I've only been offered a partial refund on an item I bought and returned within 7 days

Mousetastic

I bought a pair of bluetooth ear buds  from Mifo that I can't use because they don't fit my ears.  I let the company know within 7 days of ordering them, and they are only offering me an 80% refund.  They say that they have this information "on their website" but I don't believe that they are allowed to charge me a 20% 'fee' when my consumer rights say that I am allowed to get a full refund for an item that I have not been able to try on because it was bought online.  I have challenged them on this but they are not budging.  Help - it was a £100 purchase so I am basically being charged £20 for trying something on!!

Caz3121

this company? https://www.trustpilot.com/review/mifo.co.uk

neilmcl

https://mifo.co.uk/pages/refunds-returns

Particularly this bit - "We cannot offer full refunds for opened products that are otherwise functional per original manufacturer standards, even if you only used the product once". Totally goes against your rights regarding distance purchases as according to the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (CCRs).

You need to remind them of your rights under the CCRs and that charging a restocking fee is illegal.

timmy963

"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. "

"For the purposes of paragraph (9) handling is beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods if, in particular, it goes beyond the sort of handling that might reasonably be allowed in a shop."

Did you actually put them in your ears?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

timmy963 said:

"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. "

"For the purposes of paragraph (9) handling is beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods if, in particular, it goes beyond the sort of handling that might reasonably be allowed in a shop."

Did you actually put them in your ears?

That only applies if the company provides the required information.

At a glance they say they offer return on opened items within 14 days of purchase so, unless I’ve misread, they aren’t complying with the regs and so can’t impose a deduction. 

They also can’t impose a flat rate restocking fee as they label it. 

pinkshoes

Surely having put them in your ears is beyond what you would have been able to do in a shop?!? 

So for hygiene reasons they can deduct a reasonable amount to replace the ear cover. £20 seems a little excessive... 

They are not faulty... they just don't fit your ears. I use MPOW ones that loop over the back of my ears and came with lots of different sized buds. 

pbartlett

Well you are allowed to do over and above what you can do in a shop - an example given is that if you order a boxed shirt you are allowed at home to open the box, remove the pins, cardboard stiffener etc etc in order to examine it.

Carrot007

pbartlett said:

Well you are allowed to do over and above what you can do in a shop - an example given is that if you order a boxed shirt you are allowed at home to open the box, remove the pins, cardboard stiffener etc etc in order to examine it.

I have done that in a shop also, It's pretty common. Why would you not. How else do you try it on?