Restocking fee when returning goods?

I'm well aware of the parts you talk about, the OP said "a chimney liner for a gas fire" So it's quite easy to see what people would think.
 
Have you asked what specifically the restocking fee is for given that it's being returned straight back to the manufacturer and you're paying the delivery? it'll only take them 10 mins to arrange for it to be collected so a 30% restocking fee sounds like extortion but if the manufacturer is charging the shop a 30% restocking fee then surely it's reasonable for them to pass the cost onto you? you could probably bankrupt a small business that way otherwise. If it's the manufacturer charging them the restocking fee then they might feel that their legal case is every bit as good as yours and might be right?
 
I put that very question to the retailer and they said it’s administration costs. Updating systems etc.

That alone puzzles me. I would think the admin cost for restocking should subsequently be a flat fee and not a percentage?

I do appreciate what you’re saying re costs to the retailer but I have to put myself first, and if they’re not acting in accordance with consumer law then I’m not going to hand over £200+ in exchange for zilch because it’s detrimental to their business. As a business they should factor potential costs into their prices if this is such a regular occurrence. Else they take the infrequent hit.

The layer between the retailer and their supplier is effectively transparent to me. My contract is with the retailer.
 
Domo said:
As a business they should factor potential costs into their prices if this is such a regular occurrence. Else they take the infrequent hit.
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Your forgetting that some businesses have to keep lowering margins to try and compete with each other or more commenly, the internet - £200 is one hell of a hit to take, tbh that is probably more than a days profit at my branch after expenses are removed.
With re-stocking, one of our suppliers charges us £25 + 35% for off the shelf items, this is however the high end of the scale. Bristan for example charges 25%.
Why didn't you let the engineer order the flue out of interest?
 
Domo said:
Re the last few posts.
- We have not seen or handled the goods.
- They are a standard kit. They’re not modified in anyway. The sections come in metre lengths with adjustable end points. Boring fact, balanced flue systems cannot be cut or modified.
- The retailer knows we’re a private consumer, not commercial.

Citizens Advice say we have the legal high ground. However, I’ve spoken to the retailer and I believe they think we’re trying it on. Which is a shame because CA want to refer it to Trading Standards. I was trying to provide the retailer an opportunity.
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I wouldnt offer a company who tries to fleece someone of £250 for nothing an opportunity. They deserve to be reported to TS so they cannot abuse other people in the same situation.

The fact they've continued to allow it to be delivered to them rather than just cancel shows they're cowboys who are just trying to cash in on some easy money. 30% restock fee is outragious. You could order something from japan and send it back for less.
 
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Jonnybmac said:
The fact they've continued to allow it to be delivered to them rather than just cancel shows they're cowboys who are j .
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I didn't see that in a post ?.
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I have some sympathy for manufacturers+resellers who often have minimum stock and jit, to that extent,even catalogue combinations could be classified as custom made too.
... they were building a lot of Y's for a new housing estate and break their production line for a one off Z. - like car manufacture too
 
jpaul said:
[

I didn't see that in a post ?.
]

I have some sympathy for manufacturers+resellers who often have minimum stock and jit, to that extent,even catalogue combinations could be classified as custom made too.
... they were building a lot of Y's for a new housing estate and break their production line for a one off Z. - like car manufacture too
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He spoke on the phone about it being delivered monday. Judging by the fact it's a monday for an order on a friday it doesn't begin shipping until monday therefore could and should habe been cancelled.
 
Jonnybmac said:
He spoke on the phone about it being delivered monday. Judging by the fact it's a monday for an order on a friday it doesn't begin shipping until monday therefore could and should habe been cancelled.
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What? He posted last Saturday therefore the item would have already shipped for it to have arrived this Monday just gone.
 
tom_e said:
What? He posted last Saturday therefore the item would have already shipped for it to have arrived this Monday just gone.
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From what I gather he posted saturday saying he ordered Friday to be delivered monday, with i presume would mean that it wasn't getting shipped out until the monday so could have been cancelled over the weekend. Monday came, he desputed and refused to pick up and here we are a few days later
 
Just to clear up some of the above points.
- I did order on Friday and the goods were delivered either Monday or Tuesday (the aim was for the following Monday but I got the call on Tuesday to say they had arrived).
- We had a second visit from the installation company on Saturday when they said a balanced flue won't work because our chimney traverses - we need something bendy and balanced flues do not bend.
- The reason we're not using the retailer is because we're midway though a build and their 2 engineers are booked up until Feb. Our builders won't wait that long.
- So we enlisted a local fitting company to assess and make recommendations. We are not under any contract with them at the moment. The surveys were free.
- My sympathy for the retailer is in freefall after today's call.

As I mentioned earlier, CA have said the retailer is in breach of the Consumer Contracts Regulation and my consumer rights have been restricted since the moment they told me at the time of purchase there would be a re-stocking fee. Don't forget we're not a business and this was a phone purchase. It doesn't feel great doing this, but then nor does being rinsed for over £200 for someone to type a few codes into an inventory system, which is pretty much what they said. Admin costs.

Businesses have to undertake certain risks. And we as consumers need some form of protection from being fleeced like this.
 
So, your original fitting company advised to you to order a balanced flue system, to go all the way up your chimney....but your chimney isn't straight up ? :confused:
 
Who is planning and controlling this project? I assume you are, as your builders seem very hands off.

