Not received refund, what next?

PumpedBanjo

Bumping this post - a month on, still no closer. 

Any advice on how to raise this with any of the relevant bodies is appreciated. Trading standards, ombudsman etc.

Aylesbury_Duck

As I understand it, Trading Standards won't intervene directly on a matter like this, and an ombudsman is only relevant if the retailer is governed by an ombudsman.  Are they?

You need to write to them (not email, not phone call) at their registered address, with what's called a letter before action (google it for examples).  Give then 14 days to respond or you'll issue small claims court proceedings.  I think they're based in Scotland, so you'll have to check if the process is slightly different as a result.

It won't be a speedy process if they contest it because I think there's still a backlog of several months, but they may react to the letter threatening court action.

PumpedBanjo

Aylesbury_Duck said:

As I understand it, Trading Standards won't intervene directly on a matter like this, and an ombudsman is only relevant if the retailer is governed by an ombudsman.  Are they?

You need to write to them (not email, not phone call) at their registered address, with what's called a letter before action (google it for examples).  Give then 14 days to respond or you'll issue small claims court proceedings.  I think they're based in Scotland, so you'll have to check if the process is slightly different as a result.

It won't be a speedy process if they contest it because I think there's still a backlog of several months, but they may react to the letter threatening court action.

Thanks for your reply, really helpful. 

I'm not sure on the ombudsman, however, I have spoken to Citizens advice and they have directed me to the UKICC. 
Upon reading, it's similar to what you suggested, i.e. a formal written letter followed by escalation to them if no response or suitable solution offered. 

Thanks again.

Wonka_2

So the suggestion of UKICC suggests they think the transaction is non-UK based - is there any part of the order you did that wasn't via the (apparently) Scottish company i.e. paying in another currency, goods were shipped from another country or you returned them to another country ?

I know it's 'after the horse has bolted' but the reviews for them are pretty shocking (and probably 'bought' for the good ones) so dropping £1k+ on stuff you were looking to return was a big risk that seems to have backfired.

PayPal would have been the way forward but if you claimed and used the wrong category then the retailer has defended it and case is closed.

At this stage it probably needs to all be in writing and to be ready to follow up under Scottish Law - but in your position I'd be searching for others in a similar situation (and I suspect there'll be many) to see how, if at all, success is achieved

And maybe as some background I'd be having a look at the accounts online - those filed by Mr Fretswell don't seem to tie up with a business of the size his website (and your order value) suggests

PumpedBanjo

As an update to this thread in case any one else finds themselves in the same position I did - I have got my money back at long last. 
A written complaint finally got the attention that should have been applied from the start. 
Even after the letter, it took a 24 hour extension on the deadline for the refund to be issued. 

Lessons learnt - 
- No matter how much due diligence I did do, it wasn't enough. Looking on Trust Pilot and seeing a rating of 3.8 gave me relative confidence in the company. Having said that, if I had delved more into the 1 star ratings (which I now have done), the majority, if not all, show the issues occur when attempting to return items for a refund - Make sure to check the negative reviews. 
- Not necessarily something I didn't do, but to call out if it is impacting you, ensure to keep a track of all emails, tracking information for returning the items (use a good tracking company, I used DPD with photo evidence it was delivery back to the merchant).
- Utilise Citizens Advice - they were very very helpful in directing me where to go and what to do in this situation.

Finally, thanks for the replies to this thread. Happy to have a successful ending, and for those in this situation, persist and you will succeed.