LETTER BEFORE ACTION Help

Alderbank

Samsung describe the trade-in process on their website.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/trade-in/

As others have suggested, they always refer to the trade-in process being carried out by their 'partner'.

Get credit for your next purchase:

Step 1: Check the value of your device 
Simply confirm the make, model and condition of your device. 


Step 2: Send your device 
Post your device using the freepost package you received.


Step 3: Get Samsung Credits 
You’ll receive an email once your device has been inspected. If it matches your description, Samsung Credits will be issued to your Samsung Account. If not, you’ll receive a new offer, which you can accept or reject. (This offer will be automatically accepted after 7 days.)


Step 4: Spend your Samsung Credits 
You have 5 years from the date of issue to use your Samsung Credits.


Presumably at step 3 the device you sent did not match what they expected so they should have made a new offer which would automatically be accepted after 7 days.

Did you receive that email from their partner?
What was your reply?
How many credits did you get?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Alderbank said:

Step 3: Get Samsung Credits 

You’ll receive an email once your device has been inspected. If it matches your description, Samsung Credits will be issued to your Samsung Account. If not, you’ll receive a new offer, which you can accept or reject. (This offer will be automatically accepted after 7 days.)

Presumably at step 3 the device you sent did not match what they expected so they should have made a new offer which would automatically be accepted after 7 days.

I think this is Samsung's downfall here, I'm presuming the trade in price on the website is an invitation to treat, the customer makes an offer to trade at that price, Samsung obviously don't accept that offer until they've examined the phone.

A new offer would be exactly that requiring the customer to now accept and acceptance can not be formed through inaction.

Samsung should be returning the phones if the new offer isn't accepted within x days rather than just assuming the offer is accepted 

Appreciate OP may have made a mistake here by sending to the wrong place but if they don't want to accept the new offer they should have their phone sent back. 

Ergates

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Alderbank said:

Step 3: Get Samsung Credits 

You’ll receive an email once your device has been inspected. If it matches your description, Samsung Credits will be issued to your Samsung Account. If not, you’ll receive a new offer, which you can accept or reject. (This offer will be automatically accepted after 7 days.)

Presumably at step 3 the device you sent did not match what they expected so they should have made a new offer which would automatically be accepted after 7 days.

I think this is Samsung's downfall here, I'm presuming the trade in price on the website is an invitation to treat, the customer makes an offer to trade at that price, Samsung obviously don't accept that offer until they've examined the phone.

A new offer would be exactly that requiring the customer to now accept and acceptance can not be formed through inaction.

Samsung should be returning the phones if the new offer isn't accepted within x days rather than just assuming the offer is accepted 

Appreciate OP may have made a mistake here by sending to the wrong place but if they don't want to accept the new offer they should have their phone sent back. 

IF the OP wasn't sent the email.  If the OP did get the email but didn't respond to it (maybe assuming it was spam because they didn't believe they' sent the phone in for trade) then they seem to have accepted the trade in.

However, given the phone has been located, I don't see why it can't now be returned - regardless of if any counter-offer was or wasn't sent and/or was or wasn't accidentally accepted.  If OP has now clearly told them they don't want to trade the phone then it should be possible to return it (charging OP for postage would seem fair though).   

Seems that a lot of companies set up rigid processes then lean on the "There's nothing we can do" when they're asked to do anything outside of the process.

Ergates

DefeatDsys 

On 28/07/2025 I queried the status via your portal. Despite tracking confirming delivery, I was told you had not received it. After I supplied the receipt and delivery address, I was then informed that my return had been misdirected to your “trade-in” section due to the envelope used.


This position is wholly unacceptable. The phone I returned was the Galaxy Z Fold3 purchased from you for £503.49, not a trade-in. Misallocating my return to your trade-in department is an internal handling error and does not diminish or remove my statutory consumer rights.

Based on the additional information you've supplied then I would very strongly suggest you do *not* send the letter as you originally wrote.

For starters:   The parcel was not "misdirected" to the trade-in section, you sent it to the trade in section, using the pre-paid trade in envelope, which would have had the trade-in section's address on it.   This was not as a result of an "internal handling error", it was your error.

