I know this is kind of 'over' but I just thought I'd add a grim thought or two for anyone starting a business online in the UK:
Under Distance Selling Regulations (I suggest you read them) the retailer is entirely (yep, 100%) responsible for any loss or damage of goods during transit, unless it was insured by the courier, in which case the retailer (not the customer) is responsible for claiming for that loss...
But if you have a signature you have evidence that it was delivered... the liability then falls on the customer if they received it, or the courrier if they delivered it incorrectly. Sadly though it's still down to you to sort the mess out.
Grim thought number 2: Again, under distance selling regulations, your customers have the right to return an item up to 6 years after purchase, provided they can prove there was a fault before they received it from you...
My best suggestion is phoning customers up for big orders/strange orders etc. Ask them how their products are. Pain in the arse, but you can record the call.
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24 replies to this topic
#22
Posted 25 March 2009, 01:01
Quote
Grim thought number 2: Again, under distance selling regulations, your customers have the right to return an item up to 6 years after purchase, provided they can prove there was a fault before they received it from you...
I think you really mean 'under distance selling regulations, customers have the right to return an item upto and including 7 days after receipt of goods - if they change their mind, - and that the only statutory law is that for 12 months that's 1 year customers have the right to return an item as applies for all purchased goods online or on high street as is their statutory right, provided they can prove there was a fault before they received it from you.... 13months no statutory right of return. Manufacturer warranties are then applied with the end user.
http://www.tronixcomputers.com/returns.php http://www.tronixcomputers.com/conditions.php
you can read either of these as both are fully compliant with Distant selling Regulations
TRONIX
#23
Posted 04 May 2009, 16:59
yes rather sounds like he was pulling a fast one, I had a similar problem with someone on ebay who bough my second hand ram and claimed it was faulty, I stood my ground told him to complain to ebay if he felt like it and after replying stoutly to a couple of his insinuations telling him what I could insinuate in return he gave up. even tried to play the marter telling me that he wasn't going to return the goods because then I couldn't resell my faulty stuff to other people and cheat them too dam polish idiot they can take our jobs but they won't be pick pocketing me !
#24
Posted 05 May 2009, 14:41
seb1188, on May 31 2008, 02:21 AM, said:
My best suggestion is phoning customers up for big orders/strange orders etc. Ask them how their products are. Pain in the arse, but you can record the call.
As long as you infom the customer that the call is being recorded, otherwise still not a leg to stand on, it would not be submitable as evidence if it went to small claims (under £500)
#25
Posted 31 May 2009, 07:31
HOWEVER at our block of flats near Heathrow in the UK courier companies frequently fail to leave any form of 'attempted delivery card.' Being mainly airport workers on shift it is difficult to arrange delivery at convenient times. Just recently I have missed out on a major delivery from the USA via US Mail and the UK's Parcel Force. Quite simply the Parcel Force driver failed to leave a 'red card.' Therefore I failed to collect it. It was then returned to sender - by surface mail - and appeared back in the US taking three months for the round trip.
In the above thread - whilst it may have been the customer pulling a fast one - the Royal Mail and Parcel Force have both been personally experienced to be less than squeaky clean.
When tracking a parcel - even if it says 'delivered to recipient' - it can also be 1/ stolen by the driver, 2/ left at the door of the flat and then nicked, 3/ 'lost' in transit, etc. That is why banks will refund the cost of 'lost' items usually without the need to get assertive about it.
For the seller then surely insurance should cover the costs of 'lost' packages.
But the weak links in the whole e-commerce chain are the courier companies and more specifically their drivers. In my experience DHL, Hermes, FedEx, Parcel Force, and Royal Mail have all let me down in the past. And don't talk to me about anything to do with deliveries from GUS,
CJB.
In the above thread - whilst it may have been the customer pulling a fast one - the Royal Mail and Parcel Force have both been personally experienced to be less than squeaky clean.
When tracking a parcel - even if it says 'delivered to recipient' - it can also be 1/ stolen by the driver, 2/ left at the door of the flat and then nicked, 3/ 'lost' in transit, etc. That is why banks will refund the cost of 'lost' items usually without the need to get assertive about it.
For the seller then surely insurance should cover the costs of 'lost' packages.
But the weak links in the whole e-commerce chain are the courier companies and more specifically their drivers. In my experience DHL, Hermes, FedEx, Parcel Force, and Royal Mail have all let me down in the past. And don't talk to me about anything to do with deliveries from GUS,
CJB.
Edited by CJB666, 31 May 2009, 07:34.
