Not as advertised!

adeo

Alderbank said:

This is a living plant, not a bouquet of cut flowers. As others have said it looks a strong, healthy plant.
Gardening Express offer quite a generous 5 year guarantee with all their hardy plants (your azalea is included in this).

Your complaint is that you can't find a phone number so you can't take up their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee. In fact you say that Citizens' Advice have examined the contract and told you to sue over this!

Did you actually read the terms of the guarantee?

14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee

Our Guarantee is that you'll love your plants! If for whatever reason you are not totally happy with your plants on delivery please return them within 14 days for a full refund. - It's as simple as that.

Please Click Here for our Returns Form. There is no need to contact us if you're taking us up on this - simply make your return and our team will process your refund as soon as your order arrives back here with us. 

No citizens advice haven't said anything, I just read information from CA website! I will only return if GE replies to guarantee to refund return postage. I will now try my bank for charge back!

Alderbank

Their website (have you read it?) says they do not pay return postage under their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee, and that is in accordance with your consumer rights.

Chargeback will not succeed because you have the goods.

tightauldgit

Alderbank said:

Their website (have you read it?) says they do not pay return postage under their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee, and that is in accordance with your consumer rights.

Chargeback will not succeed because you have the goods.

Well that's the rub though isn't it - the item isn't as described (despite people claiming it's a healthy plant or whatever it isn't what the site showed) so the supplier should be paying for the return. 

Regardless of whether you think the OP got a good deal, should be happy with what they got or whatever else I think they're within their rights to be asking for a refund and return postage.

Unless there was some disclaimer somewhere that said reduced items might be past their best then I don't see that the seller really has a leg to stand on.  

adeo

Alderbank said:

Their website (have you read it?) says they do not pay return postage under their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee, and that is in accordance with your consumer rights.

Chargeback will not succeed because you have the goods.

No I don't have the goods as described/advertised!

adeo

tightauldgit said:

Alderbank said:

Their website (have you read it?) says they do not pay return postage under their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee, and that is in accordance with your consumer rights.

Chargeback will not succeed because you have the goods.

Well that's the rub though isn't it - the item isn't as described (despite people claiming it's a healthy plant or whatever it isn't what the site showed) so the supplier should be paying for the return. 

Regardless of whether you think the OP got a good deal, should be happy with what they got or whatever else I think they're within their rights to be asking for a refund and return postage.

Unless there was some disclaimer somewhere that said reduced items might be past their best then I don't see that the seller really has a leg to stand on.  

Thank you, someone who lives in the real world and understands what I'm saying .

Alderbank

tightauldgit said:

Alderbank said:

Their website (have you read it?) says they do not pay return postage under their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee, and that is in accordance with your consumer rights.

Chargeback will not succeed because you have the goods.

Well that's the rub though isn't it - the item isn't as described (despite people claiming it's a healthy plant or whatever it isn't what the site showed) so the supplier should be paying for the return. 

I don't agree.
It's a living plant and its appearance will change with the seasons and other environmental factors.
The picture is not this individual plant, it is a sample in full bloom. Azaleas bloom in April. They don't bloom in June. Provided this plant, when planted and cared for according to the instructions, resembles the sample image, they are compliant.

When I buy spring bulbs the pack shows red tulips or yellow daffodils. They are not the actual items in the box, which look like shrivelled up onions. They are samples of what the plant will be like. That is what buyers expect to see on the pack. So long as the contents of the pack turn out like the sample they conform
The same with seeds. I don't expect a picture of the seeds inside the pack, I expect a picture of what they will become.

I don't think you are a gardener, are you?

munchpot

adeo said:

As you can see from screenshot ftGE advertised price with photos it doesn't mention out of season but says 'in bud and bloom ' so false advertising!

If you believe it is false advertising then feel free to report them to the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority)
https://www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint.html

They cannot fine the company, but can ask them to change the copy

As others have said they seem to have a good returns policy for you to send them back and receive a full refund.

tightauldgit

Alderbank said:

tightauldgit said:

Alderbank said:

Their website (have you read it?) says they do not pay return postage under their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee, and that is in accordance with your consumer rights.

Chargeback will not succeed because you have the goods.

Well that's the rub though isn't it - the item isn't as described (despite people claiming it's a healthy plant or whatever it isn't what the site showed) so the supplier should be paying for the return. 

I don't agree.
It's a living plant and its appearance will change with the seasons and other environmental factors.
The picture is not this individual plant, it is a sample in full bloom. Azaleas bloom in April. They don't bloom in June. Provided this plant, when planted and cared for according to the instructions, resembles the sample image, they are compliant.

