Help with refunds and the like.

thephantom114 · 18 Apr 2008 at 13:58

Hello one and all,

my girlfriend bought a pay as you go phone on orange last Saturday. When she got it home it didn't have the features she thought it did and thus wants a different phone. In addition the phone she received was faulty anyway. So she took it back

However when she it back to Orange they said they could exchange the phone for the same one but not for a different phone. Am I right in thinking that there is a.) a 7 day cooling off period in which she can take it back and b.) as it was faulty anyway she should be able to exchange it for something of equivalent value anyway?

Cheers

LiE · 18 Apr 2008 at 14:01

Few threads down http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17866199

thephantom114 · 18 Apr 2008 at 14:26

Hmm on the receipt though it says no guranteed refund

shauncr91 · 18 Apr 2008 at 15:34

msm722 said:
Few threads down http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17866199

Tobes said:
OK so what about this:

"Under the Sales of Goods Act 1979 I am entitled to a full refund as the inherit fault has been discovered in a reasonable time being 7 days. (I received the product on the 9th April)."

then I can't think of what else to say. They asked me in the email if I have contacted MS. But I know if I contact MS they will register the console and try to offer a replacement.

Explicit · 18 Apr 2008 at 15:50

Rights

If she bought it in store by person, then there is no 7 day cooling off period as the Regulations do not apply in this situation.

The Sale of Goods Act still applies though. So if the goods are faulty, she can again reject them on the basis that the implied terms have been breached. If you don't mind me asking, what is the fault with the phone?

You said that the phone didn't have the features she thought it did. Is this because of her own mistaken assumptions or is this because of a representation/statement made by the salesperson or a store leaflet/advertisement? If it was because of something the store said or displayed, you may also be able to argue that there was a misrepresentation.

The receipt

As for the clause on receipt, this is unlikely to be a term of the contract because the receipt often comes after contract is formed (offer and acceptance). In a store, the contract is generally formed at the point when the store accepts your offer to buy the goods by taking payment from you. The receipt comes after this and merely serves as evidence of your purchase. There are plenty of cases which demonstrate this, e.g. Chapelton v Barry Urban District Council.

However, Orange can only rely on the clause if they expressly brought it to your girlfriend's attention before the contract was formed (e.g. if the salesperson or cashier expressly told her before taking payment or if there was a notice clearly placed near the checkout).

In any case, the clause on the receipt shouldn't be an issue if she doesn't want a refund. As for their exchange policy, you need to read what the terms and conditions say.

When she took it back to the store, what did she say to the staff? Did she tell them it is faulty or did she simply say that she wanted to exchange it?

What to do?

Go for the easiest option first. I suggest that she goes back to the store and speaks to the store manager. She should explain that the phone is faulty and explain how she wants them to resolve it (full refund or exchange for a different phone altogether). It is really important to be polite about civil at all times. This often does the trick in most cases.

If that doesn't work then you can write them a letter along the lines of the template in the other thread (but delete the paragraph about the Regulations).

thephantom114 · 18 Apr 2008 at 16:27

Explicit said:
Rights

If she bought it in store by person, then there is no 7 day cooling off period as the Regulations do not apply in this situation.

The Sale of Goods Act still applies though. So if the goods are faulty, she can again reject them on the basis that the implied terms have been breached. If you don't mind me asking, what is the fault with the phone?

You said that the phone didn't have the features she thought it did. Is this because of her own mistaken assumptions or is this because of a representation/statement made by the salesperson or a store leaflet/advertisement? If it was because of something the store said or displayed, you may also be able to argue that there was a misrepresentation.

When she turned the phone on it would freeze for ages before resetting then taking 5 minutes to turn on.

She made a mistake when buying thinking it had video calling when it didn't so that's admitedly her fault.

It was bought on her Dads credit card and they went back but they said due to company policy all they could do was exchange the phone for one of the same model. Due to her Dad being somewhat of a push over that was accepted

Explicit said:
When she took it back to the store, what did she say to the staff? Did she tell them it is faulty or did she simply say that she wanted to exchange it?

She said that it was faulty which was unaccpetable and also that she wanted to change it for a different phone as she no longer wished to have that phone I think. They said they couldn't really do anything.

Explicit said:
It is really important to be polite about civil at all times. This often does the trick in most cases.

Not one of her strong points unfortunatly lol.

Explicit · 18 Apr 2008 at 16:44

thephantom114 said:
It was bought on her Dads credit card and they went back but they said due to company policy all they could do was exchange the phone for one of the same model. Due to her Dad being somewhat of a push over that was accepted

Just to clarify, she took it back to the store and they offered to exchange it for a new model of the same phone and her father accepted this?

So does this new phone still have the same fault or is it now fault-free?

thephantom114 · 18 Apr 2008 at 17:27

Yeah, that seems to have been what happened.

No the new phone is fault free. Sorry for not clarifying

Explicit · 18 Apr 2008 at 17:43

Unfortunately there's not much you can do as the replacement was accepted. Whilst they were in breach of SOGA when the original phone was faulty, they offered a replacement to remedy the breach and you accepted this.

Have a look at what the terms and conditions say about exchanges. I doubt they will exchange a fault-free phone as the seal has been broken and they will not be able to sell it for the same price as a new one.

The only option is to have a friendly chat with the store manager.

thephantom114 · 18 Apr 2008 at 17:58

Hmm I thought that might be the case. Thanks for thel help though.

Explicit · 18 Apr 2008 at 18:14

No worries