No refunds on sale items purchased online

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

UK company address, terms governed by UK law so right to cancel exists.

Judging by what it says on their website you probably have 1 year and 14 days to cancel so best to directly state you are cancelling your contract under the The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and that you expect a full refund to the original payment method within 14 days otherwise you issue small claims proceedings to recover the amount due beginning with a letter before action to their registered UK address. 

If they are foolish enough not to agree post back for more advice on the next step  

user1977

Anitathepeach said:

user1977 said:

Anitathepeach said:

Alderbank said:

What is this 'large and established yoga clothing company'?

Which country are they registered in?

Yes the UK, do you want the name of the company?

There's no reason not to tell us. Often people here are mistaken when they think they're dealing with a UK company.

Ah interesting. The company is called CarrotBananaPeach. Their about us section suggests they are UK. How do I check if definitely UK? 

Hunt around elsewhere in the terms and conditions etc and eventually you (might) find a legal company name i.e. here it's "Carrot, Banana & Peach Clothing Co, Ltd", and you can look them up on Companies House here: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04211958

So yes, unless the website is masquerading as them then it is a live UK company and you can presume UK law will apply to your purchases.

But other sites can be misleading - having a .co.uk domain or charging in GBP doesn't mean they're actually in the UK, and often it's difficult to find any real life contact details or clues about who is actually the legal entity behind them.

Ergates

Anitathepeach said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

Anitathepeach said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

@Anitathepeach -  the law you need to quote to them is in sections 29 - 35 here: 

In particular you need to know:

s29  -  the right to cancel

s32  -  how to exercise the right to cancel

s34  -  reimbursement by the trader

Nowhere does the law say it doesn't apply to sale goods.

(That's assuming you have bought online from a UK trader and that UK law applies to the contrcat)

This is super helpful! Thank you. Grrrr… it’s so frustrating having to waste time explaining this to them but I’ll send an email tonight and update the post with the outcome. 

Thanks again! 

What I think sometimes happens is that unless you clearly specify and tell them that you are cancelling the order under the legislation I quoted, then they fall* into the default position that you must be returning for a refund under their own returns policy, and these will often exclude sales items.

I think it helps if you spell it out clearly to them from the outset that you are exercising your statutory consumer right to cancel and get a refund, and the law does not exclude sale items.

* Or perhaps I'm being too generous and they are deliberately trying to mislead you...

I am starting to wonder if they are trying to pull a fast one. My email will very clearly state my rights. 👍 Thanks! 

Possibly, but the most likely explanation is that the policy was put in place by someone ignorant of the details of the consumer rights legislation.

Sandtree

The below is from their Terms & Conditions and tells you immediately that they clearly dont have appropriate or proper legal advise (or knowledge of geography) at all given the last time I checked British Columbia isn't in the UK and the UK isn't a single legal jurisdiction anyway.

Governing Law:
All litigation, court proceedings, arbitration proceedings, mediation proceedings, lawsuits, court hearings and other hearings or actions initiated in connection with the Site and/or the Content must and will be venued exclusively in UK. These Terms of Use and the relationship between you and Carrot Banana Peach will be governed by the laws of the Vancouver, BC, UK without giving effect to principles of conflict of laws of any jurisdiction.

There is only 2 people involved in the business but they have an ok balance sheet with £150k stock and £180k in the bank so could afford to get their policies made compliant and geographically accurate.

Will be the usual small business issue that they operate as they have seen others operating and don't actually know the law

Anitathepeach

Oh my goodness - I don't understand what they're going on about! I've just emailed them - hopefully they will now check the law and their policies - and play fair!

Anitathepeach

This is their response: 
Dear Anita,

I am sorry that you are discontented with the situation.  We believe we are well within our rights to sell products with terms and conditions apply. 

We can only hold our sales with this understanding and we have to keep same policy for all our customers - not one policy for one person and another for others. 

Sale items under our policy cannot be refunded. 

Sincerely yours,

Carrot Banana Peach. 

Anitathepeach

What do I do now? 

This was my email to them earlier today: 

Thank you for your response. This is not a store purchase but an online purchase. 

I am cancelling my contract under the The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and as I have submitted my request for a refund within the 14-day cooling off period, I have sent the goods back to you today via Royal Mail special delivery service (with you tomorrow by 1pm) and I expect a full refund to the original payment method within 14 days of receipt.

For your reference sections 29-35 (link was here!!) explain UK law for online purchases. The law for online purchases does not exclude sale items. I am sure you are aware that in-store and online customers have very different consumer rights so an overall policy of no refunds on sale items is not legal. 

I have checked and discussed my consumer rights via a variety of sources including gov . uk , citizen's advice and money saving expert/Martin Lewis. I hope not to have to take this matter further. 

To clarify: I am exercising my statutory consumer right to cancel an online order and get a full refund including standard shipping costs. 

Order date: 31 May 2022

Shipment date/invoice date: 1 June 2022

Refund request date: 10 June 2022

Return shipping: 15 June 2022. 

jon81uk

Anitathepeach said:

This is their response: 
Dear Anita,

I am sorry that you are discontented with the situation.  We believe we are well within our rights to sell products with terms and conditions apply. 

We can only hold our sales with this understanding and we have to keep same policy for all our customers - not one policy for one person and another for others. 

Sale items under our policy cannot be refunded. 

Sincerely yours,

Carrot Banana Peach. 

That doesn't read like their first language is English.

They do seem very oblivious to their obligations under the consumer rights and contracts legislation, as their return policy is incorrect in regards to refunds of original postage costs too.

Might need to be letter before action and then small claims.

user1977

Anitathepeach said:

we have to keep same policy for all our customers - not one policy for one person and another for others. 

Point out to them that all retailers in the UK have to follow the same law for all their customers - not one law for one retailer and another for others...

Ergates

user1977 said:

Anitathepeach said:

we have to keep same policy for all our customers - not one policy for one person and another for others. 

Point out to them that all retailers in the UK have to follow the same law for all their customers - not one law for one retailer and another for others...

Reminding them their website says they are covered by UK law.