Cancelling an order before dispatch and still being charged 25% Restocking fee

LoosSerine

Hi,

I just wanted to check the legalities. I bought a PC off Palicomp on Tuesday morning and was offered a Q-Jump to have quick build and delivery otherwise I'd wait between 5-10 days (as told by the salesperson in emails). I rejected the Q-Jump. On Wednesday evening, I decided to cancel the order and come Thursday (today) morning, they have emailed to state I would be charged a 25% Restocking fee because they are scheduled to dispatch the PC today (so that whole Q-Jump extra payment is all a lie, or that they are lying that they have already opened all the boxes for the PC build and have completed it hence cannot sell as "New"?).

Before I respond to them, I just wanted to know from people experiences with restocking and whether this is legal considering the product hasn't even been dispatched and I provided them cancellation notice within a day and half.

Thanks

The_Fat_Controller

If it was a bespoke PC built to your spec rather than off the shelf, you need to read their Ts and Cs regarding cancellation.

Edit.

If the above applies, than according to 5.c in the link below, the restocking fee applies.

https://www.palicomp.co.uk/terms-conditions

mattyprice4004

Seems fair enough if they’ve put the time into building it.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

OP it depends whether you picked the build from pre set options or whether they built something they don't usually do specifically for you.

If it was just a set PC or you picked options they gave then you have the right to cancel the contract and receive a full refund. 

Manxman_in_exile

@LoosSerine -  assuming this is an online purchase and that you simply selected build options etc from a range that was presented to you by Palicomp (eg from a drop down box or other list of options) and you did not ask for it to be built to your own specification, and you did not ask for it to be personalised, then @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head is correct, and you are entitled to a full refund.  They can't charge a restocking fee.

You may need to quote the applicable law to them which is here:  The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)  The bits you need to read are sections 27 - 34.

You can quote to them s29 (the right to cancel) and s34 which deals with refunds.  s34 says the trader must refund all payments you have made but can deduct* any "payments for delivery".

All you need to do to exercise your right to cancel is to tell the trader clearly that you are cancelling ( s32).

If they try to tell you that you can't cancel the contract because a contract is only formed on dispatch (or whatever) tell them you are withdrawing your offer to buy and that s 29(3) allows you to do so "without incurring any liability".

*  whether they can deduct a delivery payment in this case depends (1) on whether they've dispatched it yet and (2) on what their T&Cs say - if anything - about delivery charges in the case of "change of mind returns".

[Edit:  to clarify, Palicomp can only deduct any payments for delivery from your refund if you expressly chose to use a more expensive form of delivery than Palicomp usually provide.  So you should get a full refund if you meet the other criteria]

LoosSerine

The_Fat_Controller said:

If it was a bespoke PC built to your spec rather than off the shelf, you need to read their Ts and Cs regarding cancellation.

Edit.

If the above applies, than according to 5.c in the link below, the restocking fee applies.

It's a PC Builder but I used their own configuration tool.

LoosSerine

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

OP it depends whether you picked the build from pre set options or whether they built something they don't usually do specifically for you.

If it was just a set PC or you picked options they gave then you have the right to cancel the contract and receive a full refund. 

I just used their configuration tool, I did not ask for any specialty prices and just used one of their bundles and configured options from there.

LoosSerine

Manxman_in_exile said:

@LoosSerine -  assuming this is an online purchase and that you simply selected build options etc from a range that was presented to you by Palicomp (eg from a drop down box or other list of options) and you did not ask for it to be built to your own specification, and you did not ask for it to be personalised, then @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head is correct, and you are entitled to a full refund.  They can't charge a restocking fee.

You may need to quote the applicable law to them which is here:  The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)  The bits you need to read are sections 27 - 34.

You can quote to them s29 (the right to cancel) and s34 which deals with refunds.  s34 says the trader must refund all payments you have made but can deduct* any "payments for delivery".

All you need to do to exercise your right to cancel is to tell the trader clearly that you are cancelling ( s32).

If they try to tell you that you can't cancel the contract because a contract is only formed on dispatch (or whatever) tell them you are withdrawing your offer to buy and that s 29(3) allows you to do so "without incurring any liability".

*  whether they can deduct a delivery payment in this case depends (1) on whether they've dispatched it yet and (2) on what their T&Cs say - if anything - about delivery charges in the case of "change of mind returns".

[Edit:  to clarify, Palicomp can only deduct any payments for delivery from your refund if you expressly chose to use a more expensive form of delivery than Palicomp usually provide.  So you should get a full refund if you meet the other criteria]

Cheers, they hadn't even delivered or begun dispatch as prior to my cancellation, they had said between 5-10 days for dispatch. Considering I asked for cancellation only 1 1/2 days after making the order (and in between they've been asking me if I wanted to get any upsell), I thought this was well within my right to cancel considering the goods are not delivered/or dispatched, I hadn't asked for fast build or delivery, and the only thing I got was the 3 year warranty (which would also be included in the Restocking fee).

I've also chased them to ask if they sold the parts as new/second hand for cancelled orders and the reasoning I got was:

"I think the boss gets someone to sell them on ebay from time to time, I know he makes a loss on them and that’s why there is the fee". Considering they are a PC builder and don't sell parts, I find this a bit of a lie.

Jenni_D

Others have already covered your rights - if you used a configurator tool that they supplied on their website then it is NOT personalised or customised in any way. Therefore a full refund is due.

If they decline to provide a full refund then raise a chargeback claim with your card provider (assuming that is how you paid - how did you pay?) for the balance.

Manxman_in_exile

Quote the law to them as I referenced it above and tell them the law says you are entitled to a full refund.  Whatever their T&Cs say cannot override your statutory rights.

If you selected components/features etc from a configuration tool or range of options provided by them, then the contract can be cancelled for a full refund.  Only if it has been personalised for you or built to your own specifications - provided by you - do you lose the right to cancel.

Jenni_D

mattyprice4004 said:

Seems fair enough if they’ve put the time into building it.

No it doesn't ... they have legal obligations to abide by. If they can't or won't abide by them for online sales then they should find another way of doing business.