Right of withdrawal query

MrChips

Hi - my wife bought some items online from H&M, which included some non-H&M branded items. We didn't realise at the time but these can't be returned to store and have to be returned by post.

Unlike store returns, they charge £2.99 per return per brand and she will incur multiple such charges.

If we "cancel" the order via Consumer Contract Regulations (within 14 days of receipt) and return these ourselves at our own expense, are they still allowed to impose the £2.99 charges or would we avoid these this way? We can put most of the orders in one parcel (with multiple return slips) which means it would be more cost effective this way.

Thanks!

Alderbank

The seller of each item must provide you with full information about how to cancel the sale of that item to receive a refund under the CRR regulations.

The CRR regs say the seller must provide this information in durable form. Email is a durable form. From the date when they provide that information to your wife she has 14 days to tell the seller that she is cancelling the sale of that item.

H&M publish an 'External brands list' of all the sellers they work with:

https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/customer-service/returns/external-list.html

Each seller has a link for them to email you with (I assume) the required CCR instructions for your wife to cancel the sale of the specific item she bought. We can't see those instructions, which are probably different for each product, because to receive the email both the order number and your wife's details have to be entered.

The information which the CCR says must be supplied in that email from the seller is given in detail in Schedule 2 of the regulations here:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/schedule/2

If they don't give all the required stuff then your wife might have longer to tell them she is returning the goods and the seller might also have to pay for the return.

It could be that if she bought say 6 different items that she will have to make 6 separate cancellations.

MrChips

Thanks for your reply. It's actually not one of the brands in that list (from the link you posted). The brands we are looking to return are "Weekday" and "Cos". There is more info about them in this link:

https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/customer-service/returns.html

The FAQ state this:

"Unless otherwise stated in the online shop, a fee of £2.99 per brand (e.g, H&M, H&M Brands, or external brands/third-party companies) will be charged for each return, as returns are handled separately for logistical reasons. This also applies if the items were purchased together in one order."

Which comes back to my original question - if we exercise our Right of Withdrawal, can we still be charged a "logistical" fee? If so, this would defeat any benefit of returning the items using our own postage.

If you follow the link above, there is a "Right of Withdrawal" button which takes you to a brief form which we've completed and submitted. It says we will receive an email with further instructions upon doing so but nothing received so far (form submitted yesterday evening).

born_again

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6675212/right-of-withdrawal-query

What is the reason for return?

MrChips

Clothes not wanted for variety of different reasons (too big, too small, fit not as desired, style doesn't suit etc).

Ectophile

Yes they can, see Section 14 of the The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/2334/regulation/14

Emmia

Are all the items returnable to the same address? If not, it would seem that you're possibly scuppered trying to avoid/minimise the return fee by putting it in the same parcel.

Weekday and Cos are both H&M brands.

MrChips

I'm not a lawyer, but that reads that they can only make a deduction of either the costs of returning (which I'm proposing to meet myself) or if they incur costs in me not complying with the contract in respect of returning the goods (which won't happen as I intend to return them punctually in the same condition as received).

MrChips

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82059960#Comment_82059960

Yes, the return labels they included have the same address for everything.

Emmia

The logistical fee is the fee for them processing the return and metaphorically putting the item back on the shelf. It's intended to deter serial returners who buy loads and then send all/most of it back. So it is reasonable to charge the returns fee on top of any postage costs.

One of the key things I check before buying online is the returns arrangements/costs.

Edit: are the returns labels for free postage?

MrChips

Understood. My wife uses H&M a lot and we're used just to bringing everything back to the store for a hassle free and free of charge return. This is the first time we haven't been able to do it as we did not realise not all items bought from H&M's website can't be returned to store - first time it's happened in many years.

The labels included in the parcel are "free" in the sense I don't have to pay at the point of sending, but will lead to the £2.99 charges. My understanding was that if I pay the postage charges myself (and send the goods back in good condition and comply with any contractual and regulatory terms under the CCR) then they couldn't charge anything on top. If that's not the case then it won't be the most "money saving" option and I'll just go with the pay to return option.