A question regarding "cooling off periods"

[Iamzod]

You buy goods from an online retailer and i understand that there is a "7-Day cooling off" period within which you can decide that after seeing the items that they are not suitable and you can ask for a refund, i understand that this process would involve paying some kind of fee to the retailer for restocking.

Now, this quote is taken straight off of a government site-

"The purpose of the Directive is to increase consumer confidence and so strengthen the single European market by providing an agreed minimum level of consumer protection throughout the EC. The aim of the cooling-off period is to give consumers an opportunity to examine the goods or services being offered, as they would have when buying in a shop."

You cannot "examine the goods or services being offered, as they would have when buying in a shop" if they do not work.

Now, if a retailer sells you an item, which you receive faulty & therefore does not work at all and then return for a replacment, when does the 7-Day Cooling off period begin, the day you receive the faulty item or the day you receive the working replacment?

 

[Iamzod]

Ok, you order a nice plasma TV from a retailer, TV turns up on time by courier, you unpackage it only to find that the screen does not work so call the retailer who instantly offer to check & replace the damaged item if they find its faulty.

When does the cooling off period begin, as you have not received any working product.

"The aim of the cooling-off period is to give consumers an opportunity to examine the goods or services being offered, as they would have when buying in a shop."

You cannot examine the goods if they do not function at all, the retailler may as well have sent you a bag of bricks or a load of smashed plastic.

You can only examine something that functions!.

 

[Iamzod]

The thing is, the item has been returned, i have not yet received the advertised product as they did not advertise broken ones for sale.

They may as well have sent me a kermit the frog finger puppet disguised as what was ordered.

I ordered a product designed to carry out a specific function yet received what is essentially a doorstop.

Does the cooling off period start from receiving a doorstop or the items that you ordered?