DB_SamX said:
THose rules regarding costs of returning goods, do they have to post them to me with my invoice/contract for example, or is the fact that they are somewhere on their webiste enough?
You'll be delighted to hear that it's a grey area.
The phrase used is that the information must be in a "durable medum that is available and accessible to the consumer". Precisely what that means is not defined in the legislation, and to define it would require a legislative change.
However, according to the Office of Fair Trading (DTI), no, a website does not qualify, because they do not consider it as "durable", because it can be changed after the consumer has seen it. The OFT considers that "durable medium" means fax, email, postal communication, etc. That's guidance as to type, but not an exhaustive list, and the DTI does also say that it may change as technology changes.
Unfortunately, while the DTI/OFT view is persuasive and powerful, it isn't binding and, as you might expect, some people disagree.
So, what I'd say it boils down to is, as ever, what you can convince a court it means. I'd say it's likely that a website would be rejected, but there's no guarantee.
If you want ammunition to convince a supplier that a website is not adequate, there's a guide to the DSR for businesses on the OFT website (
www.oft.gov.uk) called OFT 698. It defines what the DTI define as durable, and why they don't include websites. If a retailer is saying they think a website qualifies, they
might be reasonable and rethink in the light of the OFT/DTI comments ..... or they may not. If they don't, then ultimately it comes down to a small claims court action, where I'd suggest a court will likely find that opinion persuasive.