Refund/Return rights - goods bought online

iclayt

Just looking for a little advice please.
I purchased a pair of sandals online on 5th May. £20. I bought them as they were advertised as lightweight, soft, extremely flexible, stretchy material, with arch support, and basically I liked the colour. There was a video of them being flexed and worn and they looked as described. I thought the website was British - no I didn't delve too deeply but it was in £, didn't use US spellings i.e colour not color, and had a co.uk contact email. The returns/refund policy was that returns and refunds were possible and to get in touch with them if there were any problems. I paid via PayPal. One I got the tracking information, it appeared they were coming from the US.
The shoes arrived 24th May and they are not as expected. The colour is completely different (and it is not my screen, I have viewed the website on multiple devices). They are not light, soft, stretchy, no arch support - they are simply not the same shoe and not as described on the website and I'm not happy with them.
I emailed the seller my list of concerns that they were not as described. The seller replied to ask if I checked the size guide when ordering... literally the only thing not wrong with them is the size, and I hadn't mentioned that, so I redirected them to my original email and asked how to receive a refund. The seller replied apologising that I am not happy with the product and promised to improve their products for the future...
I opened a claim on PayPal as I thought that might help, not sure if that was the right thing to do but it's done now. The seller has replied that I can have a full refund if I return the shoes at my own expense, tracked - to China! This is presumably going to be quite expensive and frankly I am not convinced I will get a refund once they arrive.
I'm clueless as to where I stand - is there any outcome that allows me to get a refund without being out of pocket for returning the shoes?
Thank you for any advice.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Unfortunately very little cover here, when buying from unknown websites it's always worth looking for the geographical address on the contact us or T&Cs page to give an idea of whether the company is actually in the UK. 

iclayt

I've just had another hunt through every page of the website and there is a UK address listed. So truly no indication that the shipment, either delivery or returns, would be international. Does that change anything?

Sandtree

Whats the website?

ThisnotThat

iclayt said:

I've just had another hunt through every page of the website and there is a UK address listed. So truly no indication that the shipment, either delivery or returns, would be international. Does that change anything?

It doesn't really matter, even if they grossly misrepresented themselves.  If they're in China there's nothing you can really do about it.

born_again

iclayt said:

Just looking for a little advice please.
I purchased a pair of sandals online on 5th May. £20. I bought them as they were advertised as lightweight, soft, extremely flexible, stretchy material, with arch support, and basically I liked the colour. There was a video of them being flexed and worn and they looked as described. I thought the website was British - no I didn't delve too deeply but it was in £, didn't use US spellings i.e colour not color, and had a co.uk contact email. The returns/refund policy was that returns and refunds were possible and to get in touch with them if there were any problems. I paid via PayPal. One I got the tracking information, it appeared they were coming from the US.
The shoes arrived 24th May and they are not as expected. The colour is completely different (and it is not my screen, I have viewed the website on multiple devices). They are not light, soft, stretchy, no arch support - they are simply not the same shoe and not as described on the website and I'm not happy with them.
I emailed the seller my list of concerns that they were not as described. The seller replied to ask if I checked the size guide when ordering... literally the only thing not wrong with them is the size, and I hadn't mentioned that, so I redirected them to my original email and asked how to receive a refund. The seller replied apologising that I am not happy with the product and promised to improve their products for the future...
I opened a claim on PayPal as I thought that might help, not sure if that was the right thing to do but it's done now. The seller has replied that I can have a full refund if I return the shoes at my own expense, tracked - to China! This is presumably going to be quite expensive and frankly I am not convinced I will get a refund once they arrive.
I'm clueless as to where I stand - is there any outcome that allows me to get a refund without being out of pocket for returning the shoes?
Thank you for any advice.

Advertised on social media by any chance?

If you want your money back, you will have to do what paypal want.

theonlywayisup

You could try ringing Paypal.  There has been anecdotal evidence on here that they are becoming more sympathetic to claims like this (where the seller gives an address in China for returns).  It is always worth trying, but be prepared for being told you have to return them at your expense.  If that is the case I would not bother as the firms in China tend to refuse delivery and the Paypal case closes without a refund. 

iclayt

Thank you for advice. 
Not seen on social media, I don't really use it much these days, but no doubt they use it. 
I will try PayPal - I have read a bit more and see they pay up to £15 of return costs if evidence is uploaded so that would hopefully cover that. But it is the fate of the parcel in China and the matter of whether I would actually get the refund that bothers me. 
Might be one to write off - so frustrating.