Problems with online return

penumbra06

I bought two items online from the same retailer in the same transaction, my card was charged once and I only have one order number. The items were shipped from two locations and I received two parcels, I was told this might happen during the checkout so it wasn’t a surprise.

I had to return both items. The retailer has an online returns portal. They provide a Royal Mail QR code, which the labels were printed from at the Post Office, but they had to be paid for by myself. 

As I received two separate parcels the returns portal said they had to be returned in two separate parcels. They were both posted at the same time and both parcels were actually addressed to the same returns centre. Unfortunately I have issues with both return parcels.

Parcel 1 - Deemed lost in by Royal Mail. 

Parcel 2 - Royal Mail confirmed they delivered it to the wrong fulfilment centre but due to GDPR couldn’t say which one but was ‘nearby’. 

Retailer says responsibility doesn’t lie with them because even though they provided the QR code/returns service I was the who party who paid for the return. Royal Mail say the service provided does not cover goods to the full value, they can tell it was a business account used and send me back to the retailer. 

I understand it is an unfortunate situation. I’ve been playing ping pong with the retailer for two months and recently their tone has turned accusatory. Who is responsible, am I due a refund from the retailer? Do I need to keep pestering Royal Mail? If I go down this route I stand to lose £280. The retailer only offered one return method. I paid by credit card and both myself and the retailer are based in England. 

Ergates

Firstly - tell Royal Mail they're talking nonsense about GDPR regarding the misdelivery.   GDPR covers personal information - the location of a "fulfilment centre" (i.e. a place of business) is *not* personal information.

Olinda99

No.you are not due a refund

Unfortunately, because you paid the return postage the goods are at your risk until the retailer has them back

That being so, you bear the risk and would have to send back RM special delivery to be able to claim goods of that value from RM.

Ordinary postage covers loss up to £20 or £50 if 'signed for' used

visidigi

Olinda99 said:

No.you are not due a refund

Unfortunately, because you paid the return postage the goods are at your risk until the retailer has them back

That being so, you bear the risk and would have to send back RM special delivery to be able to claim goods of that value from RM.

Ordinary postage covers loss up to £20 or £50 if 'signed for' used

Doesnt sound so clear cut.

Royal Mail say the service provided does not cover goods to the full value, they can tell it was a business account used and send me back to the retailer.

That implies that the QR code used, leveraged the business account for the charge issued - just because the op paid for the delivery if the method was off the retailers choosing - that muddies the waters...alot.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Who was the retailer?

What date did the last of the 2 parcels arrive? 

penumbra06

I didn’t want to make the original post too long. On the dispatch note it says returns will only be accepted with a valid RMA and directs to you the retailers website. Their return address isn’t actually on the dispatch note. 

Go on the retailers website > returns > start a return > opens a return portal. 

Fill in reason for return > select return option (only Royal Mail available)> then greeted by a payment screen> pay then receive email with Royal Mail QR code and RMA number.

The postage labels were printed from the QR codes at the post office. The service used is Tracked 24 and each parcel is insured for £100. Meaning if I claimed £100 for each parcel off Royal Mail I would still be out of pocket by £280. 

The retailers website did say to only use the returns service provided otherwise they couldn’t guarantee the returns would be accepted. The tracking numbers did automatically appear on the retailers website under returns. If I had the option I would have chosen Special Delivery. But as it stands I’m unsure where my legal rights are in all this as I followed their instructions. 

Sandtree

penumbra06 said:
Fill in reason for return > select return option (only Royal Mail available)> then greeted by a payment screen> pay then receive email with Royal Mail QR code and RMA number.

Who's website were you on when you made payment? The Merchant or RM?

Assuming its the merchant's then the contract is between RM and the Merchant even if you have paid for it and your contract is with the Merchant in which case you have an argument that they sold you an inappropriate service given there was no option for selecting a higher level of insurance.

penumbra06

Both returns were posted on April 20th, one did get delivered on April 21st albeit to the wrong address. The tracking on the other parcel never updated, it still says posted at my local post office.  

Yes the returns portal was still on the retailers website, I never got redirected to Royal Mail’s website. 

How would I go about resolving this? Is is as simple as contacting my card provider with the emails bearing the QR codes and proof of postage? Would I need to go to small claims court? 

Jenni_D

penumbra06 said:

Go on the retailers website > returns > start a return > opens a return portal. 

Fill in reason for return > select return option (only Royal Mail available)> then greeted by a payment screen> pay then receive email with Royal Mail QR code and RMA number.

In that scenario you're paying the retailer to provide a returns service. (Which is another matter if you were returning faulty goods, but I'm assuming these were change-of-mind returns). Therefore the goods became their liability as soon as they were handed over to their agent.

Olinda99

yes Jenni is right - my reply assumed you walked into the PO and bought postage. It seems that you did not but used their label and thus the return is complete once you handed over the parcel to RM.

The merchant claims the £100 not you - they had the contract with RM.

Did you pay by card?  You might have options there. If not, small claims court for the full amount.

penumbra06

One of the items was change of mind.

The second I think falls into not as described? The manufacturer makes this item in two sizes and retailers website had the item listed, including measurements, as if it were the smaller size. I was actually sent the larger size but the weird thing is the retailer doesn’t even have the larger size listed on their website.