Inadvertently purchased from a German Co who won't refund

[Gixer968CS]

Hi All,

I recently purchased na alternator for my Porsche from buycarparts.co.uk. Fitted it yesterday and it is obviously faulty. Whilst it works it is incredibly noisy. It whines very loudly and makes a chattering noise. Probably dodgy bearings.

Anyway, I called and said I wanted to send it back for a refund and the answer I got was "fill in a warranty claim, send it back and we will send it to the manufacturer. If they find a fault we will refund you. If they don't, tough. Once we have the item it will take up to a month to get a response to you".

Turns out buycarparts.co.uk is actually a website belonging to a German organisation. They're not based in the UK. Obviously, in the UK the sale of good act applies and my contract is with the seller not the manufacturer and I'm within my rights to demand a refund. Does anyone know what I can do here as I'm hugely sceptical that they will find or admit to a fault (why would they??) and in any case I'm going to have to buy another alternator as I can't have my car off the road for 4-5 weeks.

Thanks

[andburg]

I'd argue UK legislation should apply, this is an english language site targeting the English market with prices in sterling and a .co.uk address. Within 30 days you don't have to allow them a chance to do anything other than refund you.

dont fancy your chances in that fight though


EU regs?

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/sh...

does the unit make the same noises when not on the car, any free play on the bearings?

[Far Cough]

Did you pay by credit card over the net ??? If so , contact them and get a charge back for faulty goods

[Gixer968CS]

andburg said:

I'd argue UK legislation should apply, this is an english language site targeting the English market with prices in sterling and a .co.uk address. Within 30 days you don't have to allow them a chance to do anything other than refund you.

dont fancy your chances in that fight though


EU regs?

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/sh...

does the unit make the same noises when not on the car, any free play on the bearings?

Thanks for that. I obviously did spin it before I put it on, but only by hand and it didn't show any issues. The alternator was not well package at all. It came in a box with almost no padding in it so would have been very susceptible to damage.

[Gixer968CS]

Far Cough said:

Did you pay by credit card over the net ??? If so , contact them and get a charge back for faulty goods

Sadly not, I used Paypal

[Gixer968CS]

Far Cough said:

Did you pay by credit card over the net ??? If so , contact them and get a charge back for faulty goods

Sadly not, I used Paypal

[AlexIT]

Gixer968CS said:

Far Cough said:

Did you pay by credit card over the net ??? If so , contact them and get a charge back for faulty goods

Sadly not, I used Paypal

Raise a dispute with PayPal, it's probably even easier.

[Gixer968CS]

AlexIT said:

Gixer968CS said:

Far Cough said:

Did you pay by credit card over the net ??? If so , contact them and get a charge back for faulty goods

Sadly not, I used Paypal

Raise a dispute with PayPal, it's probably even easier.

Great idea, thanks for that

[Charlie Croker mk2]

You have 2 lines to go at

Paypal
or
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/sh...

The EU works in your favour , in effect the consumer rights act ++

[Bodo]

You can return your purchase: https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/return-of-goods

said:

You have the right to cancel this contract without giving a reason within fourteen days.

[Gixer968CS]

Bodo said:

You can return your purchase: https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/return-of-goods

said:

You have the right to cancel this contract without giving a reason within fourteen days.

They say this doesn’t apply because I fitted the item so now it is used and therefore a warranty claim !!!

[andburg]

of course, thats the issue with buying parts rather than standalone products.

They can always claim that it was incorrectly fitted but if i were you I'd be raising that paypal dispute saying the part didnt work and theyre refusing to refund

[donkmeister]

OP, have you looked at the T&Cs on their website to see if they are actually following their own terms? It's my experience that sometimes the person you deal with doesn't actually know their company's conditions for returns and so forth, and instead applies what they think is common sense. If you have followed their returns policy then say as much to them and put the onus on them to say how you haven't.

They point to the UK CPA in their T&Cs, in amongst all the bit about being a German company, nowhere do they say "contracts are governed under German Law" (and I suspect German Law is very similar to ours in this regard due to the EU Consumer Rights Directive).

[Bodo]

Here's an article that outlines how you are protected as a consumer (not a company) when you buy in Germany: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&t... (translated by google)

[Gixer968CS]

I've emailed the supplier again, refusing their warranty process and requesting a refund. I've also raised a dispute with Paypal. I also sent a video of the alternator with soundtrack. The file size is too large to upload here, but it's loud! I'll update when/if I get an outcome.

[Gixer968CS]

Here's the offending item! I turned the camera around so the mic was point at it hence the close up of the airbox

https://youtu.be/STSA098zolI

[bucksmanuk]

It sounds like something is catching in the alternator, doesn’t sound that bearing-ish...

[miniman]

I had a similar situation with an A/C compressor supplied by them. My understanding of the warranty claim aspect was that it would also cover the cost of removing the faulty item and fitting a replacement (i.e. the additional labour costs incurred). In the end I chopped the car in before getting round to doing anything about it.

[anonymous-user]

Until 31 December 2020 consumer transactions such as this one will be governed by the UK's implementation of EU Consumer law. Choice of law and jurisdiction clauses in consumer contracts made with entities based in EU member states may not be effective to displace the operation of UK law and jurisdiction.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 remains in force, but it has been modified and supplemented by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and by other UK legislation.

From 1 January 2021, contracts made by UK residents with traders in the EU can be governed by whatever rules the EU trader is allowed to operate by its home jurisdiction, and EU consumer protection will cease to apply to UK purchasers. Thus if a dispute arises with, for example, a trader based in Hungary, you could be forced to resolve that dispute by reference to the law of Hungary, and your only available court would be in Hungary. Not happy with this? Well, er...., tough. Let's not go there.

In the present case, OP, you have the usual consumer rights in respect of distance sales and product quality, but, because you have used the product, there might be an argument as to whether it was broken when you received it or has failed in use through incorrect installation or use. The latter is perhaps unlikely. I wonder if faulty brand new alternators might not be uncommon. I have had two duff ones in the last couple of years. Maybe just you and I are unlucky, and most new alternators are fine.

[Nickyboy]

It’s a sister company of Autodoc, they sell a lot of cheap poorly made parts. I bought A wiper linkage for my previous car, it said it was a direct replacement, the item that arrived was nothing like the one on the car and there was no way it would have fitted, I double checked the listing and confirmed it was what they said was correct fitment, I can only assume they’ve never seen the original item. I requested a return and they rejected it, stating i had ordered the wrong one, they repeatedly kept saying it was correct. Eventually they relented but the returns process was the most drawn out ball ache I’ve ever had shopping online.

The company I work for used to deliver their goods, always badly packaged, as the OP said, alternators were loose in boxes with little or no packing.