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Had a customer call the other day wanting to order a cooling fan for their Hotpoint Intergrated Cooker. They provided the model number over the phone and the part was looked up and thus a price and stock availibilty quoted to the customer. They wanted to order the cooling fan and paid for the order up front as is our policy.
The cooling fan arrived and we notified the customer that it was now in stock. They came and picked it up and off they jolly well went, yesterday I get a call from my shop staff while I am out on the road saying that the customer was back in the shop with the said cooling fan saying it was wrong for their model and they had now decided to buy and new cooker and wanted us to take back the part and make a full refund !
It became clear that the customer actually wanted the main oven circa fan motor not a cooling fan. In situations where a genuine error is made by the customer and providing the part is as supplied we will normally take it back as a credit against the correct part or take it back less a restocking and handling charge of 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d}.
This customer is not happy and is now arguing the matter, I would have said that under these circumstances we are not obliged to take it back at all or offer any refund, anyone got any views on this ? How do you approach these situations ?
Hi
maybe just inform all customers ordering parts that unless your own engineers have diagnosed the fault no refunds will be given, This is unfortunatly one of the problems with haveng the public fixing thier own applainces. another thing is to have something on your reciepts that states unless diagnosed and fitted by your engineer no refunds can be given. Perhaps the best thing in this occasion would be to take the fan back this time.
karenRe: Customer Orders, How do you do it!
If it was sold and paid for over the phone it will come under the distance selling laws and the customer has the right to a full refund within 7 working days irrespective of whether it was a special order unless otherwise was pointed out at the time I’m afraid 🙁
The only saving grace on this occasion is that the customer collected it so no postage costs are invloved 😉
Dave.
Re: Customer Orders, How do you do it!
I presume the goods must be unopened and in full resalable condition. To add to the problem, if you don’t notify your customers in writing of any potential return costs, you cannot charge anything for returning the goods. And, if you don’t notify them in writing (before their purchase), of their rights to return within 7 days (impractical when selling spares) their rights extend to 3 months and 7 days.
I think this legislation can be very unfair on a trader at times, and in most cases it’s unfairly biased towards the customer. I honestly can’t think why it’s needed in most cases. I can see how it can protect people who buy from a catalogue or web site and then find when they receive the goods they are not what was expected or described. But if a customer orders an iPod, or even a washing machine, what good reason can they have for returning it within 7 days if it is not damaged or faulty, and why do they need more protection than someone who popped into a shop? Why should people buying online or over the phone be able to just change their mind for no good reason? It’s not the same as being sold in the home by a high pressure salesman.
Maybe it’s a stealth protection for the disabled (fair enough), but applied to all in order to prevent the awkwardness of having to prove you are disabled?
If someone orders a specific part for a repair though, I can see that logically this is different to ordering a finished good. The part can not easily be resold by the trader (and depending on the part may be virtually impossible to resell) as it was specifically for the customer. Also, why should a customer have the right to order a wrong part and get their money back? It seems like a grey area, which maybe needs looking into more.
Re: Customer Orders, How do you do it!
Picking up further on this we eventually got the customer to accept our 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} restocking and handling charge and took the part back.
Now looking at this situation in detail I would say this regardless of what consumer law may or may not state.
A customer calls you or arrives at your shop for those of you who have retail premsies. They want you to order them something that you do not stock, they have diagnosed the fault and it is they who want you to obtain the part. You then have to use your own resources like stock look up, telephone the order to the supplier, pay the cost of this order plus the VAT and carriage of it, The customer wants to pay using a card, you then have to pay the transaction charge.
When the part arrives you make yet another call to let them know that you have now got their part in stock.
They call and collect it and off they go ! Some days later you get the call that they want to bring it back as its not right for their model and they have decided to buy a new appliance so they do not require this part any longer.
You are then expected to take this part back in the process providing a full refund along with having to refind their card and pay yet another transaction charge. After which you need to either hang on to the part in hope that one day you may sell it or try to get the suppler to take it back paying further costs associated. Did I forget to factor in the time and energy expended in dealing with this whole procedure ? I cannot think of how anyone would reasonably expect someone to incurr such costs and losses due to their actions entirley.
Lets put the boot on the other foot for a minute, Just imagine ringing someone up and asking them to use their time and money going to Tesco’s for you as quick as they can, once there you want them to purchase a load of shopping and deliver it to you and they will need to pay for it as well. Once they get the shooping and deliver it, you have decided that you now don’t want it and that you are not paying for any of it either. Can you imagine what the situation would be ?
I know that we are in business dealing with the ever curious Joe Public and we have been advising customers since 1967 in the purchase of DIY parts and repairs, they never cease to amaze me in what they expect and the consumer laws like distance selling are not really suitable for matters such as this. All of our receipts are clearly printed with our terms of business but who ever reads the small print.
If we were unlucky enough to have lots of customers like this then we would not be in business for them to come to in the first place.
Re: Customer Orders, How do you do it!
If nothing else squadmans experience will serve us all well by ensuring the relevant ‘Terms of Business’ are in place to cover just such an eventuality. Thank you squadman for alerting others to yet another loophole that always goes in the favour of the customer at the eternal damnation of the trader.
Reading through the reams of Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Trading Standards and Sale of Goods Act rules and regulations over this issue, only one conclusion can be drawn. And that is that unless a trader displays his ‘terms of business’ clearly for all customers to see. Or on the back of a ‘sale of goods’ document or clearly states it verbally over the telephone for telephone orders. The customer has every right to a full refund should the goods be unsatisfactory or they have changed their mind or for ‘whatever reason’ the law is on their side. 🙁
Mindful of that fact the only saving grace is that a ‘handling’ or ‘administration’ fee can be charged when accepting returned goods. In squadmans case he stuck out for (and was lucky to get by the way) a 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} charge from his errant customer! 🙂
So to display a notice of a 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} handling charge in this way will at least give the trader some security against falling foul of the law. And will also stand to discourage customers from changing their minds in the first place in accepting their purchases. 😉
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