Returned jewellery bought online but no refund

Squoozy

My husband bought me an expensive necklace for my 60th birthday (£980) I really didn’t like it and after much discussion we decided to return it and buy something else. We returned it the same day by recorded delivery and the jeweller acknowledged receipt on January 14th by email and said they would princess a refund. Every time my husband contacts the jeweller now they say they are very sorry and they will process the refund but nothing happens. It is a UK company. We think our only option now is the small claims court but are we correct? 

Aylesbury_Duck

Send them a letter before action.  They'll probably stump up at that point, assuming they're still in business.

lisyloo

How did he pay? Debit card? Credit card?

Squoozy

Thank you for your replies. He paid by American Express but our understanding is that because the necklace was actually delivered to us and it’s a refund we need we can’t claim on the card. We’ll send a letter before action. I’m also a bit worried they are going out of business

born_again

 If they are not refunding & you have proof of return. Then talk to Amex about it.
Fact it was delivered makes no difference in this case, as it has been returned. 👍

Sandtree

AmEx credit card or chargecard?

Either way its likely a chargeback can be done... the rules are fairly nuanced but believe it should be covered

If its a credit card you'd also have the S75 route as they are jointly liable with the merchant as long as the card is in his name and the item was sold in his name too 

lisyloo

You’ll be covered by Amex if they go out of business.

wrt the refund if you are entitled to it then Amex are jointly liable, however I doubt they would step in after 1 month. They would probably say you need to wait.
a letter before action might be a good way to go.

If you contact Amex I would use the phone not the app (which goes through to India).

Sandtree

lisyloo said:

wrt the refund if you are entitled to it then Amex are jointly liable

Only if its a credit card, AmEx also issue chargecards and as they have to be paid in full each month they are not within the scope of the Consumer Credit Act. You can still do chargebacks but no S75 protection, no joint liability.

Squoozy

It is a platinum credit card. Everyone’s advice is very helpful, thank you

theonlywayisup

Go online to your Amex account and you can dispute the charge there.  Your dispute will then open to allow you to upload your evidence.  Use a note or word document to explain the problem and then also upload your proof of delivery back to the store along with the confirmation from the vendor that they will refund.  

Squoozy

Just to update in case anyone has a similar problem in the future, we sent a ‘letter before action’ by first class post on Friday. Today (Monday) the money was refunded. It’s a huge relief! Many thanks for all the replies!