Distance Selling - Items listed on retail packaging not included. - RESOLVED

tightauldgit

BobT36 said:

Hmm, isn't there no protection law here though for any company "operating" or "trading with / in" the UK, though? 
Can't find anything registered at that address, unfortunately. Tis likely a complete lie and they're really just operating from China, while pretending it's in the UK (sold in GBP, UK shipping listed as above, SEPARATE from "international shipping", UK address..)

Might fall to a chargeback, then. Still though a retail boxed product should not be "tampered with" in any way unless it's EXPLICITLY stated. Omitting information is classed as "misleading" and an unfair trading practice, here at least. 

There's no way for a UK court to enforce any decision against a foreign entity so no there's no protection if the company doesn't have a UK legal entity that you can enforce an action against. 

BobT36

tightauldgit said:

BobT36 said:

Hmm, isn't there no protection law here though for any company "operating" or "trading with / in" the UK, though? 
Can't find anything registered at that address, unfortunately. Tis likely a complete lie and they're really just operating from China, while pretending it's in the UK (sold in GBP, UK shipping listed as above, SEPARATE from "international shipping", UK address..)

Might fall to a chargeback, then. Still though a retail boxed product should not be "tampered with" in any way unless it's EXPLICITLY stated. Omitting information is classed as "misleading" and an unfair trading practice, here at least. 

There's no way for a UK court to enforce any decision against a foreign entity so no there's no protection if the company doesn't have a UK legal entity that you can enforce an action against. 

Yup, but if they've done something truly dodgy as per UK law / fair trading guidance, that should lend support to the banks supporting it with a CC chargeback, if needed? (I know there's no way to "enforce" anything besides that). 

Would have thought there'd be some way to stop them selling stuff to the UK though too, if they were doing something bad. 


And lol yeah generic Shopify pages, methinks they bodged up the bit about being fully supported by UK law. 
Waiting to hear back on my RMA claim through their "resolution portal"... I've also suggested a partial refund of £10 would suffice. They price theirs £10 below competitors (who explicitly DO sell it with the adaptor), and the adaptor is £20 to buy, so I wouldn't be left out of pocket with a partial refund of a tenner. We shall see what happens..
Up to now their attitude has been that theirs is priced cheaper so if want "premium" (the box not to be opened and items  removed...??) then should expect to pay more, or something. Funny outlook.. 

tightauldgit

BobT36 said:

tightauldgit said:

BobT36 said:

Hmm, isn't there no protection law here though for any company "operating" or "trading with / in" the UK, though? 
Can't find anything registered at that address, unfortunately. Tis likely a complete lie and they're really just operating from China, while pretending it's in the UK (sold in GBP, UK shipping listed as above, SEPARATE from "international shipping", UK address..)

Might fall to a chargeback, then. Still though a retail boxed product should not be "tampered with" in any way unless it's EXPLICITLY stated. Omitting information is classed as "misleading" and an unfair trading practice, here at least. 

There's no way for a UK court to enforce any decision against a foreign entity so no there's no protection if the company doesn't have a UK legal entity that you can enforce an action against. 

Yup, but if they've done something truly dodgy as per UK law / fair trading guidance, that should lend support to the banks supporting it with a CC chargeback, if needed? (I know there's no way to "enforce" anything besides that). 

Would have thought there'd be some way to stop them selling stuff to the UK though too, if they were doing something bad. 


And lol yeah generic Shopify pages, methinks they bodged up the bit about being fully supported by UK law. 
Waiting to hear back on my RMA claim through their "resolution portal"... I've also suggested a partial refund of £10 would suffice. They price theirs £10 below competitors (who explicitly DO sell it with the adaptor), and the adaptor is £20 to buy, so I wouldn't be left out of pocket with a partial refund of a tenner. We shall see what happens..
Up to now their attitude has been that theirs is priced cheaper so if want "premium" (the box not to be opened and items  removed...??) then should expect to pay more, or something. Funny outlook.. 

Other people here are a lot more clued up on chargebacks than me, the banks just seem to work to their own rules rather than any set of legal principles. I don't really understand the ins and outs of chargebacks but they may well ask if you've returned the item and asked for a refund. Probably defer to others on chargebacks. 

I think there would be a way to stop them importing stuff that's not legal (if they intercept it) but other than I don't think customs really have the funding to be monitoring which businesses are slightly dodgy from a consumer rights POV. And in any case, they'd still have your money and you wouldn't have any product. 

If it's literally the correct product with the wrong adapter you've probably got somewhat lucky - unless its counterfeit of course? - in terms of what you could have received (a box with a brick in it) 

BobT36

tightauldgit said:

BobT36 said:

tightauldgit said:

BobT36 said:

Hmm, isn't there no protection law here though for any company "operating" or "trading with / in" the UK, though? 
Can't find anything registered at that address, unfortunately. Tis likely a complete lie and they're really just operating from China, while pretending it's in the UK (sold in GBP, UK shipping listed as above, SEPARATE from "international shipping", UK address..)

