Online purchase error & return

Liam Byrne

I recently purchased something online from a reputable supplier (not going to name and shame them - YET) but - after a serious delay - they sent me the wrong thing - a U.S. version instead of a UK/IE version.

I contacted them and they acknowledged the error, sending me a returns number, but I have 2 problems with their email.

1) They say they will need to test the return before sending me what I originally ordered

2) They expect ME to PAY for return postage

I've emailed them saying that they can collect it if they want, or provide me with a freepost address, but since it's THEIR mistake that I have a SERIOUS issue incurring further expense.

I also contacted the credit card company and unfortunately don't have comeback, because the description on the website in question isn't specific enough to cover the issue - despite the fact that IMHO it's a reasonable assumption that it would be a UK/IE version from a dot ie site and despite them acknowledging the issue; the purchase is based on the description on the website, which does "describe" what they sent me, even though it's not the appropriate version for this country and the site is a dot-ie site.

At this stage I just want to get them to collect it and cancel the order, as the initial delay plus this additional shoddy service means I don't want to deal with them. There's no way I should be liable for paying for a return based on their oversight/mistake, is there ?

Any ideas on how I should handle this ?

dahamsta

Is it "fit for purpose"? If it works and it's just inconvenient to use then you might not have any comeback. If it's not doing what the sales bumph promises because of that, then it's not fit for purpose and they have to take it back, and you should be in a better position wrt the return.

BTW if it's electrical and the problem is the plug or voltage, they're actually breaking the law in a way that the eurocrats really don't like, and you could threaten to report them to someone in the EU. Electrical items shipped into the EU have to come with a suitable plug and PSU these days.

adam

A Dub in Glasgo

It might be useful to link to the product you bought and explain what the difference is

craichoe

DaMelodrama wrote: »

Is it "fit for purpose"? If it works and it's just inconvenient to use then you might not have any comeback. If it's not doing what the sales bumph promises because of that, then it's not fit for purpose and they have to take it back, and you should be in a better position wrt the return.

BTW if it's electrical and the problem is the plug or voltage, they're actually breaking the law in a way that the eurocrats really don't like, and you could threaten to report them to someone in the EU. Electrical items shipped into the EU have to come with a suitable plug and PSU these days.

adam

That only applies if its SOLD within the EU, not if its purchased from a country outside their durisdiction.

If its a US plug and can support 110-220V then just get an adapter for it.

Liam Byrne

I emailed them back yesterday, highlighting the fact that me being out of pocket due to their oversight/error was unacceptable.

I got an email this morning that says:

"We would refund the cost of shipping, simply send the item back and send a scan of the postage receipt and a refund for the postage will be issued."

Seems like a fairly big change of heart from yesterday's email:

"The return parcel must be sent to our Return Department at your risk and expense. Returning the parcel back to you will be at *******'s expense."

....but I'm going to go ahead with it and keep a copy of today's email in case there's another change of heart down the line.

It's a relatively expensive wireless keyboard (a replacement for one that came with the computer - I wouldn't normally fork out that much for one but had gotten used to the existing one before it packed up) but it seems fair to assume that an Irish or UK site would ship the Irish or UK version.

craichoe wrote:

That only applies if its SOLD within the EU, not if its purchased from a country outside their durisdiction.

It was an EU site - an Irish one in fact. If I'd purchased from the US I would have predicted the issue.

craichoe wrote:

If its a US plug and can support 110-220V then just get an adapter for it.

Not possible in this case, but it's kinda the same issue, with similar extra cost to the buyer even though (in my view) if they buy from an Irish or UK site it should be fair to assume that it's the correct version and that the price will cover a working one for this country ? Is that not a fair assumption ?

dahamsta

craichoe wrote: »

That only applies if its SOLD within the EU, not if its purchased from a country outside their durisdiction.

I'm pretty sure that it applies to anything sold into the EU. Of course regulating companies outside the EU is tricky, as the VAT debacle has proved, but I've bought two electrical devices in the last year or two which came with switched PSUs (nearly everything does these days) and an adaptor, which imho shows that at least larger companies delivering into the EU are taking it seriously.

adam

craichoe

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I emailed them back yesterday, highlighting the fact that me being out of pocket due to their oversight/error was unacceptable.

I got an email this morning that says:

"We would refund the cost of shipping, simply send the item back and send a scan of the postage receipt and a refund for the postage will be issued."

Seems like a fairly big change of heart from yesterday's email:

"The return parcel must be sent to our Return Department at your risk and expense. Returning the parcel back to you will be at *******'s expense."

....but I'm going to go ahead with it and keep a copy of today's email in case there's another change of heart down the line.

It's a relatively expensive wireless keyboard (a replacement for one that came with the computer - I wouldn't normally fork out that much for one but had gotten used to the existing one before it packed up) but it seems fair to assume that an Irish or UK site would ship the Irish or UK version.



It was an EU site - an Irish one in fact. If I'd purchased from the US I would have predicted the issue.


Not possible in this case, but it's kinda the same issue, with similar extra cost to the buyer even though (in my view) if they buy from an Irish or UK site it should be fair to assume that it's the correct version and that the price will cover a working one for this country ? Is that not a fair assumption ?

Right .. so basically 2 keys are in the wrong place on the keyboard ... is it really that much of a problem ? I have a US Keyboard at home and just use the UK Mapping.

As regards to EU regulations, they can only enforce that if the company has an entity within the EU.

If the company is outside the EU then its not enforcable.

Liam Byrne

Fair point, craichoe, I guess, but the whole point of buying the expensive one was to "keep" what I previously had; otherwise I'd have gone into Tesco and bought a 20-euro one.