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Refund on online purchase
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Re: Refund on online purchase
mc2fool wrote:You might also say that if you don't get a full refund in short order you'll put in a chargeback through your credit card company
There seems to be some confusion here. A chargeback is used if you've paid with a debit card, and is entirely discretionary by the card issuer. You have no legal right to a chargeback.
If you buy with a credit card you do have a legal right under s 75 Consumer Credit Act to a refund if the goods are faulty or never arrive. This is because the CCA deems you to be a customer of the card issuer as well as the seller.
Unfortunately, however, s 75 wouldn't work in this case, as the purchase price has to be at least £100.
The reality is that it's very difficult to get redress in such a situation. Many dodgy traders know this and deliberately set up their stall to sell goods with a low individual price. Amongst traders there's a general consensus that there's a threshold price for mail order goods, below which people won't bother doing anything. It used to be £15, but is now probably around £25-£30.
They can very quickly sell thousands of crap goods at, say £20 a time, and get maybe £100k in. They just completely ignore complaints, knowing that nobody will actually take any action. They then empty the bank account and allow the company to be struck off the register and dissolved, whilst they rinse and repeat indefinitely. Easy money.
Of course if you're really determined you could sue them in the small claims court - https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome. Although it's probably not worth it for £30 you could always add another, say, £100 on for the mental distress - nay, trauma! - that you've suffered as a result of the non-spinning of your wind thingy.
There's a reasonable chance they wouldn't bother defending it, in which case you can get a default judgment and you can then send bailiffs to collect it. But don't hold your breath - if it is, as has been suggested, just a drop shipping business there may well be no assets of the company to seize.
If you did pay by debit card then a chargeback is undoubtedly the route to take, but don't delay - the longer you leave it the less likely the issuer is to refund you.
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Re: Refund on online purchase
Clitheroekid wrote:mc2fool wrote:You might also say that if you don't get a full refund in short order you'll put in a chargeback through your credit card company
There seems to be some confusion here. A chargeback is used if you've paid with a debit card, and is entirely discretionary by the card issuer. You have no legal right to a chargeback.
No, a chargeback is a generic term for asking either a debit or credit card provider to reverse a transaction. You are right that there is no legal right to a chargeback but in my experience -- both as a retail customer requesting a chargeback and as an (ex-)merchant taking card payments -- card providers generally honour them regardless.
"Chargeback is a transaction reversal made to dispute a card transaction and secure a refund for the purchase.
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Chargeback is not enshrined in law but is part of Scheme Rules, which participating banks subscribe to.
Debit cards: It applies to all debit cards goods, although exact rules may vary between the Visa, Maestro and American Express networks.
Credit cards: Chargeback is particularly useful where the cost of the goods or services was under £100 and Section 75 doesn't apply. For all credit card transactions over £100 you also have rights under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. "
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-use-chargeback-abZ2d4z3nT8q
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Re: Refund on online purchase
granretire wrote:...is there some form of the sale of goods online that I can quote in order to get a full refund?
If they're a fly-by-night you can quote till you're blue in the face....
In the unlikely event that I wanted to buy this sort of thing, I'd buy it on eBay.
Their refunds system works well, on the few occasions I've had a problem eBay take the refund from the seller and that's that.
Perhaps Amazon is the same, but I buy next to nothing through them.
Buying direct has risks unless it's a well-established business.
V8
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Re: Refund on online purchase
88V8 wrote:In the unlikely event that I wanted to buy this sort of thing, I'd buy it on eBay.
Their refunds system works well, on the few occasions I've had a problem eBay take the refund from the seller and that's that.
Perhaps Amazon is the same, but I buy next to nothing through them.
Seconded on both counts. I ordered some stuff on Ebay which didn't arrive on time (or, as it eventually turned out, at all ). And Ebay were onto it almost before I was!
They emailed me to ask if I wanted them to get involved, and I said naaah, give it another week. (I wasn't in a particular hurry.) A week later, they emailed me again - it seemed that the vendor had been naughty with the paperwork in some way or other - and I clicked through and opted for cancellation and a refund. I had my refund in my bank account within four hours. Not bad.
The only time I ever needed Amazon's help was when I ordered the wrong thing by mistake, and again they made it really easy for me to return the goods, collected from my home in a bag at no cost. Can't say fairer than that.
BJ
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Re: Refund on online purchase
I ordered something once (about £20) and paid via PayPal. The item never arrived and the supplier seemed to have disappeared. PayPal refunded without a quibble.
One issue here is that, if the item is returned and the customer pays for the postage, the amount needing to be refunded will be more than the original purchase cost. Getting this extra amount refunded by PayPal or a card issuer could be more of a problem. Since it is the seller's responsibility, I suggest asking them to arrange collection or to supply a prepaid postage label, and not returning the item until they have done so. You should still insist on a full refund and, if they refuse, apply to the card issuer for a chargeback.
Julian F. G. W.
One issue here is that, if the item is returned and the customer pays for the postage, the amount needing to be refunded will be more than the original purchase cost. Getting this extra amount refunded by PayPal or a card issuer could be more of a problem. Since it is the seller's responsibility, I suggest asking them to arrange collection or to supply a prepaid postage label, and not returning the item until they have done so. You should still insist on a full refund and, if they refuse, apply to the card issuer for a chargeback.
Julian F. G. W.
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Re: Refund on online purchase
I took the 'wind thingy' to the post office yesterday. Today I got an email to inform me that they have refunded my cc today!!! They certainly will not have received the parcel yet. Will just have to keep an eye on my cc a/c to check the refund is there sometime during the week.
Many thanks for all the advice I have received.
Many thanks for all the advice I have received.
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Re: Refund on online purchase
granretire wrote:I took the 'wind thingy' to the post office yesterday. Today I got an email to inform me that they have refunded my cc today!!!
They obviously read Lemon Fool!
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Re: Refund on online purchase
Glad it worked out for you. Just to add for any future readers of this thread...
Although the CC have no legal liability for sums under £100, provided the retailer is still trading, they can reverse the transaction and refund you anyway, and often will if you complain to them. This is a requirement of the contracts CC companies have with retailers. So if you get no satisfaction from a retailer, try complaining to the CC company anyway. No obligation, but it often works. After all, you are their customer, not the retailer.
Of course, if the retailer has gone bust, then the CC company would have to bear the loss themselves. No hope - unless >£100 and legally required by Section75.
Gryff
Although the CC have no legal liability for sums under £100, provided the retailer is still trading, they can reverse the transaction and refund you anyway, and often will if you complain to them. This is a requirement of the contracts CC companies have with retailers. So if you get no satisfaction from a retailer, try complaining to the CC company anyway. No obligation, but it often works. After all, you are their customer, not the retailer.
Of course, if the retailer has gone bust, then the CC company would have to bear the loss themselves. No hope - unless >£100 and legally required by Section75.
Gryff
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