t accept unsealed items back. It just seems to be rather shoddy customer service in that they had a loophole & used to their advantage. 

Just because you haven't filled it with e-liquid doesn't mean you haven't wrapped your lips around it.

Butter_Crunch

zzyzx1221 said:

Butter_Crunch said:

It would be quite easy to tell if it’d been used. You can never eradicate completely, the smell of e liquid. If hygiene was that important, then all vape products should be sealed. It’s slightly frustrating, reiterating, that the tank hasn’t been used & despite the torn cellophane, the item is still as new & they won’t believe you. They’ll send items out that aren’t sealed & customers have to accept that, but they won’t accept unsealed items back. It just seems to be rather shoddy customer service in that they had a loophole & used to their advantage. 

Just because you haven't filled it with e-liquid doesn't mean you haven't wrapped your lips around it.

And why would I want to do that or even feel the need to do that 🤣. If the item isn’t sealed, the supplier thinks damn, I’ve got to refund them, but if the items sealed, it’s great, as the supplier, can turn round, use the hygiene loophole & not refund you. Not much protection for the consumer...

Aylesbury_Duck

Butter_Crunch said:

zzyzx1221 said:

Butter_Crunch said:

It would be quite easy to tell if it’d been used. You can never eradicate completely, the smell of e liquid. If hygiene was that important, then all vape products should be sealed. It’s slightly frustrating, reiterating, that the tank hasn’t been used & despite the torn cellophane, the item is still as new & they won’t believe you. They’ll send items out that aren’t sealed & customers have to accept that, but they won’t accept unsealed items back. It just seems to be rather shoddy customer service in that they had a loophole & used to their advantage. 

Just because you haven't filled it with e-liquid doesn't mean you haven't wrapped your lips around it.

And why would I want to do that or even feel the need to do that 🤣. If the item isn’t sealed, the supplier thinks damn, I’ve got to refund them, but if the items sealed, it’s great, as the supplier, can turn round, use the hygiene loophole & not refund you. Not much protection for the consumer...

Not true.  As stated above, you're at liberty to return an online order for a refund within 14 days if you're not confident it's hygienic.  It's a statutory right.  There's the protection you're after. 

David713

Butter_Crunch said:

zzyzx1221 said:

Butter_Crunch said:

It would be quite easy to tell if it’d been used. You can never eradicate completely, the smell of e liquid. If hygiene was that important, then all vape products should be sealed. It’s slightly frustrating, reiterating, that the tank hasn’t been used & despite the torn cellophane, the item is still as new & they won’t believe you. They’ll send items out that aren’t sealed & customers have to accept that, but they won’t accept unsealed items back. It just seems to be rather shoddy customer service in that they had a loophole & used to their advantage. 

Just because you haven't filled it with e-liquid doesn't mean you haven't wrapped your lips around it.

And why would I want to do that or even feel the need to do that 🤣. If the item isn’t sealed, the supplier thinks damn, I’ve got to refund them, but if the items sealed, it’s great, as the supplier, can turn round, use the hygiene loophole & not refund you. Not much protection for the consumer...

You obviously wouldn't but that doesn't detract from the fact that you could have done so if you wished, hence the reason for the Consumer Contracts regulations allowing for the refusal of a refund under hygiene reasons for sealed goods that have been unsealed.
It's not as you state a "hygiene loophole", it's something clearly stated in the relevant legislation.

I've never smoked, hence don't have any reason to buy a vape inhaler but if I ever did purchase something like this that could have potential hygiene issues, I would only buy such items if they came sealed so if anything, the dealer you purchased from is to be commended for taking health and safety into consideration when selling goods. 

unholyangel

Part of the information the trader is required to provide is the conditions where the right to cancel can be lost (such as goods sealed for hygiene reasons, where the seal is removed after delivery). 

So it comes down to whether they informed the OP of that condition before the OP was bound by the contract. 

Although I have to say, I'm leaning towards agreeing with the OP, that some (not all) vape products are sealed. I would also agree based on the seals I've seen, that it's not for hygiene reasons. 

I'd suggest that a vape tank (or at least the drip tip part of it, which is removable) is akin to a mug or water bottle. Yet those aren't sealed, so don't appear to be a hygiene concern.