Cliffside London - refusing refund

ConfusedSC

Hi all, bit of a long one but I’ll make it short. 

On the 29th of November my daughter ordered a jumper from a website called Cliffside London (no, I’ve never heard of it either) for a Christmas present. She wasn’t sent the order confirmation so we were both messaging them on social
media and emailing them trying to track the item. They barely replied, when they did they couldn’t help her etc so she asked to cancel the order a few days before Christmas. The jumper finally arrived this week so she emailed them and told them she would like a refund but they have refused her refund on the basis that there was no error on their part and the jumper is now on sale, and therefore not a part of their refund policy. The jumper wasn’t on sale when she ordered it and we have sent evidence of the fact she paid full price using her bank card. They still won’t budge. The packaging they sent it in hasn’t even been opened. Is there anything I can do to help her?! I think they’re just taking the mick now. 

jon81uk

Under consumer rights you have 14 days to notify them you wish to cancel and then a further 14 to return the item. Doesn’t matter if the item was on sale or full price.

Their refusal to allow returns on sale items is illegal.
https://www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds

you should expect to pay the postage to send it to them though, but any postage charged to get it you is refunded.

user1977

Rather dubious website - no contact details other than a web form, no company details. Terms say they're subject to UK law, but not sure where you'd go to enforce them - it has the air of an overseas operator pretending to be UK-based.

https://www.cliffsidelondon.com/policies/terms-of-service

Manxman_in_exile

To add to what others have said, whether it was or is on sale is irrelevant to your daughter's statutory consumer rights - unless she had the jumper "personalised" in some way.

The applicable law to quote to them is in sections 28 - 35 of The Consumer Contract (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, here:  

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)

The difficulty you may have is if they're non-uk based or "fly by night" scam merchant.  Unfortunately, they might be...

Pollycat

user1977 said:

Rather dubious website - no contact details other than a web form, no company details. Terms say they're subject to UK law, but not sure where you'd go to enforce them - it has the air of an overseas operator pretending to be UK-based.

https://www.cliffsidelondon.com/policies/terms-of-service

In addition to this, the website contains some curious wording for a company who seem to sell T shirts, hoodies & jeans.


Also:

Behavioural advertising 
As described above, we use your Personal Information to provide you with targeted advertisements or marketing communications we believe may be of interest to you. For more information about how targeted advertising works, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s (“NAI”) educational page at http://www.networkadvertising.org/understanding-online-advertising/how-does-it-work. 

NAI appear to have offices in Washington, DC & Maine...
Seems strange (to me) to include this on their website.

This is an odd one:

Please read these Terms of Service carefully before accessing or using our website.

How can you read their 'Terms of Service' which are on their website before accessing the website?


This is odd too - it sounds like it's been lifted from a website providing 'services' rather than one selling clothes.

SECTION 13 - DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY 
We do not guarantee, represent or warrant that your use of our service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free. 
We do not warrant that the results that may be obtained from the use of the service will be accurate or reliable. 
You agree that from time to time we may remove the service for indefinite periods of time or cancel the service at any time, without notice to you. 

Manxman_in_exile

Yeah - it doesn't look like a genuine site...

It doesn't look right and the bad grammar is a bit of a giveaway.  (Although looking at some of the threads on here and the use of "text speak" I'm not sure how many people would notice)

cx6

She could try for a chargeback on her bank card on the grounds that the site is breaking the law by not allowing a return.

Pollycat

The terms also include this:

SECTION 1 - ONLINE STORE TERMS 
By agreeing to these Terms of Service, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your state or province of residence, or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and you have given us your consent to allow any of your minor dependents to use this site. 

which would have me questioning where this company is based.

ConfusedSC

Thank you all for your replies. I’ve looked through the website myself and I agree it’s a strange one. In fact all of their socials are too. 

I’m not sure if they’ve replied to the email I have sent them as my daughter is at work but I’ll be using all of this in my next email if they’ve still refused a refund. Thanks all ☺️

elsien

There’s no sign anywhere on the website of a UK presence or address, that I can see. Something your daughter might want to check in future with online orders. 

ConfusedSC

elsien said:

There’s no sign anywhere on the website of a UK presence or address, that I can see. Something your daughter might want to check in future with online orders. 

I totally agree. I was tempted to leave her to it as it was her own mistake. She knows she should have checked with me first, I wouldn’t have let her order from that site. Apparently being popular on Instagram and knowing her boyfriend liked the jumper was the go ahead she needed. Kids, eh!