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Can a company change their website T&C' saying they apply after I've received the goods?


mikey80
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Hi all,

 

Just looking for some advice on a dispute I have with an online retailer.

 

To give some background,

 

 

I placed an order way back in April and paid for it then and picked it up towards the end of August.

 

 

On their website it stated that

 

 

"If you are in any way unhappy with your purchase, please notify us within 7 days of receipt.

We will issue a full refund of the purchase price once the item has been safely returned to us".

 

 

When I picked it up, all the individual goods (25 quantity) were wrapped up and box sealed and it was closing time of the shop..

.there was no way I was going to spend an hour or more in the shop checking all these

therefore I believe I had reason to check my order out of store within a reasonable time.

Which I did and emailed them back saying I was not happy with the order and therefore wanted an exchange/refund.

 

I received a reply today saying they were not going to refund

as my items were specially ordered (I ordered 25 rather than just one or two

so fair enough as they said they would have to make a special order for this) and

they quoted a paragraph from their terms and conditions.

 

 

The thing is I took a screenshot of their terms and conditions the day I sent my email in case I needed it, and it indicated no such thing so

they have just added this paragraph to their t&c's today to backup their argument!

 

 

Like all t&c's they reserve the right to alter and amend without prior notice

 

 

but surely they can't just do it like this otherwise any business could amend their t&c's to what they wanted!

 

FYI: The business is a small online retailer with one shop and two or three employees so I'm not sure if they just think they can get away with this.

 

Can anyone here advise me on what to do here? It would be much appreciated!

 

Thanks

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I see nothing covering 'specially ordered' under the Distance Selling regulations (Consumer Contracts Regulations after 13 June 2014), but there are exemptions for 'specially made'. This may not be the case if they are items not normally stocked.

 

 

The purchase will have been made as a consumer and not a trade or commercial purchase for the above to comply.

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Hi both,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

They classed it as a 'special order' as I was ordering a large quantity although the goods were available to order as normal online as they're regularly stocked items, just not in that quantity. They were not personalised in anyway either. This special order is just something they have classed themselves so I believe actual law (DSR) takes precedence over their own t&c's, which again might I add, they only just added in after I had submitted my refund request! I've also looked through DSR and come to the same conclusion as you Conniff, that I cannot see anything about 'special orders'. For me specially made would be if I had requested the normally stocked item had something altered on it (i.e. would be personalised) or if I had asked for something to be built from scratch that was not available to order online as a normal item. Neither apply here.

 

Yes the order was made as an individual consumer.

 

I paid with a credit card back in April although I cannot use Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act as the items individually were under £100.

 

Thank you both for your feedback.

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What is a single item? I buy ten golf balls and pay ten times, that makes it ten separate items. I buy ten golf balls in one purchase and though the golf balls are individually wrapped and priced below the £100 each, that excuse cannot be used to deny an S75 claim.

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yes agree single purchase would apply; therefore inform CC and see how it goes from there; they may apply pressure on co. to refund rather than refund themselves, because if they do refund they will get money back from co. themselves.

or of course you can take them to court for the refund and let a judge decide, hopefully the threat would be enough for them to settle.

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Oh, I had no idea that that it worked like that thank you for letting me know.

 

I am still waiting for the retailer to reply ... I imagine he is actually looking at DSR because he didn't seem too clued up on on his first reply and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the first time he heard of it! Hopefully the retailer sees some sense and grants the refund; however if not I will bear in mind I have two options now. That said it would be interesting to hear him in front of a judge explaining why their t&c's changed the day after I asked for a refund and how he has tried to use the new terms as a way of getting out of payment (even if they're void anyway since this 'special order' clause is misleading) - seems rather deceitful.

 

Anyway I will wait and see what I get back. Thanks again.

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Hi Conniff,

 

I thought that DSR would apply in this case as the order contract was made and concluded in April 2014 (order placed and paid for). Regardless I think CCR's offer even more protection for the buyer than DSR so I would not mind anyway!

 

Thanks

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