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Refund wanted

  • 17-06-2012 3:50pm
    #1
    thecommander
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,537 ✭✭✭


    I bought a portable DVD player for someone who was moving away. Bought it last Thursday, gave it to them to travel with on Friday, but it didn't work.

    I brought the player back yesterday and asked for a refund, they said they'd only replace it. The player is of no use to me now because the person has left the country.

    Is there any way of me getting a refund?


Comments

  • #2
    coylemj
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,626 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    You are not entitled to your money back. If they give you a replacement then they have have fulfilled their legal obligation under consumer legislation. Even a replacement is more than they are obliged to provide, they could simply offer to repair the item.

    You are in the same boat as someone who brings home an item of clothing and then changes their mind.

    The best you can hope for is a credit note which will require goodwill on the part of the store so don't go in with guns blazing or they may tell you to get lost.


  • #3
    christmas2012
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,827 ✭✭✭christmas2012


    do you have your reciept?


  • #4
    thecommander
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,537 ✭✭✭thecommander


    christmas2012 wrote: »
    do you have your reciept?

    Yep. They said that they don't have to give money back, that they'll just replace with a new unit.


  • #5
    PickledLime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,061 ✭✭✭PickledLime


    coylemj wrote: »
    You are not entitled to your money back. If they give you a replacement then they have have fulfilled their legal obligation under consumer legislation. Even a replacement is more than they are obliged to provide, they could simply offer to repair the item.

    You are in the same boat as someone who brings home an item of clothing and then changes their mind.

    The best you can hope for is a credit note which will require goodwill on the part of the store so don't go in with guns blazing or they may tell you to get lost.

    No, the OP is not. If the player is defective, then it's not a change of mind, it's not fit for the purpose it was sold for.

    I would try to be nice about it. Most businesses will try to prioritise repair, replace, refund in that order, but if you politely insist that it's not fit for the purpose you bought it for, you should be able to get a refund. Was it a local business or a chain store? If you elevate it to a chain stores's head office, you'll usually get what you want.


  • #6
    thecommander
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,537 ✭✭✭thecommander


    PickledLime wrote: »
    No, the OP is not. If the player is defective, then it's not a change of mind, it's not fit for the purpose it was sold for.

    I would try to be nice about it. Most businesses will try to prioritise repair, replace, refund in that order, but if you politely insist that it's not fit for the purpose you bought it for, you should be able to get a refund. Was it a local business or a chain store? If you elevate it to a chain stores's head office, you'll usually get what you want.

    A large brand's own branded store.


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  • #7
    coylemj
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,626 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    PickledLime wrote: »
    No, the OP is not. If the player is defective, then it's not a change of mind, it's not fit for the purpose it was sold for.

    That's hair splitting if you don't mind me saying so. Having been offered a replacement, he is now in that exact position. He has something that is fit for the purpose but he simply doesn't want it and wants his money back, same as if he bought an item of clothing and changed his mind.


  • #8
    PickledLime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,061 ✭✭✭PickledLime


    coylemj wrote: »
    That's hair splitting if you don't mind me saying so. Having been offered a replacement, he is now in that exact position. He has something that is fit for the purpose but he simply doesn't want it and wants his money back, same as if he bought an item of clothing and changed his mind.

    I wouldn't quite call it like that, but that's a fair point :)


  • #9
    PickledLime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,061 ✭✭✭PickledLime


    thecommander wrote: »
    A large brand's own branded store.

    I'd go in, ask them again, and if you don't have success there, i'd ask for their head office's phone number. Most big places will oblige when you kick up a fuss along official channels.


  • #10
    thecommander
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,537 ✭✭✭thecommander


    PickledLime wrote: »
    I'd go in, ask them again, and if you don't have success there, i'd ask for their head office's phone number. Most big places will oblige when you kick up a fuss along official channels.

    Thought so. Just wanted to make sure what the rules were first.


  • #11
    PickledLime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,061 ✭✭✭PickledLime


    thecommander wrote: »
    Thought so. Just wanted to make sure what the rules were first.

    I'm not 100% sure if they have to give you a refund, but you'd have a strong argument that you bought the player for someone who was going away, you tested it before they left but found it to be defective. A replacement would be satisfactory if the person was still here and you could give it to them, but they're not, so a refund is the only satisfactory outcome. I'd imagine it's not worth the hassle for the company to fight the refund.

    Do have a read around http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/consumer_complaints/how_to_make_a_consumer_complaint.html and its various links, knowledge is strength, and all those other clichés.


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  • #12
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 50,630 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Do the store have a change of mind refund policy in place?


  • #13
    coylemj
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,626 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    PickledLime wrote: »
    I'm not 100% sure if they have to give you a refund, but you'd have a strong argument that you bought the player for someone who was going away, you tested it before they left but found it to be defective. A replacement would be satisfactory if the person was still here and you could give it to them, but they're not, so a refund is the only satisfactory outcome. I'd imagine it's not worth the hassle for the company to fight the refund.

    Returning the compliment (your comment on my last post), that is a fair point.

    OP, I'd pursue it along the lines stated above, it boosts your moral case for a cash refund if you outline all the circumstances.


  • #14
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    christmas2012 wrote: »
    do you have your reciept?

    Why do you ask? It is not relevant to the case.

    The OP is not entitled to a refund and the fact that they were giving it as a gift has no bearing. If asked nicely the store may give a refund but they are in no way obliged to do so. What the purchaser was going to do with the item matters not.


  • #15
    PickledLime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,061 ✭✭✭PickledLime


    Toby Poor Sonar wrote: »
    Why do you ask? It is not relevant to the case.

    The OP is not entitled to a refund and the fact that they were giving it as a gift has no bearing. If asked nicely the store may give a refund but they are in no way obliged to do so. What the purchaser was going to do with the item matters not.

    It's entirely relevant because despite how the retailer will eventually handle the situation (indeed, the intended use of the item has no legal weight, but most retailers will bend their rules for exceptional circumstances as a good will gesture/to save their own face, particularly large chain stores), they won't do anything without a valid receipt.


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