They charged Me for THEIR mistake**SORTED**

[sydbarrett]

Hi all,

I ordered some parts online for my vacuum cleaner from Currys Partmaster,The cost of these parts was £18.79 plus a very extortionate charge for postage and packaging of £4.98 ( the actual postage cost to Partmaster for sending the goods to me was only £1.14 plus the cost of a small jiffy bag- 20p ??), When I received the package (2 weeks later!!) I opened it and could immediately see that what they had sent me was nothing like what I had ordered. I rang Partmaster customer services and was told to return the items to them for a refund as the parts I had wanted were no longer available.

I checked my credit card account today and was horrified to find that only £13.81 had been refunded to my account,I was expecting £23.77, It seems that Partmaster have charged me £4.98 for sending me the wrong items and are charging me another £4.98 to return the items to them!! I also received a letter from Partmaster today explaining their returns policy and it implies that I am at fault, the letter is headed ;Incorrectly Ordered Goods:, and part of it goes on to say :when returning an unwanted item the cost of the return carriage will be deducted from your refund: (this was not expained to me over the telephone), I didnt incorrectly order the goods -they sent me the wrong goods and are expecting me to pay for their mistake!!??

If this was the case then anyone could set up a mail order business and make a handsome profit on the postage charges alone by deliberately sending the wrong items then charging customers to return them!

I know its only just under a tenner but its the principle of this that really gets to me,they shouldnt be allowed to get away with this daylight robbery,none of the other mail order/catalogue companies that i have dealt with have this high charging returns policy-its usually free.

Any ideas on this one ? or should I let it go and put it down to experience? I will never deal with Partmaster again or any other company that charges in this manner.

Many thanks in advance for any replies

[Michael Browne]

See here for Distnce Selling regulations:

 

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

 

3.22: Cancellation Rights

 

3.48: What must be refunded

 

3.57: Who pays for returning goods that do not comply with contract

[butty_a]

Not sure where it say it but either SOGA or distance selling regs basically say the seller is to foot the bill for faulty, damaged, incorrect goods etc. I'm sure a walking law book will direct you properly where to find what but you are not liable for their mistake.

[legalpickle]

There is no law as such, to the best of my knowledge.

 

They were at fault thus are liable to pay the value of the postage and any associated costs.

 

If the OP wants to fight for this, he should draft a letter and complain to their registered office.

 

If the OP wishes, he can sue for this cost, though a lot of people here would call one mad to sue for less than a tenner. However, I just did! [and it got settled of course!] But issuing a court claim will cost £30.

 

Want any advice on how to go about this, feel free to post and I'll try my best to help.

[sydbarrett]

Thanks Guys for your useful comments.

I have decided that I am going to fight these extortionate and unfair charges, I dont care if it will cost me much more than a tenner just to get my tenner back ! As I said before its the principle of this that really gets to me, I am not going to let Partmaster get away with this.

I will draft a letter to them today and let you know how I get on.

Once again,Thanks

Syd

[butty_a]

If the OP wishes, he can sue for this cost, though a lot of people here would call one mad to sue for less than a tenner. However, I just did! [and it got settled of course!] But issuing a court claim will cost £30..

 

 

I would as its the principal at stake, particularly on ebay where a number of sellers make quite a profit on the postage price

[legalpickle]

I would as its the principal at stake, particularly on ebay where a number of sellers make quite a profit on the postage price

So would I, but I have previously been criticized a lot for recommending court proceedings for such a small figure, so felt it necessary to be more moderate in my wording.

[raydetinu]

as you paid by credit card can you not do a charge back through them? sugeest you speak to your CC provider.

[legalpickle]

as you paid by credit card can you not do a charge back through them? sugeest you speak to your CC provider.

To the best of my knowledge you can't do a partial chargeback, only a complete chargeback which would be fraudulent and for credit cards s75 only covers where the value of the goods was over £100, claiming that would also be fraudulent.

[gyzmo]

If goods are returned under DSR due to a breach of contract including implied terms (SoGA etc) then the seller must refund ALL costs including postage and packing. They cannot make a charge for the item being sent back either.

[sydbarrett]

I rang Partmaster yesterday and tried to sort this out over the telephone and to get some feedback from them.

They are adamant that it was I that made the mistake (I didnt) and that the charges for sending and returning the items remained.

After reading the DSR kindly posted by Michael Browne I am of the opinion that even if I had ordered the wrong goods I would still be able to return them free of charge and exchange them for the correct goods ?

As Partmaster were unable to supply the correct items as they were no longer available is it they who have breached the contract ? and I should therefore be entitled to a full refund including postage and handling charges?

I am in the middle of drafting a letter to their head office and I need to get certain facts correct before I send it.

Any comments as always well appreciated

Syd

[gyzmo]

If you returned the items on the basis that of a change of mind (or rather, on some reason other than that there was a breach of contract as I outlined above), then the seller is entitled to require you to bear the cost of return.

 

However, having read your post properly, I can see no justification whatsoever for what partsmaster are stating. The regulations covering matters like these are quite clear and, for the most part, uninterpretable. I can do you a letter but it will be Sunday or probably Monday.

 

In short, they are wrong.

[sydbarrett]

VICTORY !!!!!!!!

I have just checked my credit card account online and £9.96 was credited to my account on Friday afternoon !

It seems that they have seen the light and have refunded the P&P costs shortly after I rang them, despite telling me that it was my fault and that the costs were to remain, I wonder if I will get an appology from them ??

I would like to think that because I mentioned CAG quite a few times during the phone call and also the fact that I was not going to give up -no matter the cost, this may have had some bearing on the outcome.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread

Syd.

[sydbarrett]

I feel that I should mention that I got the parts for my vacuum cleaner from Vacuum cleaner spares Uk . The parts were delivered to my address within 24 hours of ordering, they only charged me the true cost for P&P ,the parts were the correct parts for my machine and if they had not been correct I could have returned them free of charge. Now thats what I call proper service ! I only wish I had found them earlier.

Syd

[gyzmo]

glad its sorted. I wouldnt bother expecting an apology - it will probably be so insincere as to not be worth the paper it comes on.

[TheChancellor]

VICTORY !!!!!!!!

I have just checked my credit card account online and £9.96 was credited to my account on Friday afternoon !

It seems that they have seen the light and have refunded the P&P costs shortly after I rang them, despite telling me that it was my fault and that the costs were to remain, I wonder if I will get an appology from them ??

I would like to think that because I mentioned CAG quite a few times during the phone call and also the fact that I was not going to give up -no matter the cost, this may have had some bearing on the outcome.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread

Syd.

 

Makes you wonder how many times they get away with it though.....

"oh, it's only a tenner".... nice little earner though.

[callumsgran]

VICTORY !!!!!!!!

I have just checked my credit card account online and £9.96 was credited to my account on Friday afternoon !

It seems that they have seen the light and have refunded the P&P costs shortly after I rang them, despite telling me that it was my fault and that the costs were to remain, I wonder if I will get an appology from them ??

I would like to think that because I mentioned CAG quite a few times during the phone call and also the fact that I was not going to give up -no matter the cost, this may have had some bearing on the outcome.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread

Syd.

Brilliant result Syd, good for you for sticking by your principles

[saintly_1]

Good result ........ have changed title of thread