Help – purchasing over the phone and not getting the goods!
January 28th, 2020
A friend of mine purchased a new Bed from over the phone from hf4you.co.uk
she rang on the Friday and got told it would be delivered on the Tuesday, so she took the day off work to make sure she was in,
she got a text Tuesday morning saying it was out for delivery between 8am and 6pm….
herself, her brother, and parents were all at her address, all day, waiting in, from morning till night, but there was no delivery…
she rang in the evening and was told it was still out for delivery and gave her the number to the Courier…
well there was still no delivery, she kept trying to ring the Courier but it would just keep ringing and ringing,
she rang hf4you again and they told her they’d ring her tomorrow to see whether it was delivered or not, so she carried on with her night and went to sleep…. still no delivery!
Wednesday, she obviously went to work,
but when she got home at around 4:45pm there was a attempted delivery card in her door,
but it was dated for the Tuesday with 4:30pm on there,
so she rang the Courier and they answered and told her it was attempted to be delivered on Tuesday at 7:01pm, and then said 7:30pm,
so my friend asked why it says 4:30pm on the card, and the Courier woman stuttered and went on about something else, not giving an answer about it….
my friend was then told they’d try and deliver on the Saturday, but then on the Thursday she got a text saying it was out for delivery :-/
she rang the Courier again and they said they couldnt deliver Saturday and to choose a day to have it delivered,
this is now 6 days after she paid for it,
not only that, the Courier people actually argued and shouted down the phone to my friend saying that it was attempted to be delivered on the Tuesday etc etc etc,
but it wasnt, 3 different times was given, plus they left the card on the Wednesday :-/
obviously signing it off as Tuesday to save their backs to make out they were there on the Tuesday when they obviously wasnt!
Anyway, after them shouting down the phone my friend had told them she doesnt want the Bed anymore and that she’d gone with another Company who had supplied a tracking number etc etc and she was alot more happier with them,
so she asked for a refund for the bed from hf4you which was never delivered anyway, and was told they’d only refund once she confirmed that a £55 Courier charge was paid :-/
they now wont refund her her full money back until she pays £55 because apparently it was attempted to be delivered etc and they had been holding it until etc,
no delivery was attempted on the Tuesday that it was suppose to be delivered, someone turned up on the Wednesday but obviously that doesnt matter as everything was arranged for Tuesday, down to getting a text saying it was out for delivery between 8-6am,
and the fact it was always going to be Tuesday from when she paid 4 days before!
She’s been told to ring After Sales regarding all this and they say the same, she has to confirm and pay £55 to be able to get the rest of the money back,
basically the Courier are saying it was attempted to be delivered at 7:01/7:30 (whichever they want to stick with), 4 people waiting at the address all day can say there was no attempted delivery,
so in no way should she have to pay out a £55 Courier charge…
She was told by After Care to write a ‘statement’ of everything that has happened and so on, but when emailed, they again said to get a refund she has to pay the £55,
but nowhere does it say this, on the hf4you website on the Orders & Returns page.. the page is blank!
on their eBay Listings they state that you can have a Bed delivered but then if its not wanted then you have to pay £20 to have it returned if its still in a saleable condition :-/
so where is this £55 from? it doesnt say it anyway, she even tried to Google the number for the Courier and nothing came up, so cant even check who they are and if they have a Website etc, their number doesnt come up!
Basically im wondering if anyone on here can suggest anything that my friend can do,
whether there is anyone else she can go to about this, or if there is anything she can say?
I dont see why she should be paying a £55 Courier Charge when there was no delivery or attempted delivery on the day given,
she was given a day, took the day off work, 4 people waited in all day, there was nothing!
in no way should she be paying anything, she should be getting a full refund back…
and it states this charge nowhere on the hf4you website, she wasnt told any of this when paying,
she rang them, they basically took her money, then got some unknown Courier to deliver the goods, they didnt turn up on the day they were supposed to, they turned up the following day but tried saving their backs so left a card dated the day before, and now are making out they were there the day they were supposed to, and now because of this are making out my friend has missed them so has to pay a Courier charge, its wrong!!
If anyone can help at all it’ll be appreciated, at the moment she’s written a long email stating everything like she was told to do, but now that means nothing to hf4you or After Care etc as she just keeps getting told she has to pay the £55!
my friend said she might aswell pay it to get it over with but she shouldnt have to, she paid £186 for the Bed, in no way she should have £55 taken from that because of the Couriers mistakes and lies…
Is there anyway the Bank can do?
she is with HSBC, she paid with her Debit Card over the phone,
do you know whether they can do anything or get her money back etc?
