Am I entitled to anything?

[AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti]

Bought 3 beauty products online on a 3 for 2 offer. Two are the same product. Used one last week and had an allergic reaction. Have contacted the company who have apologised but are only prepared to refund the unused item as the one I used was technically free. Are they correct? I would be happy to swap for something else but they are refusing. But I feel I have lost the “opportunity cost” of that third item, if nothing else. How does this work?

if it was me I wouldn't have done anything. some products I am allergic too but don't find out till I try them. then i know I am allergic so I stop using it straight away..wouldn't have complained nor expected refund would have given the product away to sis or friend

Good to know, but not really what I asked.

When something can’t be tried instore, it’s not great to find out you can’t use it and have no recourse. It’s not really something anyone else would use (not right colours etc).

Well you didn't actually pay for it. So if they gave you a refund for both they'd be losing money. They wouldn't give a free item then let you swap it for cash. Just put it down to experience.

So did you ask for a full refund, while keeping one usable item, or a refund of 2/3 of the price you paid?

but that happened most of the time. you buy stuff for skincare etc instore and bring it home to try. the majority of people won't be allergic to it. unfortunately you had a reaction but that's the risk everyone takes why would you be entitled to anything else. the store has gone above and beyond with what they have offers you. how much did it all cost ? is it really worth pushing it further

I said I would happily take a credit for 2/3rds of the 2/3rds
I paid.

2 items were £18 and the other £12, and I had 25% off as well.

So £36 became £27. I’ve said I would be happy to take £18 in credit but they are only offering £13.50.

I want to understand the legal position. Not opinion.

There is no legal position !!!
Shop has offered what have to require

Okay. I’m not clear how……..?

The products are not faulty, you are allergic to them. They don't have to refund or exchange. They can out of goodwill but don't have to. The shop hasn't done anything wrong.

I am sure if you read the back of the item they will say may cause skin reactions etc please stop using it. or in the fine print on the leaflet or the website.
if you know your allergic to something then you shouldn't be buying it. if it's 1st time then you know now not to buy it again. but it's not the shops fault for selling it they didn't have to give you any money back
watched a beauty blogger last week on Instagram she had an allergic reaction to an item she was testing -she bought it herself- not once did she say she was going tor try get money back or go legal. she looked at the ingredinats and warned if allergic to any of them then it's not for them. she stopped using it immediately but other people commented they had no reaction to it at all
everyone is different unless it caused you to have a near death experience they lesson learned is you are allergic to a certain ingrediant don't buy it anymore and test new items or ask for samples before buy in future or just buy what doesn't give you a reaction

@AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti
They don’t owe you a refund. You don’t need to be able to try a cosmetic product in store as the ingredients are all listed. Unless the product contains something not listed or was faulty (like the recent Mitchell chemical burns debacle) then they don’t owe you anything, legally.

You bought something and turned out to be sensitive to it. Thats just tough luck.

Their offer of a voucher is a goodwill gesture. They don’t owe you anything.

*Mitchum

I am absolutely blown away that you expected anything!! Very generous of them to refund the one unused item you no longer want at the price you bought it at. I doubt they legally have to even do that. Why would they refund you for a product you’ve used and thus they can no longer sell?

I just wasn’t sure of my rights, that’s all. No need to lose you head over it.

I checked the ingredients prior and wasn’t knowingly allergic to anything. There are some companies that allow the return of used cosmetics if they are unsuitable.

Regardless of what the item is, I was interested in the BOGOF element. Eg if I buy 3 packets of sausages from ocado on a buy 2 get one free offer , and when they arrive one packet is mouldy, can Ocado argue that they were free and I’m not entitled to a replacement?

But that’s different. In that case, the item is faulty so must be replaced whether it was on offer or not.

You are not entitled to a replacement or refund at all. If you’d paid full price for all 3 items, you’d not be entitled to anything. In this case, you got 3 for 2 - you’re still not entitled to anything so the 3 for 2 is a red hearing.

They’re just offering an amount they think is fair as a goodwill gesture.

If you’d paid full buy in a 3 for 2 and then try to return one item, you can’t usually. You need to return all 3 if you want the full amount back. Then you can repurchase the ones you want. If you only want to return one item from a 3 for 2, then it gets adjusted and you get a percentage back farther than the film price of the return item. Thats how it worked in the bookshop I worked at which did a lot of 3 for 2.

They’re just offering an amount they think is fair as a goodwill gesture

they’re not offering anything as a goodwill gesture.

You can’t return a beauty item that you’re allergic to or people would be returning beauty stuff to retailers all the time.

If the product wasn’t labelled correctly then obviously you are owed a refund because defective products are a reason for refund.

The retailer is refunding the unopened product because they can resell it. They can’t resell the product that you’ve used.

A manufacturer recall like the recent Mitchum deodorant incident would be the only way to get the used beauty item refunded.

I thought they offered you a voucher for £13.50?

The goods aren’t faulty. Under the distance selling rules you can cancel within 14 days and get a full refund. But you must replace the goods in the condition you received them for this to apply.

So you aren’t entitled to anything

If the ingredients are all listed, I don't suppose that there is any obligation on them to provide a refund at all. I don't think cosmetics are usually returnable, are they?

Your allergy isn’t a fault with their product… it’s just not suitable for you.

Thats a completely different issue and not comparable to your situation. The sausages are a quality issue so they should swap or refund, you being allergic is not a quality issue. If you’ve raised the issue with the store I would only expect a refund for the stuff I paid for not for something that was free.
If you’re returning part of an offer you loose the discount and items need to be returned in a saleable condition, you have opened one item so £13.50 is correct

You are returning 33% of the goods and receiving a 50% refund, sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

I wouldn’t expect a refund for something I’m allergic to.

that’s not the sellers fault.

Id take the offer you’ve been given tbh!