Threatening to take legal action

[randomhair]

Hello
Wonder if anyone can advise on this!

Few months ago my dad bought a disability aid to help with his mobility. It cost £500 but when it arrived he could tell immediately it wasn't suitable so he asked to return it (within 14 days).

The company accepted the return (my dad paid return courier charge of £70) and the item went back.

Company was very slow to send back refund (nearly 30 days) but when the money arrived, they had deducted £70 to cover their costs for originally sending it to us. There is nothing in their Ts and Cs to state they would do this plus the item was advertised as 'free postage'

Long story short, my dad contacted his credit card company and applied for a chargeback for the £70 the company had deducted from his refund. The company has 30 days to respond to Visa.

My dad then received an email directly from the company saying that if he did not withdraw his chargeback immediately they would take legal action against him.

Highly unlikely a company is going to go to small claims court over a teeny amount of £70 but my dad is in poor health and this was a very frightening email to receive.

My question is: 1) if it's not stated in their Ts and Cs, can a company really deduct money from a refund for the original postage/courier costs?

1. To avoid all the stress and drama, should we just withdraw the chargeback request? I just feel like they're bullying my poor dad and I can't stand bullies.

1. Even if the chargeback is awarded in our favour, would they be so petty as to pursue my dad for it? He hasn't got a penny to his name so good luck with that!

Any thoughts or advice would be great! Thank you 😊

I would ignore it and see how it goes.

Give citizens advice a call, they will be able to advise, and can help you make a complaint to trading standards. Don’t respond to the email.

I agree - get proper advice. Nobody here can delve into the detail, but I would never simply ignore a threat of legal action. Companies can and do go to court over small amounts, so don't think they won't. British Gas to me to court over £45 that I not only didn't owe them, but had proven to them 3 times that I didn't owe them it! They lost. But the point is that companies will pursue what they see as debt, and nobody here can tell you there isn't a debt.

Thank you.

There isn't a legitimate debt at the moment. The company deducted money from a refund that was owing. My dad disputed this via his credit card company. The credit card company has given the company 30 days to provide evidence as to why they did this. The company responded by threatening legal action,

So at the moment, they actually owe my dad money until Visa decides either way.

But I will see if I can talk to Citizens Advice. The company knows full well that my dad is vulnerable disabled (they have spoken to him several times in relation to his order) and so it's just galling they would threaten him like this.

1. It depends. Was this ordered online?
2. No
3. They might. Small claims for this amount would cost them £35, which they could add on to the amount claimed

Yes, it was ordered online and it was returned on day 3 (well within the 14 days you're allowed). 😊

Basically we're waiting for Visa to make a decision as to whether to grant the chargeback or not. I'm guessing that if Visa ruled in our favour then it's very unlikely a small claims court would be interested.

We're going to get some advice on Monday and then just let it play out.

Whoops, name change fail! Doh! 😂

If it was ordered online, they cannot deduct anything for carriage. It doesn't matter what they say in their terms and conditions. The law takes precedence.

By the way, I'm assuming this was a standard, off the shelf item. Different rules apply if it was personalised or bespoke.

@prh47bridge Hi, no it was an off the shelf product and wasn't bespoke or personalised.

My dad has just received the money for the chargeback. It appeared on his online credit card statement today. So even if he wanted to, he couldn't reverse it. Now I guess we wait and see whether the company/merchant attempts to recoup it through small claims court.

I would assume that because the credit card company has ruled in my dad's favour that there's not going to be much luck at small claims! Especially when the company is not legally entitled to deduct money from refunds for online purchases.

Alas having now read their reviews on several review sites, several other customers have said they've had the same thing happen to them. My next port of call will be trading standards.