Received a duplicate order in their error, now they want payment. Where do I stand?

arknor · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:25

David91 said:
they sent me a letter saying they would post a free post envelope if i didnt wish to give them the money for it, so i guess i'll do that

i really wanted to just keep it aswell

then you have no proof you actually sent it to them, tell them if it got lost in the post it would be your responsibility and you do not want the risk.

say they can either collect it by courier or by person, bet they dont bother.

pretty sure post office wont give you proof of postage unless you actually pay because its part of a receipt, you should not have to go out of your way to return it anyway.

i would phone them up and argue this point, if they wanted te to go out and get receipt of postage and all the rest of the BS they would be paying for my services.

tell them you will get receipt of postage at a post office but they must cover your expenses in petrol and you will charge them a £10 an hour fee, minimum of 2 hours.

Badgi · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:26

I think they are within their rights to charge you for the product if you use it/don't send it back. But I'm pretty sure they have to cover the p&p costs of you sending it back as it's their error, not your's.

Badgi · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:27

arknor said:
then you have no proof you actually sent it to them, tell them if it got lost in the post it would be your responsibility and you do not want the risk.

say they can either collect it by courier or by person, bet they dont bother

you can still get proof of postage on prepaid/freepost items.

Mr Jack · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:28

arknor said:
then you have no proof you actually sent it to them, tell them if it got lost in the post it would be your responsibility and you do not want the risk.

Oh for goodness sake.

Look, it's quite clear our OP is not in the right here. Why are you all so determined to help him rip them off? Just pop it in the free post envelope, and if you're really paranoid, take it to a Post Office and get proof of postage.

Frankly: OP, stop being a knobber.

vanandjuanunited · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:28

Pop it in the post box
Push the receipt button
Take receipt
Be content with a job well done

arknor · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:30

Badgi said:
you can still get proof of postage on prepaid/freepost items.

then op needs paying for his time like i said. he does not work for them he does not need to be a "runner" or personal assistant for them he would have been reasonable by telling them they can have it aslong as they collect it..

a freepost envelope is not good enough, especially as he needs to go out of his way to get receipt of postage.

Oh for goodness sake.

Look, it's quite clear our OP is not in the right here. Why are you all so determined to help him rip them off? Just pop it in the free post envelope, and if you're really paranoid, take it to a Post Office and get proof of postage.

Frankly: OP, stop being a knobber.

we are not helping him rip them off, we are stopping him from beeing used as free labour, if they want it they should collect it

thepeganator · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:33

Tell them you want something for your troubles of going to the PO, if it's out of your way.

Either that they can pick it up themselves.

Wicksta · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:33

Mr Jack said:
Oh for goodness sake.

Look, it's quite clear our OP is not in the right here. Why are you all so determined to help him rip them off? Just pop it in the free post envelope, and if you're really paranoid, take it to a Post Office and get proof of postage.

Frankly: OP, stop being a knobber.

Why should the OP have to waste his time and money going to the Post Office. A trip to the Post Office would cost me over half an hour of my time (there is always a queue) and I have one only a few miles away. Also I'd have to Pay and Display, who is going to pay for that? Who is going to pay the petrol for my 6 mile round trip? He's not being a knobber at all.

I'd tell them I'll gladly return the item but they must arrange for a courier to pick it up from a location convenient to me.

Badgi · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:33

arknor said:
then op needs paying for his time like i said. he does not work for them he does not need to be a "runner" or personal assistant for them he would have been reasonable by telling them they can have it aslong as they collect it..

a freepost envelope is not good enough, especially as he needs to go out of his way to get receipt of postage.

Yes, because it's going to be such an inconvenience for the OP to pop into the post office next time he is in town.... Jeez, you want to be careful you don't break your back....

Blackstar_solar · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:42

http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/consumer-issues/buying-and-selling/unsolicited-items

You can keep it as an unconditional gift. You did not ask them to or in any other way solicite them to post you the second cartridge. It is therefore a gift.

Mr Jack · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:42

Personally, I'd just not bother with proof of postage. It's not necessary.

But if our OP really wants it, he's a student so it's not like he'll have any trouble going to the Post Office outside of peak times when it'll hardly take him any time at all.

What he should have done, of course, is told them of the error when he first discovered it.

Abraham · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:44

Blackstar_solar said:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/consumer-issues/buying-and-selling/unsolicited-items

You can keep it as an unconditional gift. You did not ask them to or in any other way solicite them to post you the second cartridge. It is therefore a gift.

It doesn't count as an unsolicited item if it's obviously an order mistake.

Blackstar_solar · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:46

Abraham said:
It doesn't count as an unsolicited item if it's obviously an order mistake.

Why not? He didn't ask them to send it.

Under the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971, (as amended) it is an offence to demand payment for goods known to be unsolicited, in other words, they were sent to a person without any prior request made by them or on their behalf.

Seems to fit the OP to me.

mrk · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:50

David91 said:
they sent me a letter saying they would post a free post envelope if i didnt wish to give them the money for it, so i guess i'll do that

i really wanted to just keep it aswell

Free post?

It could get lost in the mail!

Participant · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:57

Mr Jack said:
Personally, I'd just not bother with proof of postage. It's not necessary.

It'd quickly become necessary if the company claims they haven't received it.

I would be telling the company they can send a courier to collect it from my place of work. Once you make the item reasonably available for collection you have fulfilled your obligations.

As above, going to the post office, parking, queueing etc. is not something you are forced to do for free due to someone else's error.

Blackstar_solar - you have to look beyond the words at the intent of the law. The intent is for deliberately sent unsolicited items. If someone accidentally delivered a computer to your house, this is not unsolicited spam and may not be kept as a 'gift'. Use your common sense.

arknor · 8 Mar 2011 at 13:58

Khaaan! said:
Free post?

It could get lost in the mail!

they will probably say that even if they get it back , yea you still didnt send us that ink back lad, we will now be issuing you will a bill, and solicitor fees.

not worth the hassle of free mail. they are at fault, they should collect not lay the responsibility on the op

Swifty55 · 8 Mar 2011 at 14:04

It really makes me wonder how people make it in life when they make posts for things like this.

Blackstar_solar · 8 Mar 2011 at 14:08

Robbie G said:
Blackstar_solar - you have to look beyond the words at the intent of the law. The intent is for deliberately sent unsolicited items. If someone accidentally delivered a computer to your house, this is not unsolicited spam and may not be kept as a 'gift'. Use your common sense.

I disagree, if someone delivered a computer to my house that I didn't order, then I can keep it as a gift.

I think the intent of the law is also to stop companies taking advantage of people when they make a mistake.

#Chri5# · 8 Mar 2011 at 14:09

Blackstar_solar said:
Why not? He didn't ask them to send it.

Seems to fit the OP to me.

No it doesn't - he asked them to send one, they made a mistake and sent two. He did make a prior request, it's just a mistake was made.

IMHO, the main idea of the unsolicited goods legislation is to stop companies sending people goods they have zero knowledge of and then demanding payment.

IIRC, there were cases of "goods" turning up and then people being asked for large amounts of money (£1000+) for items that weren't worth that much.

mangobreeder · 8 Mar 2011 at 14:13

Blackstar_solar said:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/consumer-issues/buying-and-selling/unsolicited-items

You can keep it as an unconditional gift. You did not ask them to or in any other way solicite them to post you the second cartridge. It is therefore a gift.

Did you miss?

However, in the case of unsolicited goods received before 1 November 2000, the recipient is required to give notice to the sender to collect them within 30 days, or otherwise to wait for 6 months, before being able to treat the goods as their own property.