A quick (I think!) consumer law question...
Discussion
I'm hoping for a little help with this.
I bought an item from a UK business using their website. In completing the purchase I accepted their t&c's. The item arrived and I left it un-opened for 10 days. When I opened the box the item was damaged. I would like a refund. The supplier has told me that their t&c's say that damage must be reported within 7 days. I accept that I haven't complied with this.
Do t&c's agreed to in this way override the 30 days provided by the Consumer Rights Act?
Thank you in advance.
I bought an item from a UK business using their website. In completing the purchase I accepted their t&c's. The item arrived and I left it un-opened for 10 days. When I opened the box the item was damaged. I would like a refund. The supplier has told me that their t&c's say that damage must be reported within 7 days. I accept that I haven't complied with this.
Do t&c's agreed to in this way override the 30 days provided by the Consumer Rights Act?
Thank you in advance.
Thank you. I have looked a little more closely at the actual dates here:
11/11/16: Order placed
15/11/16: Item delivered
30/11/16: Box opened, damage discovered and notified
My delay has cost me the protection of the Distance Selling Regulations that you highlighted. Clearly I should have opened/checked the item sooner.
So, I think this comes down to my original question of whether t&c's can override the statutory protection of the Consumer Contracts Regulations which say:
"30-day right to reject: Under the Consumer Rights Act you have a legal right to reject goods that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, and get a full refund - as long as you do this quickly. This right is limited to 30 days from the date you buy your product."
Any input on this question would be most gratefully received. Thank you in advance.
11/11/16: Order placed
15/11/16: Item delivered
30/11/16: Box opened, damage discovered and notified
My delay has cost me the protection of the Distance Selling Regulations that you highlighted. Clearly I should have opened/checked the item sooner.
So, I think this comes down to my original question of whether t&c's can override the statutory protection of the Consumer Contracts Regulations which say:
"30-day right to reject: Under the Consumer Rights Act you have a legal right to reject goods that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, and get a full refund - as long as you do this quickly. This right is limited to 30 days from the date you buy your product."
Any input on this question would be most gratefully received. Thank you in advance.
Edited by WindyCommon on Monday 5th December 14:12
Thank you. I've shipped the item back to them and sent an email asserting more confidently that a full refund is required.
Their last email to me read as follows, so it'll be interesting to see if they fold...
"Dear ---,
Thank you for sending us photos of the damaged --- and damaged packaging. Any damages must be reported within 7 days as per our returns policy (see below) for us to offer you a full refund so that we are able to make a compensation claim against our courier, unfortunately you have informed us of the damage to your --- 14 days after delivery.
However I have spoken to my Directors and I can offer to have your --- fully repaired free of charge if you ship it back to us. Alternately you can send it back to us for a partial refund but we would need to deduct 10% as the damage wasn’t reported to us within 7 days.
Please let me know how you would like to proceed."
Their last email to me read as follows, so it'll be interesting to see if they fold...
"Dear ---,
Thank you for sending us photos of the damaged --- and damaged packaging. Any damages must be reported within 7 days as per our returns policy (see below) for us to offer you a full refund so that we are able to make a compensation claim against our courier, unfortunately you have informed us of the damage to your --- 14 days after delivery.
However I have spoken to my Directors and I can offer to have your --- fully repaired free of charge if you ship it back to us. Alternately you can send it back to us for a partial refund but we would need to deduct 10% as the damage wasn’t reported to us within 7 days.
Please let me know how you would like to proceed."
Update - resolved without further issue:
"Hi ---
Thank you for arranging to send this --- back to us. As soon as I receive it I will send you an email to confirm.
I have spoken to my Directors and they have agreed to give you a full refund on this occasion. We process refunds on a Friday so if we receive the lightbox back on Wednesday or Thursday this week we will process the refund on Friday."
PH is great for checking your ground on questions like this before diving in head first. Thank you all for taking the time to respond.
"Hi ---
Thank you for arranging to send this --- back to us. As soon as I receive it I will send you an email to confirm.
I have spoken to my Directors and they have agreed to give you a full refund on this occasion. We process refunds on a Friday so if we receive the lightbox back on Wednesday or Thursday this week we will process the refund on Friday."
PH is great for checking your ground on questions like this before diving in head first. Thank you all for taking the time to respond.
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