Contourdirect.co.uk - illegal fee ignores Distance Selling Law

Patr100

Please see this link from the Guardian's Consumer column. These people are ignoring Distance Selling regs, charging an illegal fee for restocking and also they do not have a postal address on their website which is a legal requirement for UK based businesses selling on the web.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/consumer/story/0,3605,1542207,00.html

"Distance Selling regulations are a friendly little package designed to protect customers who buy goods and services by phone, fax or the internet. It means that, once your items arrive, you have seven working days in which to reject or cancel them. Donna Franceschild was well aware of this when she ordered a £45 microwave shelf from contourdirect.co.uk. When it arrived she realised that it was too big, so the next day she contacted the company to ask for a returns number. To her astonishment she was told that she'd have to pay a £16.98 restocking charge if she sent it back. When she complained she was pointed to the company's terms and conditions which, sure enough, stipulate a 25% penalty on anyone who returns an item. On neither occasion was she given the returns number, required before rejected goods are accepted.

- This charge is unlawful provided the goods are rejected within seven working days and Contour must know that. Sadly, however, it fails to respond to my overtures. Franceschild has two options; she can write to the company saying she is paying the charge under protest, then seek redress through her local trading standards authority. Or she can refuse to pay, although then she may have trouble getting her £45 back. Either way, it's probably best to steer clear of Contour until they grasp the basics of consumer law."


http://www.contourdirect.co.uk/