Returns

lollipop320

We are owners of a small business, a customer plavced an order and the wrong goods have been sent out.  We are on holiday at the moment and can not rectify the problem. The customer is requesting that we refund him for the ordered goods before he returns the incorrect ones as he does not trust us. We have already said once we return from holiday we will raise a returns label and he can return the goods at no cost to him but he is still not happy. Is he entitled to ask for a refund prior to returning the incorrect goods ?

marcia_

 I wouldn't have thought so, he should return first otherwise he could just keep them. Ive always received my refunds when the return is confirmed 

turnitround

Why is the customer saying they dont trust you? I would think it would depend on how long you would be on holiday.  I suppose if I was the customer and you said 'I will be back next Monday and will issue you a label then' I would find that acceptable but on the other hand if you said 'I'm on holiday and wont be back for 3 weeks' then I would be annoyed to have to wait.

Is it a high value item? Is it worth an unhappy customer.

lollipop320

We told him we would be back by the 7th. He doesn't trust us because we sent incorrect goods out and says he thinks we are trying to fleece him. We have been in business for 15 years and have many happy customers

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

If the customer agreed, by way of T&Cs, to return the goods then they have a duty to do so.

If there wasn't any agreement the customer has a duty to make them available for your collection.

If you acknowledge the wrong goods were sent you should refund the customer within 14 days regardless of whether they have sent the goods back/they have been collected yet. 

That would be 12th from today but it depends when it was established the wrong goods were sent. 

user1977

Is the customer a consumer or a business?

Okell

s20(15) Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)

"20  Right to reject

... (15) A refund under this section must be given without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to a refund..."

So have you agreed your customer is entitled to a refund?

Must admit, if I were a small business I'd like to have received the goods back before paying a refund... but the law is the law and applies to small businesses as well as large ones.

lollipop320

Thank you for your comments. After again saying we will sort out a prepaid label for return of the goods, he has accepted it and apologises for his comments and the tone he used in his emails, he says he was just disappointed that his goods were incorrect. I'm sure his attitude would have been different had he been talking to us face to face

RefluentBeans

lollipop320 said:

Thank you for your comments. After again saying we will sort out a prepaid label for return of the goods, he has accepted it and apologises for his comments and the tone he used in his emails, he says he was just disappointed that his goods were incorrect. I'm sure his attitude would have been different had he been talking to us face to face

Very much agree with this. People are very quick to assume that someone’s out to get them! Glad the customer accepted the returns label when you’re back. 

I’m not sure if I’m being dense - but could you not have booked a collection for them via Royal Mail - recently discovered they collect from your house for free now, and will bring a label with them. I suppose you’re still away for the moment, so doesn’t solve the problem of getting the parcel any quicker. 

tightauldgit

Okell said:

s20(15) Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)

"20  Right to reject

... (15) A refund under this section must be given without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to a refund..."

So have you agreed your customer is entitled to a refund?

Must admit, if I were a small business I'd like to have received the goods back before paying a refund... but the law is the law and applies to small businesses as well as large ones.

The way that's written a business saying 'please return the item so we can confirm it's not the right one and then issue a refund' would be perfectly within the law though?

Slightly different part of the legislation but if you look on the .gov.uk site about refunds it talks about the 14 day right to cancel for distance sales and says the business should refund within 14 days of receiving the goods back.  

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

tightauldgit said:

Okell said:

s20(15) Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)

"20  Right to reject

... (15) A refund under this section must be given without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to a refund..."

So have you agreed your customer is entitled to a refund?

Must admit, if I were a small business I'd like to have received the goods back before paying a refund... but the law is the law and applies to small businesses as well as large ones.

The way that's written a business saying 'please return the item so we can confirm it's not the right one and then issue a refund' would be perfectly within the law though?

Slightly different part of the legislation but if you look on the .gov.uk site about refunds it talks about the 14 day right to cancel for distance sales and says the business should refund within 14 days of receiving the goods back.  

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/notes/division/3/1/3/4/2

118.Subsection (15) requires a trader to provide any refund due to the consumer without undue delay and at the latest within 14 days from when the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to it. For example, if a consumer rejects goods because of a technical fault which cannot be seen without testing or detailed examination, the 14-day period would start once the trader had carried out the appropriate tests and found the goods were indeed faulty. In contrast, if it was clear from looking at the goods that they breached the relevant requirement under the Act, there is unlikely to be any reason for the trader not to agree immediately that the consumer is entitled to a refund

Most the people posting here for help are dealing with businesses that are either ignoring consumer rights or trying to skirt around them, I appreciate a small business doesn't want to refund a customer without having the goods under their control but OP knows their business and either agrees they sent the wrong goods or they don't. 

There's no need for excuses either way as enforcing it would take longer than the OP sorting the issue but OP should be given the correct information and they can make a decision rather than being given excuses they could come up with to skirt around their obligations