Hi

I recently returned an item to a small online retailer due to the item being faulty/ incompatible with another item it was designed for.

I made it clear in their support ticket that I wished to return the item for a full refund.

Their support rep responded with "If the item is faulty we will replace it for you from our stock."

The attitude of the customer service rep and part of their Terms of Service has me concerned:

"Where items are returned as faulty and no fault is found by [RETAILER] a charge of £19.99 plus return postage is payable to cover the engineer's time."

Also the return document sent for me to include with the item had the following paragraph:

"Nb. Returns which are tested and found to be without fault, or where damage is found to have been caused by misuse, are liable to a £19.99 engineer's fee, plus return postage. By returning goods to us you are confirming that you understand and accept this."

I left this unsigned.

The item was returned in its original packaging.

Would the seller have any recourse the levy a "engineer's fee" if they find no fault?

If the item was returned fixed/replaced against my instructions what would be my next option (payment was through paypal)?

Thank you in advance.

when did you buy the item

when did it 'go faulty'

I ordered the item 3rd Dec

Received: 7th December

Contacted Seller with fault: 8th December - told to contact manufacturer

Contacted Manufacturer - 11th Dec - received reply 13th - Manufacturer stated faulty and offered return to themselves for repair.

Requested return with retailer: 17th Dec

Posted: 18th Dec

Seller Received: 22nd

they are wrong then

under CRA as this was ordered online you have 14 days to 'inspect' the item

and return it free of charge for a full refund without any reason.

they were also wrong to refer you to the manu.

CRA is against the retailer and its solely their responsibility

dx100uk thank you for your help.

This is the reply I received earlier today when submitting proof of postage and requesting timescale on refund:

"We return to work on 2nd January. I will have an engineer test the return as soon as we possibly can as soon as they are back.

(If the item is being returned as a change of mind then it needs to be tested to make sure it works, is in perfect condition, has all of the packaging, etc. If it being returned as faulty then it needs to be tested to make sure it has a fault and be repaired).

We will get this done for you as soon as possible."

well that's upto them what they do with it once they have it

but you are entitled to a full refund through the retailer regardless

end of.

dx

Thank you for clarifying this.

Which company is it?

are they UK or EU based? If they are dropshippers then they probably dont know they are talking out the wrong end of their alimentary canal.

Also if their main business is B2B then the terms would apply to most of their customers so what is the item and what were you going to do with it as you speak about compatibility.

We have had other posters here who want to rely on consumer contract law when they are a business and then wonder why we arent falling over ourselves to tell them they are right so more detail please.

The seller has replied refusing refund and requesting inspection fee:

02/01/2018 12:08 pm

Hi

Thank you for your patience in this matter with regards to our Christmas opening times.

The Drone Doctor engineers have now tested this wand and found that it works properly. They can find no fault whatsoever.

They also highlighted scratches on the product and supplied photos.

I have attached those photos herewith.

Our terms and conditions state that products returned as faulty,

which have no fault,

are liable to a fee to cover the engineer's wasted time.

('Where items are returned as faulty and no fault is found by FirstPersonView.co.uk a charge of £19.99 plus return postage is payable to cover the engineer's time.').

Please click here to pay the £19.99 and choose your preferred postage option and we will get this item sent back to you today

All the best

“

I have responded:

“ Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 I am requesting a full refund.

The return for refund was requested within 14 days of receiving the item.

Is firstpersonview.co.uk denying a refund for this purchase?“

Seller has now issued a partial refund of £33.

The original item cost £39.54 including postage and VAT.

Accept it

You have no cheap option to poss get the £7 back

Yeah I’m not going to lose sleep from not getting the postage refunded.

Bit disappointed they messed around at first.

I have bought quite a bit from them in the past but this experience is a little off putting!

sadly that's many retailers for you.

just claim to be dropshippers and never take responsibility

why not buy direct next time?

if you pay by a CREDIT CARD

if you've spent between £100 and £30,000

you are fully covered under section 75

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?473624-Section-75-and-Charge-Back..-gt-Whats-the-difference-and-how-to-utilise-them

Out of interest, what is the legal standing of these “Inspection Fees” if a retailer decides an item is not faulty?

same as the supposed restocking fee

there is no legal basis for them.

I’ve noticed a few retailers now including them in their terms of service. Seems a very anti-consumer practice.

and reclaimable.

the only time an inspection fee might be able to be charged is if goods are returned faulty within 6mts

that turn out not to be.

Do you mean after 6 months?

As this would be up to the buyer to prove the fault?

correct

and they would have to pay for a report/inspection.

if the claim is upheld their fee gets paid under settlement too

as was under sale of good act before CRA came in in 2015

they have clealry misunderstood the requirement for an item to be FIT FOR PURPOSE rather than just afulty. However, it looks like you didnt make it clear either that you were relying on your consumer rights for a full refund sothey will remain ignorant of their errors.