Might fall to a chargeback, then. Still though a retail boxed product should not be "tampered with" in any way unless it's EXPLICITLY stated. Omitting information is classed as "misleading" and an unfair trading practice, here at least. 

There's no way for a UK court to enforce any decision against a foreign entity so no there's no protection if the company doesn't have a UK legal entity that you can enforce an action against. 

Yup, but if they've done something truly dodgy as per UK law / fair trading guidance, that should lend support to the banks supporting it with a CC chargeback, if needed? (I know there's no way to "enforce" anything besides that). 

Would have thought there'd be some way to stop them selling stuff to the UK though too, if they were doing something bad. 


And lol yeah generic Shopify pages, methinks they bodged up the bit about being fully supported by UK law. 
Waiting to hear back on my RMA claim through their "resolution portal"... I've also suggested a partial refund of £10 would suffice. They price theirs £10 below competitors (who explicitly DO sell it with the adaptor), and the adaptor is £20 to buy, so I wouldn't be left out of pocket with a partial refund of a tenner. We shall see what happens..
Up to now their attitude has been that theirs is priced cheaper so if want "premium" (the box not to be opened and items  removed...??) then should expect to pay more, or something. Funny outlook.. 

Other people here are a lot more clued up on chargebacks than me, the banks just seem to work to their own rules rather than any set of legal principles. I don't really understand the ins and outs of chargebacks but they may well ask if you've returned the item and asked for a refund. Probably defer to others on chargebacks. 

I think there would be a way to stop them importing stuff that's not legal (if they intercept it) but other than I don't think customs really have the funding to be monitoring which businesses are slightly dodgy from a consumer rights POV. And in any case, they'd still have your money and you wouldn't have any product. 

If it's literally the correct product with the wrong adapter you've probably got somewhat lucky - unless its counterfeit of course? - in terms of what you could have received (a box with a brick in it) 

Yeah.  I wouldn't have even ordered if I was aware it was coming from China! The statement on UK Delivery (royal mail) and listing the UK address on contact us page etc etc... All deliberately designed to mislead, as I suspect providing a working tracking number only after it came through the door was.. 

The charger (stand) itself is the correct one, however literally written on the box contents it lists an adaptor plug and c-to-c cable, and then the next bullet says to "use only the enclosed Samsung adaptor for charging" (as ofc anything else wouldn't be warrantied).

So it was sold as a "boxed" (manufacturer's box) product. As written on the box iteself, this should include:
- Charger stand.
- 25w Travel Adaptor (UK plug)
- USB c-to-c cable
- Manual. 

What was actually in the box (despite it being "sealed". Obv opened & re-sealed):
- Charger Stand
- USB A-to-c cable (likely generic and not manufaturer's)
- Manual.

The missing items (adaptor & c-to-c cable) are worth £20.

Amazon, the manufacturer and everywhere else also list those items being included (as does the bloody box!) but the seller's attitude is that it's not at "premium price" (£10 less, yet the adaptor / cable is worth £20 if bought separately..), and that it's the EU version so originally had the EU plug in it, so they open the box, remove that and the c-to-c cable and replace with an a-to-c cable (likely generic) as "that's all you need". Of course all this is omitted from the item page. Dodgy! 
So I just got the charger stand and an a-to-c cable, lol. 

My take is that anything sold as a boxed product and "new" (no mention of otherwise) should have the same contents regardless of where bought, and the contents on the manufacturer's box should be in the box. Any opening of the box and removing items should be explicitly mentioned! As it literally says on the box to use the enclosed adaptor, and that is missing, it isn't fit for purpose.

Full return / refund, OR partial refund of £10 wouldn't leave me out of pocket, but let's see how that goes..
Good job I used the CC for the purchase! 

tightauldgit

BobT36 said:

tightauldgit said:

BobT36 said:

tightauldgit said:

BobT36 said:

Hmm, isn't there no protection law here though for any company "operating" or "trading with / in" the UK, though? 
Can't find anything registered at that address, unfortunately. Tis likely a complete lie and they're really just operating from China, while pretending it's in the UK (sold in GBP, UK shipping listed as above, SEPARATE from "international shipping", UK address..)

Might fall to a chargeback, then. Still though a retail boxed product should not be "tampered with" in any way unless it's EXPLICITLY stated. Omitting information is classed as "misleading" and an unfair trading practice, here at least. 

There's no way for a UK court to enforce any decision against a foreign entity so no there's no protection if the company doesn't have a UK legal entity that you can enforce an action against. 

Yup, but if they've done something truly dodgy as per UK law / fair trading guidance, that should lend support to the banks supporting it with a CC chargeback, if needed? (I know there's no way to "enforce" anything besides that). 

Would have thought there'd be some way to stop them selling stuff to the UK though too, if they were doing something bad. 


