Faulty item....who bears the return costs?

[RogerS]

Just wondering. Bought a new magnetron for the microwave in June and it has gone faulty. Had to send it back so the supplier could check it out and has agreed it is faulty. But who bears the cost of my return postage?

Just curious.

 

[Harbo]

If you trawl through all this, I think it says whatever is written in the T&C's?

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/busine ... oft698.pdf

This is from Which:

Who pays return postage?
The seller's terms and conditions or returns policy should state who pays the cost of returning goods.
If they don't state this, then the seller has to cover the cost.
In this case, you're entitled to a refund of the total amount you paid, including any charge to ship the goods to you. No admin or restocking fees should be charged.
If the seller wants to send substitute goods, because they don't have the items you wanted in stock, it should say so before you place your order.
The cost of returning substitutes should always be at the seller’s expense.

Returning faulty goods
If you receive faulty goods and wish to return them, The Distance Selling Regulations are in addition to your other legal rights.
So, if your goods are faulty and don’t do what they're supposed to, or don’t match the description given, you have the same consumer rights under the Sale of Goods Act as you have when buying face to face.
Any terms and conditions that say you must cover the cost of returning an item wouldn’t apply where the goods being returned are faulty.



Rod

 

[Mike.C]

Roger if the goods are faulty then the seller is libel, no matter they try and tell you.

Cheers

Mike

 

[wizard]

So if I buy a faulty item from Tesco can I claim petrol money for returning it

 

[RogerS]

Me: Hi, thanks for arranging the replacement widget. How do we sort out my postage costs?

Them: We're sending it out to you free of charge

Me: No, not the replacement item postage. The cost of me returning the faulty item to you.

Them: Well, we don't usually do that. We have the cost of sending the faulty item back to the manufacturer

Me: Well, that's part of your costs of doing business. I am out of pocket by £9.10

Them: How much?

Me: £xxx. That's what Royal Mail charge to send it as a parcel to you and it needs to be signed for. When you send stuff to me it comes Signed For so it only makes sense to send it back to you the same way.

Them: That's a lot of money. Anyway, we don't usually warrant spare parts - only our repairs.

Me: Distance Selling Regulations and Sale of Goods Act don't agree with that position.

Them: I'll need to talk it over with my partner.


Disappointing.

 

[RogerS]

So if I buy a faulty item from Tesco can I claim petrol money for returning it

Don't know about petrol. You would have to ask Tesco but their T's and C's clearly say this

If you are returning a damaged or faulty product, we will pay the cost of your return

 

[RogerP]

If I sell something on eBay that turns out to be faulty or "Significantly Not as Described" (thankfully extremely rare) then I'll bear the return costs. But if there's nothing wrong with the item and is as described the the buyer pays to return.

Having said that if buyer goes through eBay's or PayPal's return procedure they will have to pay return costs. That's eBay's ruling not the sellers.

So if you have a problem with something bought on eBay it's always best to sort it out with the seller. If they are good sellers they'll pay to have it returned.

I've even had one seller send me a replacement and told me not to bother sending the faulty item back.

 

[finneyb]

Bought a faulty laptop battery, returned the item and scanned the postage receipt into my email. Full return postage costs reimbursed thro Paypal. And that was a Chinese co with a local agent in Oxford.

 

[RogerS]

If I sell something on eBay that turns out to be faulty or "Significantly Not as Described" (thankfully extremely rare) then I'll bear the return costs. But if there's nothing wrong with the item and is as described the the buyer pays to return.

.....

Exactly. They asked me to send the item back to them so that they could check that it was faulty. It was faulty. If it turned out that the item was not faulty then I would have taken the cost of the return postage on the chin.

 

[doorframe]

2 weeks ago I bought something very large and heavy through ebay. Item cost £5. I spent £15 on petrol to go and pick it up from central london (right next to Hyde Park during a massive concert). Seller left it with the night porter (luxury apartment complex) so I couldn't practically test it. Got it home and found it faulty to the point of being a bin job. The seller has refunded my £5 but my £15 petrol has gone up in smoke, literally. I've still got the item but now it's going to cost me another £5 in petrol to get it to the council tip.

Not the 1st time I've been stung like this, but definitely the last time I travel to get a 'bargain'.

Also been caught the same as Roger with return postage.

Sometimes you just can't win.

 

[CaptainCaveman]

'doorframe' you raise an interesting scenario.

In theory if the seller specifically advertised the item as fully tested and working and then it turned out not to be, you could expect to be reimbursed for your costs - there could even be a smalls claims case that may go in your favour.

Obviously for £15 it's not worth the hassle and you'd appear incredibly petty for suggesting small claims court,
similarly if the seller advertised it as "not used this in years so getting rid" and selling for little value than there would be no reasonable basis to assume it is fully functioning, it would be the buyers responsibility to confirm with the seller.

Where this could become relevant is if significant expense was shed, such as renting a van and travelling hundreds of miles for something which is categorically not what was advertised.

 

[SlayWitch]

Like everyone says, if it's faulty then it's the seller who should pay the return costs. For me it's just common sense, if the item that you got is not working well, why should you pay more to get a new one when that wouldn't have been necessary if the item was in good condition? I don't know if I'm making any sense

 

[reggyboy]

Have a look here http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forum ... 6&page=4at second posting.Just been through this myself , stood my ground using DSR and have now had refund Before the wrong goods have been collected.