Zara Refuse to Refund me - Help

Jumblebumble

HillStreetBlues said:

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-3702673.pdf

Mr O ordered two computers from a supplier in October 2021 and paid for these using his
Starling Mastercard debit card. Mr O was then able to secure the same equipment through
his university and so he returned the items he had purchased using the supplier’s return
label. Unfortunately, the items were lost in transit. Mr O says he wasn’t able to claim for the
goods from the postal provider as he had used a supplier return label and so it was up to the
supplier to make the claim. He contacted the supplier several times and says he was told he
would receive the refund, but this didn’t happen. Mr O then contacted Starling Bank to raise
a dispute about the payment. Mr O says he provided documents to support his case, but
Starling Bank refused to raise his claim.


Starling Bank issued a final response letter in February 2022. It noted the contact that had
been made and said that Mr O hadn’t provided sufficient evidence for his chargeback claim
to be raised. It said it needed Mr O to provide evidence that the goods had been returned
and received by the supplier and that the supplier had said a refund would be provided. Mr O
had explained the goods had been lost in transit and it noted that further evidence had been
provided but said there still wasn’t sufficient evidence for a claim to be raised.

Mr O completed a chargeback form which explained the details of his dispute. He also
provided evidence from the supplier saying that the goods were in transit and separately that
a refund request had been raised. The supporting evidence doesn’t require the cardholder to
prove the items have been received back by the supplier. Based on the information Mr O
provided I think that Startling Bank should have raised the chargeback claim.

Putting things right
Starling Bank Limited should: Refund Mr O his transaction of £2,838 along with 8% simple interest from 11 January
2022 till the date of settlement; and
Pay Mr O compensation of £300 for the distress and inconvenience he has been
caused.
My final decision
My final decision is that I uphold this complaint. Starling Bank Limited should take the
actions set out above in resolution of this complaint.
Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mr O to accept or
reject my decision before 9 November 2022.



As in this case with Starling,  who did reject the chargeback claim because there was no proof that the return had been received, the Ombudsman found by using the suppliers own label that proof of posting was sufficient.



 

Starling Bank are idiots to try to claim that Mr O has to provide proof that is imposible for him to do.

HillStreetBlues

sheramber said:

Is that not a S75 claim , despite the decision referring to chargeback, with Starling having to refund.

A chargeback claims the money from the retailer, who can dispute it, and not from the bank.

There is no S75 on a debit card (I think you missed that detail, easy done)

Starling has to pay because of their error in not processing the chargeback.

tightauldgit

There really needs to be some clarification on the legislation on this one to make it more explicit. It seems to me pretty self-evident that you cannot disadvantage a consumer because your courier has lost an item but seems to be a daily occurrence now.

The idea that you can refuse a refund because the return label YOU ISSUED doesn't have the information YOU NEED is laughable. 

SJgirl84

I find using Zara WhatsApp is the best way to communicate with them. Send a picture of the drop off receipt, along with order numbers and list the items you returned. This works better than online chat where they’re completely useless and unwilling to help. 

SAEHughes

To follow up I eventually got refunded.

I sent Zara a letter before action and after posting here Zara sent me a final response saying the claim would be defended with forensic evidence such as return history. My partner and I bought and converted a derelict mill in 2008, I had only placed three previous orders with Zara and no returns. He doesn't shop at Zara. So I wished Zara good luck and told them I would be proceeding with court action when the fourteen days had passed. 

On Thursday evening, the final day, I received an email from Zara saying the return had been accepted and this morning the amount has been credited to my bank account. 

What a bizarre way they have chosen to conduct business. There's an awful lot of their customers in the same situation and it's not just British customers either as I've seen people complaining from other continents. Even if Zara receive the returns they are rejecting them for various reasons, still claiming the return wasn't received or the items were missing.

For anyone else in this situation I would send them a letter before action and personally I wouldn't feel intimidated by them. It's ITX UK Limited you need to claim against. 

Sale of ZARA and ZARA HOME items through this website is carried out by ITX UK Limited, a UK company with registered offices at Lumina House, 89 New Bond Street, London W1S 1DA, Company registration number 2245999, with VAT No. GB 649927871. 

tightauldgit

That's good news. It truly is a bizarre way to do business but it seems they know they don't have the law on their side.

I can only imagine they must be losing a hell of a lot of returns to make them act in this way but nonetheless its not good enough to push the problem back onto customers. 

SJgirl84

Is there any complaints body or organisation that can be used to make official complaints about Zara’s conduct on how they are dealing with returns? It seems this is happening far too often and I can’t believe how they are getting away with. 

eskbanker

SJgirl84 said:

Is there any complaints body or organisation that can be used to make official complaints about Zara’s conduct on how they are dealing with returns? It seems this is happening far too often and I can’t believe how they are getting away with. 

Trouble is it's all anecdotal, i.e. you can only speak for what you personally experience, rather than taking all the other stories at face value, if seeking to escalate formally anywhere.  Nothing stopping you from reporting them to Trading Standards, via CAB, though....