And lol yeah generic Shopify pages, methinks they bodged up the bit about being fully supported by UK law. 
Waiting to hear back on my RMA claim through their "resolution portal"... I've also suggested a partial refund of £10 would suffice. They price theirs £10 below competitors (who explicitly DO sell it with the adaptor), and the adaptor is £20 to buy, so I wouldn't be left out of pocket with a partial refund of a tenner. We shall see what happens..
Up to now their attitude has been that theirs is priced cheaper so if want "premium" (the box not to be opened and items  removed...??) then should expect to pay more, or something. Funny outlook.. 

Other people here are a lot more clued up on chargebacks than me, the banks just seem to work to their own rules rather than any set of legal principles. I don't really understand the ins and outs of chargebacks but they may well ask if you've returned the item and asked for a refund. Probably defer to others on chargebacks. 

I think there would be a way to stop them importing stuff that's not legal (if they intercept it) but other than I don't think customs really have the funding to be monitoring which businesses are slightly dodgy from a consumer rights POV. And in any case, they'd still have your money and you wouldn't have any product. 

If it's literally the correct product with the wrong adapter you've probably got somewhat lucky - unless its counterfeit of course? - in terms of what you could have received (a box with a brick in it) 

Yeah.  I wouldn't have even ordered if I was aware it was coming from China! The statement on UK Delivery (royal mail) and listing the UK address on contact us page etc etc... All deliberately designed to mislead, as I suspect providing a working tracking number only after it came through the door was.. 

The charger (stand) itself is the correct one, however literally written on the box contents it lists an adaptor plug and c-to-c cable, and then the next bullet says to "use only the enclosed Samsung adaptor for charging" (as ofc anything else wouldn't be warrantied).

So it was sold as a "boxed" (manufacturer's box) product. As written on the box iteself, this should include:
- Charger stand.
- 25w Travel Adaptor (UK plug)
- USB c-to-c cable
- Manual. 

What was actually in the box (despite it being "sealed". Obv opened & re-sealed):
- Charger Stand
- USB A-to-c cable (likely generic and not manufaturer's)
- Manual.

The missing items (adaptor & c-to-c cable) are worth £20.

Amazon, the manufacturer and everywhere else also list those items being included (as does the bloody box!) but the seller's attitude is that it's not at "premium price" (£10 less, yet the adaptor / cable is worth £20 if bought separately..), and that it's the EU version so originally had the EU plug in it, so they open the box, remove that and the c-to-c cable and replace with an a-to-c cable (likely generic) as "that's all you need". Of course all this is omitted from the item page. Dodgy! 
So I just got the charger stand and an a-to-c cable, lol. 

My take is that anything sold as a boxed product and "new" (no mention of otherwise) should have the same contents regardless of where bought, and the contents on the manufacturer's box should be in the box. Any opening of the box and removing items should be explicitly mentioned! As it literally says on the box to use the enclosed adaptor, and that is missing, it isn't fit for purpose.

Full return / refund, OR partial refund of £10 wouldn't leave me out of pocket, but let's see how that goes..
Good job I used the CC for the purchase! 

Yes, I completely agree that they've obviously been designed to mislead. I imagine no tracking number because the post from China to the UK isn't tracked so you can't get any tracking info until it's in the UK. The reason I asked about Ebay is it's very common there that stuff marked 'sold from UK' actually comes from China but you would have had more protection from Ebay's rules if it was sold there. 

Equally you should have received what was advertised so if they showed and described the full UK boxed product that's what you should get. If they are selling different EU products then they should specify that difference on their website. 

The problem you have is a practical one - they can simply say 'no' and there's nothing you can really do about it except not order from them again and spread the word that their site is dodgy. 

born_again

tightauldgit said:

Other people here are a lot more clued up on chargebacks than me, the banks just seem to work to their own rules rather than any set of legal principles. I don't really understand the ins and outs of chargebacks but they may well ask if you've returned the item and asked for a refund. Probably defer to others on chargebacks. 

I think there would be a way to stop them importing stuff that's not legal (if they intercept it) but other than I don't think customs really have the funding to be monitoring which businesses are slightly dodgy from a consumer rights POV. And in any case, they'd still have your money and you wouldn't have any product. 

If it's literally the correct product with the wrong adapter you've probably got somewhat lucky - unless its counterfeit of course? - in terms of what you could have received (a box with a brick in it) 

The banks work to the card regulations as set out by Visa/Mastercard & Amex. These are over & above your legal consumer rights.

BobT36

So, after much prompting and logging a case through the "dispute portal", they gave me an RMA number and a shipping label. 
I posted it on the 24th (and provided proof of posting).

Waited a good while (due to the bank hol) and still hadn't heard anything back, so contacted them on the 5th and stated they had till the 8th to process a (FULL) refund, or I'd be seeking alternate methods. 

Fortunately, I've had the refund come through today, in full. Sorted! 
Clearly not a full scam but very dishonest / misleading in ways. Certainly don't think it's fine to open a manufacturer boxed item and remove stuff without clearly saying have done so! But ah well it's sorted now. 

I re-bought the item from someone on E-bay, and it did indeed come with the genuine UK plug and C-to-C cable, as the other one should have.