Right of withdrawal query

sheramber

Do the labels have any sort of reference number on them to differentiate between different brands?

A_Geordie

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82059961#Comment_82059961

You are correct. The CCRs requires you to return the goods, but you are not legally obliged to use the retailer's own returns method. You can use your own method of return, but more often than not, providing the cost of return yourself is usually more than what the retailer is seeking to charge since their prices are likely to be much less due to the volume of returns over a single instance.

There is also another advantage to using a retailers own returns process, which is that the responsibility and liability for the goods becomes rests with the retailer as soon as you hand the parcel over, whereas using your own method means that responsibility stays with you until the retailer has received the goods back.

MrChips

Good news - I contacted H&M live chat and they agreed to waive the charges without me even asking so I've sent everything back in one parcel using a return label they issued.

Now I have the same issue with Nobody's Child! Except this is more challenging as one can only contact them via email. I've emailed to cancel the order and ask for a return address - wish me luck!

MrChips

Sorry - me again.

Nobody's Child have replied to say that as I want to keep some items from the order and only return part of the order, then that doesn't count as a contract cancellation and therefore the rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations don't apply. I don't think that's right, but I can't seem to find anything to back up either their assertion or mine.

Can anyone help confirm?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82064995#Comment_82064995

I not sure think anyone can, it has been said here before (by a long gone but very knowledgeable poster) that you could part cancel but I'm not so sure.

@A_Geordie may have thoughts on this.

A_Geordie

You can certainly partially reject some goods that are defective under the Consumer Rights Act, but under distance selling regulations Nobody's Child would be correct that you can't partially cancel a contract.

The way the legislation was drafted is that it talks about cancelling the contract as a whole and returning all of the goods under the contract, not some of them. One of the main reasons why it did not address partial cancellation was because it could create an unreasonably unfair advantage to the consumer.

An example of this might be where the trader has included promotional items either free of charge or at a significantly reduced discount, and the consumer wants to partially cancel the contract by returning full priced goods and keep the promotional items. The trader shouldn't have to accept that and put themselves in a position of selling at a loss.

You and the trader are free to come to a different agreement, but it's not a statutory right.

Edit: Found the guidance around this. Check the EU Guidance from 2014 (there's new guidance but that's been updated post-Brexit): https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/f1f42e20-e4a1-4d8b-a1ef-d06acccba34e_en?filename=crd_guidance_en_0_updated.pdf

See page 42, paragraph 6.4.1 (Multiple or Defective Goods)

A consumer may want to partly withdraw from a contract for multiple goods if wishing to cancel the purchase of only one or some of them. Although the Directive does not expressly provide for such a right, it also does not prevent the trader and the consumer from agreeing on a partial withdrawal from the contract by returning only an individual good or several goods sold under a single order. For example, where the goods supplied under the same contract include promotional items, the trader should not be obliged to agree to the return of only those items sold at full price.

MrChips

Thank you - makes sense. In this case there's no bulk discount, but I get the principle.

We'll return via their preferred method and suck up the fee.

Ergates

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82065986#Comment_82065986

It's still worth negotionating with them if possible. Most places would rather lose half a sale rather than all of it.

So you say "let me return x, y and z and refund me for just those, I'll keep the rest. OR I'll have to return all of them, and I'll rebuy from somewhere else"

They might just tell you to get lost - but costs nothing to ask. (timing aside)