Requesting Refund

jack_tyler

Hi, need some help.
I recently bought some swimming costumes on line from a company called Meet.Curve.uk. All arrived ok, and kept 2 of the 5 I had ordered. Email the company as stated on their website, to request a refund. Initially I had a reply asking me to give details of the ones I wanted to return and why. I replied and I am still waiting for a response. I have since emailed the company 3 times and still not had a reply. I have checked their reviews on Trust Pilot and the majority are 2 stars, because they do not answer emails when requesting a return. I only have 15 days to return them, and get my money back. I go on holiday on the 8th May, so need to send back before then. Please could someone advise what I can do? There is no phone number for the company, just an email address. I am so annoyed, I could lose £90 

Devongardener

It seems from Trust Pilot that they totally ignore returns requests.  I see that they are in the US so any UK consumer laws don’t apply.   If you can’t return them you could try selling them on EBay.

jack_tyler

Devongardener said:

It seems from Trust Pilot that they totally ignore returns requests.  I see that they are in the US so any UK consumer laws don’t apply.   If you can’t return them you could try selling them on EBay.

Hmmm that is annoying, so even though they are called meet.curve.uk, they are actually in the US...looks like ive just lost £90!!!

prettyandfluffy

Extract from MeetCurve.co.uk's Ts & Cs: 
"Applicable Law
These conditions are governed by and construed exclusively under law without regard to conflicts of laws principles. This Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of UK."

The Ts & Cs are quite possibly the oddest I've come across but I think the above is an overriding principle and you should pursue your returns & refund.  How did you pay for the items?

Caz3121

many overseas sites refer to the non-existent 'laws of UK'....they don't exist...'laws of England & Wales', 'laws of Scotland' etc do

GrumpyDil

That site fails to properly identify where they are based, says the returns address is not the shipping address and will only disclose the returns address after you have asked to return an item.

It's the sort of site that catches a lot of people out unfortunately.

@jack_tyler I suspect you will end up being offered a partial refund after finding out the returns address is in China and you have to pay the return shipping yourself. I'd recommend accepting a partial refund and then selling on vinted/eBay/marketplace etc as the best way to minimise your losses.

savergrant

GrumpyDil said:

That site fails to properly identify where they are based, says the returns address is not the shipping address and will only disclose the returns address after you have asked to return an item.

It's the sort of site that catches a lot of people out unfortunately.

@jack_tyler I suspect you will end up being offered a partial refund after finding out the returns address is in China and you have to pay the return shipping yourself. I'd recommend accepting a partial refund and then selling on vinted/eBay/marketplace etc as the best way to minimise your losses.

The only trouble is they aren't offering a partial refund....
I'd guess the applicable law bit is search and replace, French website would say laws of France, German website laws of Germany etc, all pretty meaningless but gives the impression that it is a domestic sale. The company info tab does nothing, no indication (pre checkout at least) who you are entering into a contract with, which isn't really on imo.
Is there a problem.with the costumes you are returning? If so you may be able to get a refund from your bank or credit card if the seller doesn't respond to you.

pinkshoes

jack_tyler said:

Hmmm that is annoying, so even though they are called meet.curve.uk, they are actually in the US...looks like ive just lost £90!!!

Anyone can set up a website with "UK" in the title or .co.uk.

When buying from a webpage, scroll down to the bottom and look for the "contact us" bit. They should have a UK address listed and a UK landline (or at the very least a UK mobile number). If they just give an email as the contact, or filling in a form then it's not a good sign.

Sometimes you can find an address in the T&Cs section, but here there is no address at all.

They do have a line about UK laws though, and they do give the impression of being a UK company, even though they are probably not though, so if you paid via card, I'd try contacting your card provider saying that the show are refusing to provide a return address. They might be able to do a chargeback.  

eskbanker

Caz3121 said:

many overseas sites refer to the non-existent 'laws of UK'....they don't exist...'laws of England & Wales', 'laws of Scotland' etc do

While it's undoubtedly true that England & Wales and Scotland have their own separate legal systems, there's plenty of legislation applicable across the UK, including the consumer protection stuff - the notes to the Consumer Rights Act even expressly refer to 'UK law':

Which country’s law governs the contract?

27.European Regulation EC 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations sets out the rules as to which country’s law applies to consumer contracts. It is known as the “Rome I Regulation”. It confirms that it is open to a consumer and a trader to choose the law of any country to govern their contract. Where they do not choose, if a trader pursues its activities in or directs its activities to the UK, (whether the trader is in the UK or not) and the contract covers those activities, the Rome I Regulation provides that a contract with a consumer habitually living in the UK will be governed by UK law. Even if the consumer and trader do choose another country's law to govern their contract, the Rome I Regulation provides that where the trader pursues or directs its activities to the UK and the consumer is habitually resident in the UK, any UK protections that parties cannot contract out of under UK law (such as the key protections covered by this Act) will still apply. Depending on the circumstances, pursuing or directing activities might, for example, include having a website translated into English or with a ‘.uk’ web address from which consumers in the UK can purchase goods, services or digital content in sterling.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/notes/division/2/7

and, in the context of OP's ability to cancel their contract, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 also clarify:

Territorial Extent and Application

5.1 This instrument applies to all of the United Kingdom. 

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/memorandum/contents

Dizzycap

@ jack_tyler If all else fails, go to your card issuer & request a direct refund for the items you wish to return, stating the reason why and everything that you've done to try and resolve the issue. Make them also aware that the company is welcomed to come and collect the goods any time & set an end date; say 6 months, when you will dispose of the unwanted items - Please also email the information to the company concerned and keep snap shots of and/or all communication between the company & your card issuer. It will then be up to the company to contact your card issuer to try and take back funds but only with very good reason for doing so, or they have until X date to contact you to collect their items before disposal.

savergrant

pinkshoes said:

jack_tyler said:

Hmmm that is annoying, so even though they are called meet.curve.uk, they are actually in the US...looks like ive just lost £90!!!

Anyone can set up a website with "UK" in the title or .co.uk.

When buying from a webpage, scroll down to the bottom and look for the "contact us" bit. They should have a UK address listed and a UK landline (or at the very least a UK mobile number). If they just give an email as the contact, or filling in a form then it's not a good sign.

Sometimes you can find an address in the T&Cs section, but here there is no address at all.

They do have a line about UK laws though, and they do give the impression of being a UK company, even though they are probably not though, so if you paid via card, I'd try contacting your card provider saying that the show are refusing to provide a return address. They might be able to do a chargeback.  

Tbh you're doing better than me if you can find any info on them. When I worked in retail we had to have a sign by the door  saying "particulars of business name" so customers knew who they were entering into a contract with.
I can understand Internet companies wanting to keep communication by digital/ai means rather than receiving post, and to be fair to them their returns policy seems different to on their US site which doesn't have to cope with all the bureaucracy of consumer rights.
Am I right in thinking op has 14 days after receipt to refuse the goods and then something like another 14 days to actually return them (once the return address I'd confirmed) under UK law?