Tweet
I'm not sure I know what my rights are here, so I'd appreciate some advice.
I bought a pair of binoculars from a company that sells on the Internet but also has a physical shop. I bought them by ordering them on the phone after seeing on the Internet that they sold the model I was looking for - they said they did not have them in stock but would order in a pair. When they phoned me to say they had arrived, I went to the shop, paid cash and collected them.
They were very expensive - over £900. I was not satisfied with their quality so I wrote to them a few days later to say I was rejecting them and wanted a refund. This is the email I got in reply, on October 8th:
"Sorry you are not happy with the binoculars.
Unfortunately as these were a special order for you we are unable to offer a full refund.
We would need to sell these at a discount as they would have been used therefore we are willing to accept them back minus a 15% restocking fee .
If you would like to return them we would refund you £772.65.
This offer stands until October 19th."
I was basing my right to a refund on the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and I felt pretty sure that if you reject an item, the seller cannot choose to hold back some of the purchase price just because the item is now 'used' - after all, you have to use an item to find out if there are any grounds for rejecting it. As for the binoculars being a 'special order', their website advertises this particular model as something it sells, but I only learned that they would have to order it in when I phoned them to buy it. Also, I am not sure a seller has the right to impose a ten-day deadline for you to accept their offer the way this company did.
So can anyone tell me where I stand legally, please?
I bought a pair of binoculars from a company that sells on the Internet but also has a physical shop. I bought them by ordering them on the phone after seeing on the Internet that they sold the model I was looking for - they said they did not have them in stock but would order in a pair. When they phoned me to say they had arrived, I went to the shop, paid cash and collected them.
They were very expensive - over £900. I was not satisfied with their quality so I wrote to them a few days later to say I was rejecting them and wanted a refund. This is the email I got in reply, on October 8th:
"Sorry you are not happy with the binoculars.
Unfortunately as these were a special order for you we are unable to offer a full refund.
We would need to sell these at a discount as they would have been used therefore we are willing to accept them back minus a 15% restocking fee .
If you would like to return them we would refund you £772.65.
This offer stands until October 19th."
I was basing my right to a refund on the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and I felt pretty sure that if you reject an item, the seller cannot choose to hold back some of the purchase price just because the item is now 'used' - after all, you have to use an item to find out if there are any grounds for rejecting it. As for the binoculars being a 'special order', their website advertises this particular model as something it sells, but I only learned that they would have to order it in when I phoned them to buy it. Also, I am not sure a seller has the right to impose a ten-day deadline for you to accept their offer the way this company did.
So can anyone tell me where I stand legally, please?
Comment