How does the 7 day return "rule" work?

MumboJumbo · 13 Jan 2011 at 11:16

Hey, well I believe I'm correct in saying that there is a 7 day returns rule on all things bought from the internet that states that you have 7 days from time it was delivered to being able to send it back if you wish.

My question is how does this apply to opened items?

Say for instance I buy a gpu online and I open it and put it in my pc and then decide that actually I want something bigger and better so could I then put it back in its box and send it back to the etailer and get my moneys back and just pay postage and possibly restocking fee?

If so, does this also work for normal retailer pc parts? If it does then I'm definitely taking my router back which unfortunately I had to buy from the purple place because it was needed on the day

. Needless today that cost an extra £40.

Cheers.

Sp00n · 13 Jan 2011 at 11:18

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange

Some excellent advice on there

Dave M · 13 Jan 2011 at 11:28

IANAL but as I understand it yes but the store could seek to recover costs of making good what you returned.

The purple place no, because it was in person - the 7 day thing is the distance selling regulations and don't count if anything is face to face.

Morgoth · 13 Jan 2011 at 11:38

As far as I understand the DSR you can return items provided they are in good condition, they do not need to be in resellable condition.

Amnesia · 13 Jan 2011 at 11:40

DSR the D stands for distance.

i dont think there was much when purple shirts put it in a bag and handed it to you.

Ev0 · 13 Jan 2011 at 12:38

Morgoth said:
As far as I understand the DSR you can return items provided they are in good condition, they do not need to be in resellable condition.

Yup you just have to have taken reasonable care of the goods.

They can be opened, used and sent back.

You can only be charged postage if the retailers site says you are responsible for it, if they don't mention it in their T+Cs then they ar eliable for postage costs.

It is against the rules for them to charge you a restocking fee.

mattyfez · 13 Jan 2011 at 12:42

The purpose of Dsr, is that you don't get to physically see the item before you buy like you would in a shop.

For example, if you ordered a table lamp, and it was a darker shade than the advert looked, you can return it because it doesn't match your carpet.

Obvious you would have to unpack it an inspect it, so yes, of course you can open it.

Might be tricky with something like a gpu, as all you needs to know is generally listed in the spec.

Of course, if the advert didn't mention it was 15 inches long, and it didn't fit in your case, then I'm sure you could return it.

Dsr is not designed to be an easy aY to back out if a purchase, its designed to project you from inadvertently buying something unsuitable, due to the fact you can't inspect it before purchase.

HeX · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:02

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

Pg28 - 3.58

I've returned GPU's and the like in the past under DSR, even after using them, as you can't ascertain fan noise and the like without plugging it in.

Pate · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:07

mattyfez said:
The purpose of Dsr, is that you don't get to physically see the item before you buy like you would in a shop.

For example, if you ordered a table lamp, and it was a darker shade than the advert looked, you can return it because it doesn't match your carpet.

Obvious you would have to unpack it an inspect it, so yes, of course you can open it.

Might be tricky with something like a gpu, as all you needs to know is generally listed in the spec.

Of course, if the advert didn't mention it was 15 inches long, and it didn't fit in your case, then I'm sure you could return it.

Dsr is not designed to be an easy aY to back out if a purchase, its designed to project you from inadvertently buying something unsuitable, due to the fact you can't inspect it before purchase.

Actually it covers most things with the upmost simplicity. No real reason needs to be given.

Exceptions are for stuff like computer games (piratable stuff)

Vonhelmet · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:08

I never knew it was so lenient. I always thought it had to be returned unopened.

Interesting.

Ev0 · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:30

vonhelmet said:
I never knew it was so lenient. I always thought it had to be returned unopened.

Interesting.

It's a common misunderstanding, but basically it's really lax and you can return most things under DSR.

As good as it is for consumers can't help but feel a bit bad for some small retailers who obviously get shafted by this!

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:33

A lot of places claim you can't open the packaging, or that it must be in unopened condition etc.

I wonder just how easy it would be returning something in one of those plastic shells that must be destroyed to access the item. I would imagine there are etailers that will charge a fee every single time, and only refund it if the consumer pushes and pushes for a full refund.

Ev0 · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:44

The Halk said:
I would imagine there are etailers that will charge a fee every single time, and only refund it if the consumer pushes and pushes for a full refund.

There are places that try this, however in each case (the fact it's open, and charging a fee) they are in breach of the regulations and shouldn't be doing it.

You'd have to push a little but I found when I had issues that quoting sections from the DSR guide that businesses are supposed to follow helped, as the guide is meant for them and how they are supposed to comply.

Mirage · 13 Jan 2011 at 13:50

I've recently used DSR to return a wireless router to a competitor, simply because it didn't do what they (both the supplier and manufacturer) had claimed it would.

However, I think there's room to take advantage that I don't agree with, I.E. people suggesting I return my viper cooler to Overclockers because it was too big for my case. That was my mistake and wouldn't see someone losing out for it. Plus it gave me an excuse to buy a HAF 921 PLUS

.

Dave M · 13 Jan 2011 at 15:02

Ev0 said:
As good as it is for consumers can't help but feel a bit bad for some small retailers who obviously get shafted by this!

Don't feel so bad, it's the customer who pays in the end

One of the reasons why hardware costs more in the UK than in the US, they have none of this overhead.

Dark_Angel · 13 Jan 2011 at 15:03

Telescopi said:
Don't feel so bad, it's the customer who pays in the end

One of the reasons why hardware costs more in the UK than in the US, they have none of this overhead.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 15:03

Ev0 said:
There are places that try this, however in each case (the fact it's open, and charging a fee) they are in breach of the regulations and shouldn't be doing it.

You'd have to push a little but I found when I had issues that quoting sections from the DSR guide that businesses are supposed to follow helped, as the guide is meant for them and how they are supposed to comply.

Yes. My concern is that people who don't know any better get screwed, and these companies lose nothing by trying it every time.

The Halk · 13 Jan 2011 at 15:05

Telescopi said:
Don't feel so bad, it's the customer who pays in the end

One of the reasons why hardware costs more in the UK than in the US, they have none of this overhead.

That's true. Not every consumer law helps consumers.

In general the DSR is a good thing. But there's always a cloud to the silver lining.

Someone mentioned graphics cards above. Is there really any need at all to open a graphics card or even order it and return under DSR? The length is easily available information, and you're not going to say "It didn't look right".

If there's exceptions for certain items, I wonder how far that would extend to hardware, if a company could rightly warn people at the point of sale on a screen that can't be missed that they do not consider memory to be covered by the DSR, if the packaging is opened in any way.

Delvis · 13 Jan 2011 at 15:08

I had a monitor that had a few stuck pixels, I sent it back under the distance selling act because it was faulty and 'not to my expectations' as well as not performing 'as it should'.

Got a full refund

MumboJumbo · 13 Jan 2011 at 15:18

Thanks for the info guys, I was unaware of this.

Delvis said:
I had a monitor that had a few stuck pixels, I sent it back under the distance selling act because it was faulty and 'not to my expectations' as well as not performing 'as it should'.

Got a full refund

I should have done this then with my tiny eany weany bit of back light bleed on what is otherwise an outstanding monitor. Ah well, it's not really noticeable anyway.