Online shop error, what to do.

[shed9]

Bit of advice please.

Long story short, I ordered some goods last week from a fairly large online shop and they then used my card details retrospectively without my permission to send additional goods I don't want. They refuse to refund my card until I send the parcel back at my initial cost. They even admitted they had a problem with their card payment system.

There is obviously more to the story but that's effectively what it boils down to.

I have no intention of holding onto goods that are not mine, but being held to ransom just doesn't sit right with me.

What would you do? All advice welcome.

 

[doctor Bob]

I'd send it back, get a refund on goods and postage and then worry about bigger issues.

 

[colinc]

Hi,

Speak to the card provider and see what they advise. You didn't authorise the payment so they should be able to repay you and recover the cost.

Read this

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nirel...ed_without_your_permission_distance_sales.htm

Regards

Colin

 

[PAC1]

You should dispute the payment with your card provider. Especially that the shop accepts it is wrong. That gets the money back in your hands temporarily then you should tell the shop to arrange the collection of the goods at their expense. Put this in writing to them

 

[TimothyClaypole]

It's their fault so they should provide the return carriage.

Or get the card provider to get the money back then it's up to them to arrange taking the goods back.

If you sent them back then they can drag out the refund.

 

[andersonec]

If a company sends you items you did not order then they are responsible for getting them back to their premises. Write to them and say you will be going to the small claims court for the return of your money and that it is up to them to arrange the return of the goods you did not order.

Andy

 

[Jamie Copeland]

Might be worth letting Trading Standards know incase the company are ripping other folk off.

 

[PAC1]

At this stage I would not recommend going to the small claims court. The credit card company should resolve this satisfactorily. If they do not do so over the next 28 days then you might want to consider the options. The small claims court requires you to pay a fee (not insignificant) and then there is the stress and hassle of half a day in court. There are easier ways.

 

[Baldhead]

I would email the company, explain that you did not order the goods or authorise payment, ask them to provide you with a prepaid returns slip (they may be able to email you one to print out), if they refuse contact your card provider and ask their advice.
You don't state the purchase price, if it is over £100 your card provider is jointly responsible for any purchases made.
I wouldn't mention the small claims court until I had exhausted all other options, I've been there twice (won on both occasions, but it's a pain, initially costs you money and your not guaranteed to win), also if it comes to that, you have to show the court you have made every attempt to solve the matter amicably.

Stew

 

[Rhossydd]

The small claims court requires you to pay a fee (not insignificant)

Well it can be as little as £30, so no major expense really.
However other options NEED to be followed before going down the route of litigation anyway.

 

[rafezetter]

Bit of advice please.

Long story short, I ordered some goods last week from a fairly large online shop and they then used my card details retrospectively without my permission to send additional goods I don't want. They refuse to refund my card until I send the parcel back at my initial cost. They even admitted they had a problem with their card payment system.

There is obviously more to the story but that's effectively what it boils down to.

I have no intention of holding onto goods that are not mine, but being held to ransom just doesn't sit right with me.

What would you do? All advice welcome.

Contact the online fraud squad : http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud

Then tell the shop you bought from that you intend to press charges for online fraud.

If they know they have a problem with their online payment system they should SHUT IT DOWN, and no online payment system will "add stuff" to a sellers basket retroactively.

They did it deliberately.

 

[doctor Bob]

Crikey, this escalated quickly.
Small claims court, fraud squad, trading standards.......... or you could send it back and get a refund.

 

[shed9]

To put this into context, I'm not a worrier (Doctor Bob), this is more about principle than anything.

Also, the item in question is not a small parcel of sundries, it's a box of Lie Nielsen planes and the courier costs to ship it back to Germany based on their imposed provisos is between £45 and £60, so this is not chump change as such. I have contacted the company several times and they still insist on the process of goods before refund. The thing is, what happens if the courier loses them, am I responsible for claiming this via the courier? This is not my mistake, yet I'm paying for it financially and now also have the associated risks.

I'm going to give them yet another opportunity to resolve and I think my next step would be asking Visa for charge back.

Thanks for all the advice, it is (as always) appreciated.

 

[eezageeza]

I had a similar situation with a german supplier a couple of years ago; in the end I sent them an exasperated e-mail saying that if they didn't sort it out I'd put in the hands of Visa to resolve. It was resolved (by the supplier) in 24 hours!

 

[andersonec]

At this stage I would not recommend going to the small claims court. The credit card company should resolve this satisfactorily. If they do not do so over the next 28 days then you might want to consider the options. The small claims court requires you to pay a fee (not insignificant) and then there is the stress and hassle of half a day in court. There are easier ways.

If you re-read my post I said "Write to them and say you will be going"

Andy

 

[iNewbie]

This comes under Unsolicited Goods - how that works in a european order I'm not sure:


Unsolicited Goods advice link

 

[Peter Sefton]

If we have a double order like this or anything that looks like a mistake we email or contact the customer first to check (especially if outside the UK). If they confirmed the order then we would expect them to return the goods as requested, if we did not hear back from the customer we would only send the first order out and cancel the second payment.

If our system took a double payment and we sent out the goods in error I would reimburse the customer and send our couriers to pick up the parcel at our expense.

Cheers Peter

 

[shed9]

If we have a double order like this or anything that looks like a mistake we email or contact the customer first to check (especially if outside the UK). If they confirmed the order then we would expect them to return the goods as requested, if we did not hear back from the customer we would only send the first order out and cancel the second payment.

If our system took a double payment and we sent out the goods in error I would reimburse the customer and send our couriers to pick up the parcel at our expense.

Cheers Peter

Thanks for this Peter, this is kind of what my expectations of this situation would be.

No matter what I say to them, I get a default response of send the goods and then you can have your money back.

I even offered a compromise of them organising collection (and taking responsibility for the parcel) and even then be reimbursed when the goods arrived back. They responded saying their courier DHL doesn't do collections in the UK, whilst I'm not 100% on DHL's service this sounds a little odd to me.

This is not small outfit by the way, they are an authorised Lie Nielsen reseller. I'm kind of inclined to contact Lie Nielsen and ask them if this is their expectation of their resellers.

 

[PAC1]

Shed9 Are you speaking with someone in authority in the firm or just the admin person tasked with answering the phone or email. I find it difficult to believe that someone in authority knowing the facts would be telling you this. If it is someone in authority then it is time to involve the credit card company.
there is some good news you should contact the credit card company to get your money back and then write (email) to the company inviting them to arrange collection of the goods. If he fails to collect them you are then entitled to do with them as you wish. Including treat them as a free gift. This is contained in the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulation 2013 which states at Section 39 "(4) In the case of an unsolicited supply of goods, the consumer may, as between the consumer and the trader, use, deal with or dispose of the goods as if they were an unconditional gift to the consumer.” . whilst this is UK law it is based on EU directives so there should be an equivalent provision in Germany