Skinny food co - consumer rights when product info questionable?

EasyAs123

Bit of an odd one (story keeps changing) so sorry if this is confusing. 

I bought a number of items from https://theskinnyfoodco.com/ (UK based company) - Important term is that they don't refund anything on sale (not just clearance) and they don't confirm if they're going to refund until after you've returned the item. 

The items relevant to this discussion are the porridge pots (https://theskinnyfoodco.com/products/skinny-high-protein-porridge-pots-bundle-3-x-70g). Website says high in protein and fibre. Nutritional info doesn't mention fibre (not unusual ime for websites just to list highlights of nutrients but full info to be on packet). 

Nothing listed on product, so I email to confirm and am told they contain 0g of fibre. I show how this is different from the website description and they apologise and say they will update it. 

I say I would like to return - then am told (as above) that I'll need to post them back and given link to refund terms suggesting they would not actually be refunded as sold at discount (https://theskinnyfoodco.com/pages/refund-policy) 

I reply quoting consumer rights act not as described (you guys are a good influence) then they go quiet. 

Sometime later they come back and say they have checked with the manufacturer and they do actually contain 7g of fibre per 100g (which is about what I'd expect for oats). 

Trouble is I now have very little confidence in the product and the rest of the products I bought... do I still have right to reject? 

DullGreyGuy

EasyAs123 said:
Trouble is I now have very little confidence in the product and the rest of the products I bought... do I still have right to reject? 

Their website state:

These protein porridge pots have up to 14g of protein and fibre

It's not clear if thats supposed to be up to 14g of each or 14g of the two combined. The pots say they are 13-14g of protein, depending on flavour and they've now confirmed 7g of fibre so that is "up to 14g". 

Given they are 60-70% oats there was no chance the 0g figure was going to be correct. Appears they've now given you the correct information which matches their description so no right to reject under the CRA. 

If you are under 14 days, or they have failed to give you the proper information and so you have 1 year and 14 days, you can return them under the CCR.

Ergates

It would be extremely unlikely for a product made from oats to have 0g fibre - unless someone deliberately removed it all.  So the 7g is probably correct - and it was their own internal data that was wrong.

As such, I don't think them initially giving your incorrect information when asked would count as "not as described" as it sounds like the products actually *are* as described.

"I now have very little confidence" it would probably fall into the "change of mind" category.  If you were within 14 days of delivery, then that would suffice, but from what you've said I suspect you aren't?

Other than that you'd have to demonstrate that there was something actually wrong with the products in question.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

DullGreyGuy said: The pots say they are 13-14g of protein, depending on flavour and they've now confirmed 7g of fibre so that is "up to 14g". 

I'm not sure about that one:

Golden Syrup (14g of Protein) - Indulge in the ultimate breakfast dream - a scrumptious blend of creamy porridge and the golden goodness of our all-time favourite syrup

Chocolate (13g of Protein) - Indulge in the velvety, smooth flavour of chocolate with every spoonful of our heavenly porridge! You won't be able to resist its irresistible charm.

Salted Caramel (13g of Protein) - Experience pure bliss with our Salted Caramel porridge, a heavenly blend of creamy goodness and seductive sea salt. Your taste buds will be in a state of euphoria as they dance with joy, making this porridge your new breakfast obsession!

If it's 7g then it doesn't meet the description breakdown. 

Terms are terrible, according to governing law in their main T&Cs they seem to have formed their own territory in Nottingham.... 

The terms for returns are a mess. 

Personally for the amount I'm not sure it's worth the trouble, they do have Trustpilot....  

EasyAs123

Ergates said:

"I now have very little confidence" it would probably fall into the "change of mind" category.  If you were within 14 days of delivery, then that would suffice, but from what you've said I suspect you aren't?

I am within 7 days as it happens - but the terms on the website for a non-statutory return suggests they would not actually refund me after the return as the items were on sale. 

My query was more relating to the fact I 'officially' cancelled based on the incorrect information (ie. I told them I was cancelling and wanted to arrange to return them before they then went on to contact the manufacturer and correct the information) - so I'm not sure if them coming back saying they've got new info somehow 'reinstates' the contract... 

My concern is that they heard back from the manufacturer so quickly that I'm not 100% they've not just made up a number (within 15 mins of me quoting the consumer rights act).

I know it doesn't seem important, but I need to monitor the amount of fibre in my diet due to a medical condition so the number being accurate matters.  

Ergates

EasyAs123 said:

Ergates said:

"I now have very little confidence" it would probably fall into the "change of mind" category.  If you were within 14 days of delivery, then that would suffice, but from what you've said I suspect you aren't?

