I bought a dress online for my office Christmas party and chose “click and collect” to make sure I got it on time.
I picked it up, but when I tried the dress on at home I realized I didn’t like it, so I tried to return it for a refund.
The retailer has refused to say that it is not a ‘distance’ sale when I went to a store to collect.
MM, London.
Click and collect: Consumer contracts regulations protect consumers where there is a purchase between a trader and a consumer with neither of them present.
Dean Dunham responds: The rules are easy in this case. Consumer contract regulations protect consumers in a ‘distance contract/sale’ where there is a purchase between a trader and a consumer with neither party present.
This means that if you conclude a purchase online, here purchasing the dress online, choosing the online pickup/delivery method and paying for the dress online, it is a distance sale that brings consumer contract regulations into play.
Where applicable, you have the right to change your mind about the dress and request a refund, if applicable), notify the retailer within 14 days of collection, ii) return the dress within 14 days of collection, and iii) return the dress in pristine and salable condition, meaning the packaging must also be intact.
If the retailer continues to refuse your refund, you can make a chargeback claim if you paid by debit or credit card or a Section 75 claim if it’s on a credit card.
The key points to note with this are for any of the claims, there must be a breach of contract.
Here, the breach of contract is the retailer flouting consumer contract regulations and chargeback claims must be made within 120 days of purchase.
Additionally, you can only make a Section 75 claim if the goods were purchased for £100 or more.
However, if you reserve products online or pay a deposit online and then collect and pay the rest in store, it would generally not be considered a distance sale.
The key factor is that the final part of the transaction in these circumstances, payment, occurs in person in the store, so it is classified as an in-store purchase.
(Tagstotranslate) DailyMail