DefeatDsys 

You are now claiming that because my faulty Galaxy Z Fold3 was returned using the trade-in envelope, it has been treated as a trade-in item. You have also stated that a counter-offer of £25 (apparently linked to the iPhone 13 trade-in) applies to this return. I never accepted this counter-offer.

The key questions now are:  1) Did you receive this counter offer?   2) Did you explicitly reject it (as opposed to just ignoring it).

IF you did and didn't respectively then you might be stuffed.
If you didn't get the email, or did respond to reject it then they should be able to return your phone.   Your starting position for this would now be :  "I'm very sorry, I used the wrong envelope and didn't mean to send my phone to the trade-in section.   Can I have my phone back please?"

DefeatDsys

Hi all,

thanks for the help. here are my answers.

·       The original offer was 120 for the iPhone

·       I guess they notify me on the online portal

·       They haven’t credited my bank account with 25 pounds as they don’t have my bank details.

·       Everything was done through backmarket website (trade in iPhone and buying Samsung)

·       I haven't accepted any counter offer, they say because I haven’t accept or refused  in 14 day then it is assumed as accept .

·       They say that I have sent the phone using the trade-in envelope

·       It is not the same address. I guess even they are just middlemen to other companies.

·       So a company that was expecting iphone 13 receive Galaxy Z Fold3 and offer 25 pound for  it 

cmthephoenix

·       They say that I have sent the phone using the trade-in envelope

·       It is not the same address. I guess even they are just middlemen to other companies.

·       So a company that was expecting iphone 13 receive Galaxy Z Fold3 and offer 25 pound for  it 

As they are different addresses your postal receipt will be able to tell you whether you sent the phone to the trade in company using the trade in envelope.

Clarify with them if the trade in company do still have your phone, but I expect it is long gone by now.

Just a question, no presumption, did you possibly use the trade in envelope because it was already postage paid?

However even if they were the same address, if all the label had was your trade in reference and no repair reference number, then there is no way they could know it was for repair rather than trade in.

Ergates

DefeatDsys said:

·       They say that I have sent the phone using the trade-in envelope

"They say" - but.... you did do that, right?   It's not that they're claiming you did it, you actually did it.

DefeatDsys said:

·       I haven't accepted any counter offer, they say because I haven’t accept or refused  in 14 day then it is assumed as accept .

You've not answered the key question:  Did you receive a counter offer?     If you did, does it say anything about the offer being automatically accepted if you don't explicitly reject it?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Ergates said:If the OP did get the email but didn't respond to it (maybe assuming it was spam because they didn't believe they' sent the phone in for trade) then they seem to have accepted the trade in.

Acceptance can be many things, a handshake, a nod of the head, a signature, or it can be whatever the two parties mutually deem it be, if the agreement is acceptance occurs when the two parties meet at the top of mountain under a full moon and sign YMCA together then a contract isn't formed until that happens.

However, generally acceptance can't occur through inaction or silence, whilst there are some exceptions I don't believe they apply in this type of case. 

https://www.lawteacher.net/lectures/contract-law/formation/acceptance/ 

DefeatDsys

this is an email from Backmarcket trad in

24 Sept 2025, 18:11 CEST

Hello xxxxxxx,
 
Thank you for your message.
 
I have reviewed your file and noted that the seller sent you a counter-offer on 23/07/2025. I would like to remind you that you were informed that if we did not receive a response from you before 08/08/2025, the counter-offer would be automatically accepted, which is indeed the case.
 
At this stage, I am afraid we cannot retrieve the device or return it to you, as the seller has already processed the payment.
 
In this context, we recommend that you add the necessary information so that you can receive your payment. Please:
 

1.     Log in to your Back Market customer account

2.     Click on "Trade-ins"

3.     Click on "Add payment information"

Please carefully verify that the information is correct so that the money is properly transferred to your bank account

sheramber

I would like to remind you that you were informed that if we did not receive a response from you before 08/08/2025, 

Did you receive that notification? 

Did you ignore it?