Refund from Online Retailer

Allietee

Hi,

I was just wondering if you could offer some advice or point me in the right direction please?

My son made a purchase online but changed his mind once he had received the goods.

He received them on the Friday and emailed the company on the Monday requesting a refund.

Initially the company tried to claim "all sales were final, no refunds would be granted" but he pursued his claim

However they have now stopped replying to his emails and he has issued them with 7 days notice before he takes it further.

Our question is where is the "further"? There is no longer a Consumer Ombudsman and Office of Fair Trading appears to be through Citizens Advice!!

Any advice or contact would be gratefully appreciated.

Ali

eskbanker

Allietee said:

he has issued them with 7 days notice before he takes it further.

Our question is where is the "further"? There is no longer a Consumer Ombudsman and Office of Fair Trading appears to be through Citizens Advice!!

What did his "7 days notice" actually say?

There will generally be the option of taking companies to court if they fail to abide by their legal responsibilities, and so a Letter Before Action would normally be used to notify the merchant that this is planned, but should only be issued once prepared to follow through with it, rather than simply as an empty threat.  What's the value of the purchase, i.e. would it be cost-effective to recover via court action?

Depending on how he paid, he may also have the option of intervention via his card provider, either a section 75 claim (credit card purchases of items >£100) or chargeback.

If he's wishing to exercise his legal right to cancel a distance contract (assuming he has the right to do so, i.e. the goods aren't exempted, etc), has he made this clear to the seller, and has return of the goods been discussed?

Okell

Who is the seller?   (Are they even in the UK?)

What date did he take delivery?

What date he tell them he "wanted a refund"?

What did he buy?

What did it cost?

How did he pay?


The law allows distance (ie online) contracts to be cancelled up to 14 days after delivery.  Sellers cannot get round that by claiming that all sales are final and that there will be no refunds.

It always helps if the consumer explicitly states that they are cancelling the contract rather than just wanting a refund.  So what actually did he tell them?

As per @eskbanker, what did his 7 days notice actually say?  (Precise wording - not the gist)

If they don't pay up then he'll either have to sue them* by issuing a court claim or - depending on how whe paid - he might be able to make chargeback claim against his bank.


*Even if he won a court case sounds like he may still have difficulty getting them to pay up as they don't seem to have much regard for the law.

Allietee

Hi eskbanker, thanks for replying so quickly.

He has been corresponding with them since 25th March, having received the goods on the 22nd.

His emails have been constructed following all the lines of advice given re the Consumer Contracts Regulations and Consumer Rights Act.

The 7 days email informed them he intended to take it to the CO and OFT but upon further investigation these 2 offices which we as consumers are directed to no longer appear to exist!

We are no left wondering what our next step should be as there does not appear to be anyone enforcing the above legislation.

Allietee

Okell said:

Who is the seller?   (Are they even in the UK?)

What date did he take delivery?

What date he tell them he "wanted a refund"?

What did he buy?

What did it cost?

How did he pay?


The law allows distance (ie online) contracts to be cancelled up to 14 days after delivery.  Sellers cannot get round that by claiming that all sales are final and that there will be no refunds.

It always helps if the consumer explicitly states that they are cancelling the contract rather than just wanting a refund.  So what actually did he tell them?

As per @eskbanker, what did his 7 days notice actually say?  (Precise wording - not the gist)

If they don't pay up then he'll either have to sue them* by issuing a court claim or - depending on how whe paid - he might be able to make chargeback claim against his bank.


*Even if he won a court case sounds like he may still have difficulty getting them to pay up as they don't seem to have much regard for the law.

Thanks for replying @Okell however between yourself and @eskbanker neither of you appear to be able to direct us to an official body which is set up to enforce the CCR & CRA!

It is now understandable why they have stopped corresponding - no one will make them!

I am certain he will look into taking them to court as there is no alternative left to him.

Thank you

eskbanker

Allietee said:
Thanks for replying @Okell however between yourself and @eskbanker neither of you appear to be able to direct us to an official body which is set up to enforce the CCR & CRA!

It is now understandable why they have stopped corresponding - no one will make them!

I am certain he will look into taking them to court as there is no alternative left to him.

Thank you

The only relevant "official body" here is the court system, but if you answer the questions asked then it may be possible to offer guidance about how best to approach the matter.

Okell

Allietee said:

Okell said:

Who is the seller?   (Are they even in the UK?)

What date did he take delivery?

What date he tell them he "wanted a refund"?

What did he buy?

What did it cost?

How did he pay?


The law allows distance (ie online) contracts to be cancelled up to 14 days after delivery.  Sellers cannot get round that by claiming that all sales are final and that there will be no refunds.

It always helps if the consumer explicitly states that they are cancelling the contract rather than just wanting a refund.  So what actually did he tell them?

As per @eskbanker, what did his 7 days notice actually say?  (Precise wording - not the gist)

If they don't pay up then he'll either have to sue them* by issuing a court claim or - depending on how whe paid - he might be able to make chargeback claim against his bank.


*Even if he won a court case sounds like he may still have difficulty getting them to pay up as they don't seem to have much regard for the law.

Thanks for replying @Okell however between yourself and @eskbanker neither of you appear to be able to direct us to an official body which is set up to enforce the CCR & CRA!

It is now understandable why they have stopped corresponding - no one will make them!

I am certain he will look into taking them to court as there is no alternative left to him.

Thank you

As per @eskbanker the courts are the only body that can decide how consumer law is to be applied in any particular circumstance.  There is nobody else to police or enforce it.*

I know you only asked a question about who your son can turn to to enforce his consumer rights, but if you answer the questions I asked you might get some good advice that could help him get his money back.  What action a consumer can take often depends on the small details.


*FWIW I share your disappointment and exasperation that bodies like Trading Standards won't get involved in individual cases of consumer rights.   Many many years ago I was a Trainee Trading Standards officer in one of the most notorious local authorities in the country.  They were utterly useless and incompetent.

Allietee

eskbanker said:

Allietee said:
Thanks for replying @Okell however between yourself and @eskbanker neither of you appear to be able to direct us to an official body which is set up to enforce the CCR & CRA!

It is now understandable why they have stopped corresponding - no one will make them!

I am certain he will look into taking them to court as there is no alternative left to him.

Thank you

The only relevant "official body" here is the court system, but if you answer the questions asked then it may be possible to offer guidance about how best to approach the matter.

Thanks @eskbanker, although we appreciate your kind offer there is obviously no point in us rehashing everything we have already gone through. We have followed all advice posted on this site about how to go through the process of requesting a refund and just wanted to know where next to take it, thank you for your time

Okell

Ok.

But you keep saying "he requested a refund".

Did he tell them he was "cancelling the contract"?

eskbanker

Allietee said:

His emails have been constructed following all the lines of advice given re the Consumer Contracts Regulations and Consumer Rights Act.

The 7 days email informed them he intended to take it to the CO and OFT but upon further investigation these 2 offices which we as consumers are directed to no longer appear to exist!

Allietee said:
We have followed all advice posted on this site about how to go through the process of requesting a refund

It would seem that you may have been accessing some obsolete pages if you found something that directed you towards CO/OFT - where did you find that?  If there is outdated information on the site that offers misleading guidance then it would be worth highlighting, and ultimately correcting/removing....

sheramber

Since you have already gone down a pointless pathway why not  let members on here help your son  find the correct pathway to get his money back.

If the retailer does not have  UK address then a court in this country won't be appropriate.

If he paid by debit or credit card or on finance thers are ways to claim the money from the bank concerned.