Next charging for swapped out parcel goods scam and fee on top - CONSUMER 2 NEXT 0!!

Proseccogal

Hi
I ordered a pair of Nike trainers on 24th November 2022 and returned them on December 7th via Evri collection which was identified on my Next statement.
Yesterday I receive an old worn unrecognisable pair of Adidas trainers in random size and a letter from Next advising that the Quality Control Team had identified that the trainers had been switched and the returned trainers were worn.  So they were charging me £45 for the missing Nike trainers and £35 investigation fee.
I have never seen these worn trainers in my life and I returned the new Nike ones so it appears they were switched enroute.  Despite being a customer of over 30 years today they were adamant that I should incur the charges and said the elapsed time was too late to investigate with Evri!

What are my rights on this? I am being accused of stealing without it directly being said. Surely this raises a bigger question with returns generally if the customer is not to be believed and the Courier company is not investigated as no due diligence of parcel handling has occurred?

tightauldgit

Well at the risk of opening a can of worms on returns again... did you pay for the courier or did Next? 

First off I would say they have absolutely 0 right to be charging you an investigation fee and I've never heard the like of it! 

With regards the return, I think it's slightly more complicated, but if they've hired Evri to perform the return then I can't see that they can push the responsibility back on to you without involving Evri. If Evri is working on their behalf then the moment Evri collected the parcel then they should be deemed returned to Next. 

Have they actually charged you £80 or have they just sent you a request for payment? 

Proseccogal

Hi.  So I pay Next for the Nextunlimited membership annually £22.50  so I get free delivery and returns all year.  They have put the £45 for missing Nike trainers and £35 investigation fee ( in accordance with their T&Cs) on my Next account so it will be payable in next month's bill.

They won't accept that there is an issue of liability on Evri's side or indeed check all the handling processes it would have had. Although they admitted they are investing in reviewing their returns department procedures.

There is a precedent set in that there is a News article of an Evri driver being caught doing the exact same thing of swapping out Nike trainers which I hope I could use in my defence.  I also wonder why it's taken them 4 months to bring this to light making investigation with Evri difficult.  They would however be able to track that there were Xmas temp couriers working at that time.
I feel they are favouring Evri over me a customer of 30 plus years that has spent thousands with them.

tightauldgit

Had a quick look and I cant see anything in their terms which says they can charge you an investigation fee on returns. I honestly don't see how Next have a leg to stand on legally here. They're refusing to take reasonable steps to investigate the matter and simply pushing the bill onto you - and if their returns processes aren't good enough to work out what's gone on that's very much a them problem and not yours. 

p00hsticks

tightauldgit said:

If Evri is working on their behalf then the moment Evri collected the parcel then they should be deemed returned to Next. 

But surely the issue is not whether the parcel has been returned or not - Next aren't disputing that ?.

 It's what was in the parcel at the point it was handed over to Evri by the OP - and that is what it's going to be very difficult to prove or disprove.

 These scams are very difficult to sort out because they can be perpetrated at all stages of the process - by the retailer, the customer or the courier and it's almost impossible to identify which was responsible in any particular instance. .

tightauldgit

p00hsticks said:

tightauldgit said:

If Evri is working on their behalf then the moment Evri collected the parcel then they should be deemed returned to Next. 

But surely the issue is not whether the parcel has been returned or not - Next aren't disputing that ?.

 It's what was in the parcel at the point it was handed over to Evri by the OP - and that is what it's going to be very difficult to prove or disprove.

 These scams are very difficult to sort out because they can be perpetrated at all stages of the process - by the retailer, the customer or the courier and it's almost impossible to identify which was responsible in any particular instance. .

And I think these things are going to have to end up in court at some point to generate some case law around it - but in reality it's the responsibility of Next (and Evri acting as their agent) to confirm that the parcel they collect contains what its supposed to contain and/or ensure that what is collected at one end ends up at the other end without interference. It would be completely unreasonable to push the responsibility onto the consumer. 

If the retailer chooses to use a cheap method of couriering to save money then they have to accept the consequences in terms of loss/damage to their deliveries. 

Proseccogal

I agree that if they are going to insist on this stance that they believe I scammed the package then how can I ever return an item to them ever again?  It's a much bigger problem than just my situation.  There are hanging clothes that in theory a courier could easily swipe one hanging garment out of say 4 returned in one hanging parcel and there's just no proof for the safety of the customer. 

 I can imagine Nike trainers are more desirable a few weeks before xmas and it was obvious that they were shoes as they were in a parcel by themselves.

I won't be ordering again for sure but I just want this resolved so that they investigate properly and fairly rather than accusing and putting the debt onto a loyal customer.  If I don't pay then I will incur interest until it could be resolved or if I did pay via credit card could I dispute via that?

Proseccogal

I found it must be part of the Next credit account under Charges.
"37. If you return or attempt to return substitute or alternative items, when using our returns facility for any item, an investigation charge of £35 may be added to the balance owing on your Account."

Proseccogal

The thing is I didnt return or attempt to return  a substitute item but its actually impossible  if they are wanting the customer to prove that

Manxman_in_exile

Three questions:

1.  How did you pay and how much?

3.  Why did you return them?

2.  When you returned them, what - if anything - did you tell Next about what you were doing?  Did you enclose your own note or a pro-forma?  Did you tick any boxes that may have been on a returns form?

Proseccogal

1. I have a Next credit account so can order then have 14 days to keep/return.  The trainers were returned in that 14 days