When I buy spring bulbs the pack shows red tulips or yellow daffodils. They are not the actual items in the box, which look like shrivelled up onions. They are samples of what the plant will be like. That is what buyers expect to see on the pack. So long as the contents of the pack turn out like the sample they conform
The same with seeds. I don't expect a picture of the seeds inside the pack, I expect a picture of what they will become.

I don't think you are a gardener, are you?

I don't really see how anyone could not agree - the description the OP posted says 'In Bloom and Bud' and it clearly isn't that. Absent those words I probably agree with everything else you've written here but if you buy something that says it's in bloom and when it arrives it's not in bloom then it clearly doesn't match the description. 

Now possibly there's something somewhere else in the description that caveats that and then I think there would be a discussion to be had but on the face of it no matter how much I agree with all the things you've said being reasonable it's not what the OP bought. And all they really do is highlight the need for the sellers to be more careful with what they put on their page.

I'm not much of a gardener no but that doesn't really make any difference to the legalities.  

To kind of use your analogy - if they'd just sent a packet of seeds then the fact they may well grow into the plant advertised wouldn't be sufficient to match this description. 

It looks like what has happened here is the site has listed the item back when they were as described, discounted them when they got a bit grotty and not been smart enough to update their description. Whether that's them being misleading, lazy, or just an honest mistake I don't know but I don't think it really leaves them with a defence. 

adeo

Alderbank said:

tightauldgit said:

Alderbank said:

Their website (have you read it?) says they do not pay return postage under their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee, and that is in accordance with your consumer rights.

Chargeback will not succeed because you have the goods.

Well that's the rub though isn't it - the item isn't as described (despite people claiming it's a healthy plant or whatever it isn't what the site showed) so the supplier should be paying for the return. 

I don't agree.
It's a living plant and its appearance will change with the seasons and other environmental factors.
The picture is not this individual plant, it is a sample in full bloom. Azaleas bloom in April. They don't bloom in June. Provided this plant, when planted and cared for according to the instructions, resembles the sample image, they are compliant.

When I buy spring bulbs the pack shows red tulips or yellow daffodils. They are not the actual items in the box, which look like shrivelled up onions. They are samples of what the plant will be like. That is what buyers expect to see on the pack. So long as the contents of the pack turn out like the sample they conform
The same with seeds. I don't expect a picture of the seeds inside the pack, I expect a picture of what they will become.

I don't think you are a gardener, are you?

It's not about when the plant actually flowers, it's about the misleading description IE 'in bud and bloom ' so it's false advertising! 

adeo

tightauldgit said:

Alderbank said:

tightauldgit said:

Alderbank said:

Their website (have you read it?) says they do not pay return postage under their 14 day No quibble Money Back Guarantee, and that is in accordance with your consumer rights.

Chargeback will not succeed because you have the goods.

Well that's the rub though isn't it - the item isn't as described (despite people claiming it's a healthy plant or whatever it isn't what the site showed) so the supplier should be paying for the return. 

I don't agree.
It's a living plant and its appearance will change with the seasons and other environmental factors.
The picture is not this individual plant, it is a sample in full bloom. Azaleas bloom in April. They don't bloom in June. Provided this plant, when planted and cared for according to the instructions, resembles the sample image, they are compliant.

When I buy spring bulbs the pack shows red tulips or yellow daffodils. They are not the actual items in the box, which look like shrivelled up onions. They are samples of what the plant will be like. That is what buyers expect to see on the pack. So long as the contents of the pack turn out like the sample they conform
The same with seeds. I don't expect a picture of the seeds inside the pack, I expect a picture of what they will become.

I don't think you are a gardener, are you?

I don't really see how anyone could not agree - the description the OP posted says 'In Bloom and Bud' and it clearly isn't that. Absent those words I probably agree with everything else you've written here but if you buy something that says it's in bloom and when it arrives it's not in bloom then it clearly doesn't match the description. 

Now possibly there's something somewhere else in the description that caveats that and then I think there would be a discussion to be had but on the face of it no matter how much I agree with all the things you've said being reasonable it's not what the OP bought. And all they really do is highlight the need for the sellers to be more careful with what they put on their page.

I'm not much of a gardener no but that doesn't really make any difference to the legalities.  

To kind of use your analogy - if they'd just sent a packet of seeds then the fact they may well grow into the plant advertised wouldn't be sufficient to match this description. 

It looks like what has happened here is the site has listed the item back when they were as described, discounted them when they got a bit grotty and not been smart enough to update their description. Whether that's them being misleading, lazy, or just an honest mistake I don't know but I don't think it really leaves them with a defence. 

And that's my argument, well said 👍