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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To refuse to pay to send these back?

46 replies

listsandbudgets · 26/05/2021 15:21

I ordered some stuff for DD late last week.

It turned up yesterday morning. At 6pm I got an email apologising that my order was running late and they'd send it as soon as possible. I assumed this was a mistake.

This morning at 7am Hermes delivered another identical parcel and left it in the porch wihtout knociking. THEN 2 hours later I got a notification from Hermes saying they had a parcel which would be delivered this afternoon. I was out and got back a whilie ago to find a third identical parcel.

I've contacted the company who told me I need to parcel everything up, take to post office and return to them and no they don't pay return postage. They said I had only paid for one so needed to return the rest.

I've checked and thankfully they've only charged me once.

I've told them they need to arrange a courier to come and collect them as they're quite big parcels and no way am I paying return postage.

They refuse and say if I don't return them, they'll charge me for them.

Each parcel has about £90 worth of stuff in them so its a not insignificant sum.

Can anyone tell me what to do please?

OP posts:

bigbluebus · 26/05/2021 16:07

If they sent them by Hermes then they can arrange for a pick up with them at their expense. I would put that in writing to the offending company immediately and give them a date by which you want the items collected. State that under no circumstances are they authorised to charge you for the additional items nor will you meet the costs of their return. Address to their top person if it is a company.

HollowTalk · 26/05/2021 16:08

They dropped them off, so they can pick them up. They've no right at all to take the money from your account - prepare your sad face for the Daily Mail if that happens!

TheCanyon · 26/05/2021 16:13

Bet it's hollister.

StamfordHill · 26/05/2021 16:18

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Nocutenamesleft · 26/05/2021 16:37

Legally

You have to contact the company. Give them 14 days to come and collect. Then after that you can get rid. Dont make sure you’ll stay in all day type thing. Says on Monday to Friday I’m in at 17-20pm. Saturday Sunday I’m in etc.

donquixotedelamancha · 26/05/2021 16:38

"They are NOT unsolicited goods, but clearly the company need to pay to put this right.*

In what way are they not unsolicited in the legal sense? Most of the situations where this law applies are mistakes like this.

That letter from citizens advice above is the right answer. Email it off and they will either contact you or not. Either way, no need to stress

Original poster

listsandbudgets · 26/05/2021 16:44

I've gone back on their chat function explained AGAIN, referred them to the CAB page and seem to have found a more reasonable member of staff. They were actually quite apologetic - apparently, they've had a "software failure". In fact, I have the impression this is not the only similar recent error.

They're going to email me to arrange a time to pick them up - indeed, I think they're quite keen to have the items back - they are not a huge company so I don't want to name them. Everyone makes mistakes I suppose, though I'll certainly be suggesting they could do with retraining the first customer services person I spoke to.

OP posts:

2bazookas · 26/05/2021 16:50

Your position is protected in law

contact Trading Standards at your local council, for free advice,

IntermittentParps · 26/05/2021 16:54

Oh, good for you, OP!

BlackElephant · 26/05/2021 17:02

@Playdoughcaterpillar

Post them back but don’t pay the postage.

you would have a receipt for postage if you did that

chesirecat99 · 26/05/2021 17:23

In what way are they not unsolicited in the legal sense? Most of the situations where this law applies are mistakes like this.

Unsolicited goods are items that have been sent to you by the company speculatively in the hope that you will see them and decide to buy them when you haven't requested it eg when charities send you pens or notelets with their logo and suggest you might like to make a donation. It is isn't very common nowadays. The old 1p book clubs (where you used to get 6 books for a penny each but had buy a full price book every month for a year) used to do it a lot.

If a company sends you something you haven't ordered by mistake, they are not unsolicited goods. It wasn't their intention to send it to you in the hope that you would buy it, it was an error.

chesirecat99 · 26/05/2021 17:24

^ That was an answer to @donquixotedelamancha's question.

WoolieLiberal · 26/05/2021 18:04

I’m glad it’s sorted.

Unsolicited goods used to be a thing.

I remember my parents being annoyed by them in the 80s. Things like books or cassettes it was “sent on approval” but which had never been ordered.

It was a faff to send them back but they did because they thought it would be stealing to keep them!

donquixotedelamancha · 26/05/2021 18:28

Unsolicited goods are items that have been sent to you by the company speculatively in the hope that you will see them and decide to buy them when you haven't requested it

I am aware of that practice and that it was the reason behind the original 1971 legislation.

I just don't understand why you think paragraph 29 of schedule 1 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 doesn't apply? Surely this is precisely the situation it was amended to clarify?

marchez · 26/05/2021 18:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LynetteScavo · 26/05/2021 18:45

You've informed them, now they need to sort it.

Blick your card and forget about it it- I wouldn't bother tweeting.

chesirecat99 · 26/05/2021 18:56

@donquixotedelamancha

Unsolicited goods are items that have been sent to you by the company speculatively in the hope that you will see them and decide to buy them when you haven't requested it

I am aware of that practice and that it was the reason behind the original 1971 legislation.

No, it isn't @donquixotedelamancha. This isn't inertia selling/unsolicited goods, it is an error. It comes down to what was the traders intention when they sent the goods.

Paragraph 29 means traders can't deliberately send consumers goods that they haven't asked for then demand payment or the return of the goods. The trader intended to send the goods.

If the trader sends the item in error, they can ask for it to be returned at their cost and you must return it. They didn't intend to send the goods.

Why do you think unintentionally sending the wrong item to a customer is "unfair trading"?

JustMarriedAndLovingIt · 26/05/2021 20:44

They’ve sent you unsolicited items so tough luck. They’re trying it on.

autumnboys · 26/05/2021 21:00

I had this once with quite a large kitchenware company who sent me 9 or something I had ordered three of. They asked me to send them back, I pointed out if wasn’t a return, I was alerting them to their error and then they sort of got it and arranged a pick up. Well done for persisting, OP, hope this is the end of the matter for you.

ChicChaos · 26/05/2021 21:01

I recently received goods that I didn't order - they did have my address on them, but no name. I can't get the company to collect that package either, they claim that because I don't have an account with them they can't order the courier to come and collect it and also said that they couldn't go into the account of the person who had ordered them because of data protection

As it's their mistake, like the OP of this thread I think it's their responsibility to fix it. I am pointing that out to them in a robust manner, but may resort to their FB page as the customer service reps are clueless. They can't see past 'computer says no' right now!

ElderMillennial · 26/05/2021 21:16

Pleased it's sorted OP

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