Refusing to refund - consumer rights options?

LarryR

Hi all,

I was wondering if I had any rights under the Consumer Rights Act and my credit card to fight a company that is making it difficult for me to send something back for a refund?

I bought a large electronic item from a catering company for £235. Ordering it on Thursday night, I chose their 'free delivery' which meant it 'will be delivered in 3-5 working days' - this timeframe worked for me as I was away until Tuesday anyway. Friday I received an email stating it had been dispatched and Saturday morning it was delivered to my wife.

Tuesday morning I took the item out of the box and, without fully unwrapping it, checked it over. I found the build quality to be unsatisfactory (it has two doors at the front of it and they are misaligned), plus there is a loose nut inside the unit, from where I don't know, so now I'm nervous to use it as it has a 1350watt heating element and what if the nut is from that?? The item is wholly unused and still has the original cellophane on it, plus the internal workings have their original cable ties in tact.

So, I contacted the company first thing Tuesday morning and explained this to them. They asked me to send a video of the item. I said I had packed it all back up again (it's 15kg), could I please just send it back. They said they'd like to see a video. I didn't get a chance to unpack and video for another 2 days, unfortunately, but did send it over.

They replied to my video saying they were sorry for my experience and could they offer me a discount/coupon by way of compensation? To which I replied, thank you, but I'd rather just send it back for a full refund.

Their reply caught me by surprise - they said that as I hadn't informed them of the damage within 24 hours of delivery (as per their Ts&Cs) then they could not offer a refund, just a discount/coupon, as a gesture of goodwill.

Do I have any rights here - they said it would be delivered in 3-5 working days, but then it was delivered unexpectedly in 2 (non-working) days, when I wasn't available to receive the item and check it over, and I did not expect a problem so did not say to my wife to decline the delivery? Are the slightly wonky doors enough to cite unsatisfactory quality? Should I continue to email and argue with them or should/could I raise a chargeback with my credit card? Or am I stuck with it?? Distance sellers rights also springs to mind, but their Ts&Cs state I have to pay for return postage (fine), and they want to charge a "25% restocking fee" (which would be a further £55+ on top of the return postage).

Thanks in advance

Aylesbury_Duck

Just checking that it's a consumer purchase, and not a commercial one?  Assuming you are a consumer (and not buying as a business) they they cannot undermine your statutory right to a return.  You have two 'rights' to return the item - one because it appears faulty, and the other because as an online sale, you have 14 days from receipt to return for a refund, anyway.  

LarryR

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Just checking that it's a consumer purchase, and not a commercial one?  Assuming you are a consumer (and not buying as a business) they they cannot undermine your statutory right to a return.  You have two 'rights' to return the item - one because it appears faulty, and the other because as an online sale, you have 14 days from receipt to return for a refund, anyway.  

Thanks for your message. Yes, I am a consumer and not a business. But are they allowed to charge a '25% restocking fee' if I return it within 14 days? And am I okay to cite misaligned doors and a floating nut as 'faulty', or is that too tenuous? The build quality is certainly questionable, but does that make it faulty, they could argue it still works fine?

Aylesbury_Duck

LarryR said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Just checking that it's a consumer purchase, and not a commercial one?  Assuming you are a consumer (and not buying as a business) they they cannot undermine your statutory right to a return.  You have two 'rights' to return the item - one because it appears faulty, and the other because as an online sale, you have 14 days from receipt to return for a refund, anyway.  

Thanks for your message. Yes, I am a consumer and not a business. But are they allowed to charge a '25% restocking fee' if I return it within 14 days? And am I okay to cite misaligned doors and a floating nut as 'faulty', or is that too tenuous? The build quality is certainly questionable, but does that make it faulty, they could argue it still works fine?

No, they're not.  I suspect they mainly sell to trade, and that those terms apply to business customers.  Are you sure you haven't posed as a business, e.g. told them you were a business?

Yes, misaligned doors are a reasonable reason for rejection.  And you don't technically need a reason, anyway, not if you return them under what used to be called distance selling regulations.

Alderbank

If it is a consumer purchase they can't charge a re-stocking fee.

You need to make it clear that you are returning it as a change of mind. You are not returning it as faulty because you simply don't know - you haven't switched it on to try it out.
The loose nut might or might not be a fault. Presumably there was no obvious place it might have come from?

The misaligned doors also might not be a fault. What do the installation instructions say? They might well tell you to level the piece of machinery with its adjustable feet then to adjust a screw to align doors if necessary.

What is this 'large electronic item' and who is the catering company? If you tell us we can look at their T&Cs.

LarryR

Well the website didn't say it was a trade-only site and I didn't pose as a business. I ordered using my name and address and a personal credit card; business name wasn't a mandatory field on the order page. Although now I have seen on their Ts&Cs that it says 'is a supplier of catering equipment and services to commercial customers.' does that change things?

Oh dear, at the bottom of the front page it also says 'We are an online restaurant supply store serving commercial, professional and industrial customers in the UK'. Shouldn't it stop non-commercial, professional or industrial customers from shopping with them if that's the case, if it changes my rights as a consumer?!?

Alderbank

If they don't want to sell to consumers they have to make sure that consumers can't buy.
Many companies achieve this by checking VAT and business registration, seeking references from bank and other suppliers, etc.
If they have allowed you to make a consumer purchase they can't seek to limit your consumer rights by their T&Cs.

LarryR

Alderbank said:

If they don't want to sell to consumers they have to make sure that consumers can't buy.
Many companies achieve this by checking VAT and business registration, seeking references from bank and other suppliers, etc.
If they have allowed you to make a consumer purchase they can't seek to limit your consumer rights by their T&Cs.

Phew! So does that mean their terms and conditions aren't applicable/enforceable as they're business terms?

Alderbank

No, in general all the T&Cs which you agreed to when you made the contract do apply.
Just any T&Cs which seek to remove or limit specific consumer rights can be treated as if they do not exist in a consumer contract.

Only you know what their T&Cs say

LarryR

https://adexa.co.uk/terms

MalMonroe

Hi, I think this company is at fault because they should have checked your status - consumer or business - before agreeing to sell you the item. 

And, as a consumer, your rights are explained in the following link - 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange/

They obviously realise that they've made a mistake but that was their fault, not yours. I'd try to get them to see reason and accept a return for a full refund, they've made an error and now they need to put it right. (Quite aside from sending you a damaged item, that is).