I am within 7 days as it happens - but the terms on the website for a non-statutory return suggests they would not actually refund me after the return as the items were on sale.  

If you're within 14 days then you have a statutory right to return them, their T&Cs cannot override that.

EasyAs123 said:

My concern is that they heard back from the manufacturer so quickly that I'm not 100% they've not just made up a number (within 15 mins of me quoting the consumer rights act).

I know it doesn't seem important, but I need to monitor the amount of fibre in my diet due to a medical condition so the number being accurate matters.  

Hard to say.  Plain oats (as you'd by from the supermarket) are about 10% by dry weight (100g of oats has 10g fibre).  And if it's 70g pots, they say they're 60-70% oats, which would give a base figure of around 4-5g figure.   But  there could easily be additional fibre in there, and they're probably not just the same oats you buy in a bag, so might be higher or lower in natural fibre etc.

Basically:  The initial figure they gave you (0g) was obviously wrong.  The 2nd figure they gave you is in the right ballpark - but none of us here have sufficient information to say if it's right or not.

However, as above, probably a moot point anyway.

Arunmor

Storm in a teacup, just eat these super sugary things and then buy proper pinhead oatmeal and make proper healthy porridge without

DullGreyGuy

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

DullGreyGuy said: The pots say they are 13-14g of protein, depending on flavour and they've now confirmed 7g of fibre so that is "up to 14g". 

I'm not sure about that one:

Golden Syrup (14g of Protein) - Indulge in the ultimate breakfast dream - a scrumptious blend of creamy porridge and the golden goodness of our all-time favourite syrup

Chocolate (13g of Protein) - Indulge in the velvety, smooth flavour of chocolate with every spoonful of our heavenly porridge! You won't be able to resist its irresistible charm.

Salted Caramel (13g of Protein) - Experience pure bliss with our Salted Caramel porridge, a heavenly blend of creamy goodness and seductive sea salt. Your taste buds will be in a state of euphoria as they dance with joy, making this porridge your new breakfast obsession!

If it's 7g then it doesn't meet the description breakdown. 

How not? It's the fibre that is 7g, the protein is as per the website. The actual statement on their website is:

These protein porridge pots have up to 14g of protein and fibre

"Up to" is a silly claim for something that is positive, because 7g, 13g and 14g are all "up to" 14g (as would 0.1g) 

Ergates

Arunmor said:

Storm in a teacup, just eat these super sugary things and then buy proper pinhead oatmeal and make proper healthy porridge without

Whether you would choose to buy them or not is not the point.  Companies trying to confuse customer into thinking they don't have the right to return things is.

Also, someone who is currently making breakfast by pouring boiling water from a kettle into a pot and stiring it for a minute isn't going to switch to pinhead oatmeal which takes 15-20 minutes to cook.  Even rolled oats are a lot quicker.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

DullGreyGuy said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

DullGreyGuy said: The pots say they are 13-14g of protein, depending on flavour and they've now confirmed 7g of fibre so that is "up to 14g". 

I'm not sure about that one:

Golden Syrup (14g of Protein) - Indulge in the ultimate breakfast dream - a scrumptious blend of creamy porridge and the golden goodness of our all-time favourite syrup

Chocolate (13g of Protein) - Indulge in the velvety, smooth flavour of chocolate with every spoonful of our heavenly porridge! You won't be able to resist its irresistible charm.

Salted Caramel (13g of Protein) - Experience pure bliss with our Salted Caramel porridge, a heavenly blend of creamy goodness and seductive sea salt. Your taste buds will be in a state of euphoria as they dance with joy, making this porridge your new breakfast obsession!

If it's 7g then it doesn't meet the description breakdown. 

How not? It's the fibre that is 7g, the protein is as per the website. The actual statement on their website is:

These protein porridge pots have up to 14g of protein and fibre

"Up to" is a silly claim for something that is positive, because 7g, 13g and 14g are all "up to" 14g (as would 0.1g) 

Indeed I misread  

born_again

Distance selling 

Exceptions

These rules do not apply to:

• goods and services worth £42 or less
• NHS prescriptions and treatment (free and paid for)
• financial services, for example pensions, mortgages, credit
• the construction of new buildings (but not extensions)
• food and drink supplied regularly (like milkmen)
• gambling
• package holidays, timeshares and holiday clubs
• contracts to let a property the customer will live in, for example renting a house or flat (although they do apply to estate agents’ marketing services)
• goods bought from a vending machine
• using a payphone or paying to use an internet connection (for example, at an internet café)
• bus, train, flight and other tickets for passenger travel

TBH, as other this a fight that is not worth the effort to chase, as pushing may simply get you a credit voucher. Which I would hazard a guess that you have no intention of using this co again.