HoF refusing return.

Strongman2000

Hi all. 
I'll try and keep this short.
I ordered a jumper from Cruise. It arrived and was too small so I ordered a medium on a separate order and figured I could return the other for a refund. 
I returned the small and received an email saying that they wouldn't issue a refund. There was no particular reason given for the refusal. There was a list of either A. Garment had been worn. B. Not in original packaging or C Tags had been replaced or removed.
The jumper had been returned in exactly the same bag as I received it (not the branded bag I should have received it in but a poly zip bag with the appropriate garment code sticker) with all tags attached and obviously unworn.
It was stated not to return the jumper again as they would not be sending it back a 2nd time.
The jumper dropped through the door less than 24 hours after receiving the email.
I replied to the email but as expected I haven't had a reply.
The jumper was £215 so it's not a small amount that I could shrug off and put it down to experience.
Has anyone had a similar experience ?

TELLIT01

You need to contact HoF and tell them you are returning it under the Distance Selling rules which allow you to reject any purchase and inform them within 14 days.  Note- 'Distance Selling' may not be the correct terminilogy.

Alderbank

The correct terminology is to tell them in writing (email is fine) that you are exercising your right under section 29(1) of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to cancel the contract.

Strongman2000

Thanks for the great advice. It is much appreciated .Unfortunately I got sidetracked last week and never managed to follow this up so as it stands I'm now over my 14 day period.
 I did receive a reply to my original complaint email, which bizarrely said the transaction was a year ago and also the jumper was in an unsatisfactory condition and if I wasn't happy with the outcome then I should seek a third party inspection.
I fired another email in reply last night with photos of the jumper with tags attached etc obviously it won't make any difference but you've got to try.
Anyway as I said earlier great advice. If only I had acted on it quicker.

Okell

Strongman2000 said:

Thanks for the great advice. It is much appreciated .Unfortunately I got sidetracked last week and never managed to follow this up so as it stands I'm now over my 14 day period.
 I did receive a reply to my original complaint email, which bizarrely said the transaction was a year ago and also the jumper was in an unsatisfactory condition and if I wasn't happy with the outcome then I should seek a third party inspection.
I fired another email in reply last night with photos of the jumper with tags attached etc obviously it won't make any difference but you've got to try.
Anyway as I said earlier great advice. If only I had acted on it quicker.

While @Alderbank is strictly correct in that you should have told HoF that you were exercising your statutory right to cancel the contract under s29 of The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and that you should have done that within 14 days of receipt of the jumper, I see nothing* to prevent you from going back to HoF now and pointing out to them that that is what you were doing when you returned the jumper originally, and that therefore you are legally entitled to a full refund.

See what they say.

[Edit:  none of the reasons they give for refusing a refund can prevent you from cancelling the contract, but they might alllow HoF to reduce any refund to account for any loss of value in the item.  But simply "wearing" a jumper, or the tags being replaced or removed, or the jumper not being returned in the original packaging can't justify the denial of any refund at all...]


*Assuming you did the original return within 14 days

Alderbank

Okell said:

Strongman2000 said:

Thanks for the great advice. It is much appreciated .Unfortunately I got sidetracked last week and never managed to follow this up so as it stands I'm now over my 14 day period.
 I did receive a reply to my original complaint email, which bizarrely said the transaction was a year ago and also the jumper was in an unsatisfactory condition and if I wasn't happy with the outcome then I should seek a third party inspection.
I fired another email in reply last night with photos of the jumper with tags attached etc obviously it won't make any difference but you've got to try.
Anyway as I said earlier great advice. If only I had acted on it quicker.

...and that you should have done that within 14 days of receipt of the jumper, I see nothing* to prevent you from going back to HoF now and pointing out to them that that is what you were doing when you returned the jumper originally...

@Okell, if you see nothing you need to read s32 of the CCR.

S32 says that you must make a clear statement of your intention to cancel before the end of the cancellation period. Merely returning the goods does not do that - there are other reasons why you might return the goods (such as you are claiming they are faulty).

However the cancellation period is not necessarily 14 days. It is only 14 days if HoF has previously provided all the necessary information to the consumer about their various rights under the CCR and in a suitably durable format.

In view of Mike Ashley's companies' reputation for customer care I think it is a good bet that they haven't bothered to comply with all of their statutory duties.

If I was the OP I would go ahead as you suggest and blag it.

Strongman2000

I did originally return the jumper within the 14 day period. Here's a copy of the original attachment I received after I returned the jumper.
The bit that worries me is where they say if I return the jumper again, they won't be able to refund or return the item.

Alderbank

When you bought the jumper, what did HoF tell you about your right to cancel the contract of sale? Note that cancelling the contract is legally quite different from returning something you have bought.

In particular, what did they tell you about the conditions, time limit and procedures for exercising that right to cancel?

Strongman2000

Alderbank said:

When you bought the jumper, what did HoF tell you about your right to cancel the contract of sale? Note that cancelling the contract is legally quite different from returning something you have bought.

In particular, what did they tell you about the conditions, time limit and procedures for exercising that right to cancel?

Without going through the website terms and conditions, off the top of my head 28 days to return the goods if they don't fit etc. Basically what I assume is standard practice. I had to return an item and repurchased a smaller size from them last Christmas without any problems.
Being honest I've never looked into cancelling an item.
I will peruse the website and get back to you on that.

Alderbank

The website doesn't count because it is not considered a 'durable' medium. That is because they can take it down and change it at any time.
Basically, the CCR regs say that if they wish to rely on the 14 day limit to cancel the contract then they must have told you of all your rights to do that in a way that they can't alter afterwards. In practice that will be either a printed explanation of your rights sent out to you with the goods or an email confirming your order.
If they have not given you this information about your rights then your right to cancel the order stays open until 14 days after they finally do tell you (I have simplified a little) so you would even at this stage be able to cancel by giving the right form of words.

Unfortunately though, having rights does not mean that you won't have to battle with them to exercise those rights.