Seller refused to cancel order or accept refund

alllre

Hi, my son purchased an expensive item of clothing he’d saved up for - but accidentally got the size wrong. He emailed to cancel the order within two minutes of placing the order.

The vendor replied after a day to say they couldn’t cancel the order as it had been despatched.

Their return policy states a refund is only accepted if an item is faulty. Surely that’s not legal? There’s a 14 day right to cancel any order I believe?

I can’t post links, but if you googled “broken planet market” their terms are on /terms on the website.

p00hsticks

This site ?
Broken Planet Clothing | Sale 30% Off | Broken Planet Hoodie

No real evidence that I can see of where in the world they are based.....

RefluentBeans

Yup you’re right - you have 14 days from the date of delivery to cancel order. If they don’t accept it, if it was paid on credit card and the item was over £100, you have section 75 protection. If under of paid on debit card can attempt a chargeback, but this may not be successful if the retailer dispute the chargeback. 

Failing that, persisting tiger them to abide by the law, and if that fails, letter before action. 

Unfortunately a lot of these companies are popping up targeting social media, and either don’t know the law or don’t care. 

FlimFlam01

alllre said:

Hi, my son purchased an expensive item of clothing he’d saved up for - but accidentally got the size wrong. He emailed to cancel the order within two minutes of placing the order.

The vendor replied after a day to say they couldn’t cancel the order as it had been despatched.

Their return policy states a refund is only accepted if an item is faulty. Surely that’s not legal? There’s a 14 day right to cancel any order I believe?

I can’t post links, but if you googled “broken planet market” their terms are on /terms on the website.

you can return within 14 days but at your own cost.  Sellers T&C's cannot overrule the law.

Their T&Cs also state:

GOVERNING LAW

THESE TERMS OF SERVICE AND ANY SEPARATE AGREEMENTS WHEREBY WE PROVIDE YOU SERVICES SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF UNITED KINGDOM.

Return the item to them using special delivery or similar with full tracking, how was it paid Debit or Credit Card - think you'll have enough to go on with either most likely - how much was it?

RefluentBeans

p00hsticks said:

This site ?
Broken Planet Clothing | Sale 30% Off | Broken Planet Hoodie

No real evidence that I can see of where in the world they are based.....

They have a privacy policy identifying themselves as Broken Planet Ltd (but there is only Broken Planet Market Ltd - websites have the same design and logo) - interestingly their privacy section is ripped entirely from a more legit company (Farfetch) where they’ve just searched and replaced Farfetch and replaced it with Broken Planet, but didn’t change the company number. 

Unsure if this is just a new company that’s finding its feet or if it has malicious intent. They certainly have multiple websites with the same design, but only one registration in Companies House. 

alllre

p00hsticks said:

This site ?


No real evidence that I can see of where in the world they are based.....

Actually, I think that site is a fake one selling replicas of their stuff.

broken planet market dot com is the real one. They’re pretty successful so I guess have spawned a few dodgy competitors. 

alllre

Thanks all. It was £80 (£85 with delivery). Paid on a Mastercard debit card unfortunately.

RefluentBeans

alllre said:

Thanks all. It was £80 (£85 with delivery). Paid on a Mastercard debit card unfortunately.

So I think the best bet is to remind them of their legal obligations. Hopefully, they won’t have had to deal with many returns before and are unaware of the law. Just be careful with tone and stuff - catch more flies with honey than vinegar etc, but you can be firm in your assertion of your rights. Also be clear you’re not looking to just ‘return’ your items via their policy your looking to cancel them under the consumer contract regulations. 

If that doesn’t work, then I would attempt a chargeback. I’d speak to your bank first about this, and they can talk you through it. 

Finally - if that doesn’t work - a letter before action is going to be the final option. At that point you’re cutting off any negotiations and should only be used if communications have ceased or you’re not getting anywhere. You can send one but choose not to follow up in court - it depends how far you’re willing to take it. Unfortunately, when a companies depriving you of your rights, the only way to get them do the right thing can be through a court. 

If you don’t want to take it to court, you can chalk it up to learning experience and teaching your son that not all retailers are good guys. And the importance on checking their terms as it shouldn’t be that hard to get a refund! 

p00hsticks

RefluentBeans said:

alllre said:

Thanks all. It was £80 (£85 with delivery). Paid on a Mastercard debit card unfortunately.

So I think the best bet is to remind them of their legal obligations. Hopefully, they won’t have had to deal with many returns before and are unaware of the law. Just be careful with tone and stuff - catch more flies with honey than vinegar etc, but you can be firm in your assertion of your rights. Also be clear you’re not looking to just ‘return’ your items via their policy your looking to cancel them under the consumer contract regulations. 

It might also aid negotiations (assuming that son still wants the item but in the correct size, and didn't already order the correct size separately ) if rather than pushing for a refund you suggest an exchange....

Okell

alllre said:

... There’s a 14 day right to cancel any order I believe?...

For your son to take advantage of his statutory right to cancel a "distance contract" under regulation 29 of The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk), he must clearly inform the seller that he is cancelling it - regulation 32(3)(b) - , and he must do so within 14 days of delivery.  He has a further 14 days during which to return the goods.

Unless the seller has made it clear that your son must pay return delivery costs if he cancels the contract, the seller must pay the return costs  -  regulation 35(5)(b) and Schedule 2, para (m).

That - at least - is the theory.  Getting the seller to accept it might be more tricky.  Your son must quote the law to them and be persistent.