The fact is that this is not really a consumer item. It is a trade part, not intended for DIY although some knowledgeable and handy types may have a go.

You seem to be in a situation where you have taken free advice from persons who you do not have in contract and it was wrong advice. You have ordered parts based on this.

If I was the retailer (I assume a builders merchant from the nature of the goods), I would expect the transaction to be on trade terms and they probably even offered a small discount on list price for the value of the goods purchased.

As a person previously professionally involved in construction, I can see how this has evolved, I think. One side is thinking like a consumer buying stuff online and the other that he has a trade relationship as per 95% of his business. As you cannot claim from your builders who are hands off or your advisor who is in the breeze, you are letting the retailer bear the costs and hassle

Feel free to shoot me down if I am wrong.
 
Almost correct. The manufacturer does include bends of various degrees (45/90) but the angles within the chimney don't align with the standard components. Since we're not under any contract with the fitting company we can't go after them, and besides - the retailer is not acting reasonably or within consumer law. According to CA we are entitled to a 14 day cooling off period unless the goods have been modified, are bespoke or have been damaged by us (and the last one is impossible since we've not handled them).

We placed the order with a reasonable level of confidence - and time is of the essence since the chimney is holding up the build. Not good for us when we have a house with sections of roof missing in the middle of December.
 
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nkata said:
Who is planning and controlling this project? I assume you are, as your builders seem very hands off.

The fact is that this is not really a consumer item. It is a trade part, not intended for DIY although some knowledgeable and handy types may have a go.

You seem to be in a situation where you have taken free advice from persons who you do not have in contract and it was wrong advice. You have ordered parts based on this.

If I was the retailer (I assume a builders merchant from the nature of the goods), I would expect the transaction to be on trade terms and they probably even offered a small discount on list price for the value of the goods purchased.

As a person previously professionally involved in construction, I can see how this has evolved, I think. One side is thinking like a consumer buying stuff online and the other that he has a trade relationship as per 95% of his business. As you cannot claim from your builders who are hands off or your advisor who is in the breeze, you are letting the retailer bear the costs and hassle

Feel free to shoot me down if I am wrong.
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They're a retailer - they probably do trade but most of their business will be private consumers. But I'm speculating now.
All said and done, the retailer is not permitted to do what they have done under consumer law. CA wanted to pass it to trading standards immediately but I refused to log it as a formal complaint without giving the retailer a chance to make amends. There's a good chance they don't realise they're acting unlawfully. Having said that, they failed to understand my point on a call yesterday.
 
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I've had two large companies try similar on with me recently. One was a large furniture retailer, and on leaving a bad review on Trust Pilot, they decided to phone me and bend over backwards to help so I would remove the review. The other was Dell when I'd ordered a laptop from them but managed to find the same laptop for much cheaper so returned the first. They said I couldn't return it as it was delivered to a business address, despite the billing address being my home. They then wanted to charge me over £200 to restock it. I sent an email to CA, copied the reply over to Dell and they backed down immediately and even arranged collection for free. It's frustrating these companies try it on, especially large companies that should know better. I guess for every person that doesn't fight them they are quids in so it's worth their while as some people will just accept what they are saying.
 
I don't see the dell case as trying it on - by default assuming a business address => business purchase -
vendors are a bit stupid not immediately making the distinction on the order form/contract
Dell provided us with a company discount code for home purchase, and had thought this was then classified as a business purchase.

Moreover, this thread motivates me more, to try and purchase at business rates, if I know I don't need the CCR cover,
if, there is a 15% markup for this service, then ... offer to sell me a 1K oled tv at £850, take the fat out
 
The billing address and card were private though. I phoned several times, spoke to different people, managers etc and they all refused a refund and said it was a business purchase as it was being delivered to a business address despite me pointing out every time that it was a private card and my home address was the billing address on the invoice. They couldn't back down and apologise fast enough when I forwarded them the CA email.
 
In regards to OP they are probably just messing you around as you did to them, either pay up for a quick fix or go the legal route and keep us updated. :p
 
Bailey said:
Hey guys,

This is something I deal with day in day out. Under the Consumer Contract Regulations (Replaced DSR) you can return an item within 14 days of receipt. However the new law does allow deductions to be made if the product value has been diminished by opening / using it.

If you have not used or received it yet I am sure you will be fine and you should not take a deduction on the product.

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations
Your right to a refund

You should get a refund within 14 days of either the trader getting the goods back, or you providing evidence of having returned the goods (for example, a proof of postage receipt from the post office), whichever is the sooner.

A deduction can be made if the value of the goods has been reduced as a result of you handling the goods more than was necessary.

The extent to which you can handle the goods is the same as it would be if you were assessing them in a shop.
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That applies to normal end user customers

If it is a trade or business order you have no legal right to return it unwanted at all and it is totally at the companies discretion how they handle the return :(

Cheers

Bailey
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Good post Bailey, but how does the bit in bold affect items that are on display in said shop? If I can walk into a shop and see a display, lets say monitor because I know nothing about chimney liners as stated by OP, change the setting, try out the speakers on it etc, if I instead had opted to buy the monitor online (from the same place) having never visited the shop surely I should be able to open said monitor, change the settings and try out the speakers as I would be able to in the shop?
 
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