Again any help would be appreciated,
thanks alot.
(order and returns page: www.hf4you.co.uk/orders-and-returns)
British law applies – consult an ombudsman or take out a civil suit against them (�60).
She is covered by multiple laws – distance selling, fit-for-purpose, undelivered items, etc.
Notify, in writing, BOTh companies that you have run out of options in dealing with them and you will be notifying the ombudsman and seeking legal advice on the matter.
Would www.citizensadvice.org.uk be any help do you think?
i’ve got her to email them so they’ll hopefully reply within 3 days.
FREE NEXT DAY DELIVERY AVAILABLE on orders placed before 1pm
As displayed on the website ^^^^
If your friend bought the bed on the basis of the understanding above, that forms a contract between her and the website(retailer). The website is therefore bound to ensure this takes place no matter which courier they use. If she was not made aware of a ‘courier fee’ upon purchasing the item she is not obliged to pay it irrespective of what the retailer says. You are not responsible in any way for the actions of the courier, the retailer is, so don’t let them use the courier as an excuse for not delivering as and when was expected.
The website is bound by the Sale Of Goods Act (UK) just like any normal retailer in the high street so look into that side of things.
Personally, I’d send them an email giving them 7 days to return your money (outlining your reasons as you have described) and if they don’t tell them you will be contacting Trading Standards and starting a claim in the small claims court for return of your money.
Don’t take any shite from retailers. I’ve had quite a few altercations over the years. One involved a �250 deposit my son made to a Renault dealership for a new car. He then changed his mind (within seven days because it was on finance) and the garage refused to give him his money back. I went to Trading Standards and when they got involved a cheque for �250 came flying through the door.
You can also threaten to go to the newspapers and TV programs that deal with this sort of thing. I say this because my son bought a new Vauxhall car a few years ago and the engine had factory fault that was not repairable. The Vauxhall dealer told him he ‘just have to live with it’ and that infuriated me. I ended up writing to the General Motors (owners of Vauxhall at the time) president in the USA threatening to contact every newspaper in the UK telling them about what had been said and in the process giving Vauxhall so much bad publicity they’d lose millions in sales just because of that stupid comment by the dealer.
Needless to say, two factory engineers were sent out within a week to look at the car, they agreed it was an irreparable fault and he got his money back.
It’s just a shame that you have to go to these extremes to get your rights.
Anyway, don’t let them turn you over. Pressurize them in every way possible and don’t be overly polite with any communications.
The UK Distance Selling regulations I think give a cancellation period of 7 working days in which to withdraw from the contract. So look into this and if your friend cancelled within that period she rightfully should get her money back.
EDIT:
Here’s some extracts from the sites terms and conditions (link at bottom of web page) … You might want to read the lot!
4. HOW THE CONTRACT IS FORMED BETWEEN YOU AND US
1. After placing an order, you will receive an e-mail from us acknowledging that we have received your order. Please note that this does not mean thatyour order has been accepted. Your order constitutes an offer to us to buy Goods.
2. If the Goods you have ordered are not available or discontinued, or if we are unable to deliver them to you within 60 days, we shall inform you ofthis. In this event, no Contract shall have been formed between you and us.
3. If we are unable to supply the Product and payment has already been made by the buyer, then the buyers account will be refunded or re-credited withthe sum paid by the Buyer. The Seller will not be obliged to offer any compensation for disappointed suffered.
6. CONSUMER RIGHTS
1. If you are contracting as a consumer, you may cancel a Contract at any time within seven working days, beginning on the day after you received theGoods. In this case, you will receive a full refund of the price paid for the Goods in accordance with our refunds policy (set out in Clause 10 below).
2. To cancel a Contract, you must inform us in writing. You must make the Goods available to us for collection and during this time keep the Goods inthe same condition in which you received them. You may not use the Goods. You have a legal obligation to take reasonable care of the Goods while theyare in your possession. If you fail to comply with this obligation, we may have a right of action against you for compensation.
The goods were never delivered, so basically I’d ignore anything referring to this and if the retailer trys to use this to get money out of you or not refund your cash I’d give ’em hell.
Also, send them an invoice for time off work and any other expenses incurred due to their inefficiencies.
the Courier people actually argued and shouted down the phone to my friend
I tell you what, I’d give them some real shi t about this (the retailer that is). Irrespective of anything that happens/happened you are not there to be verbally abused over the phone …….. tell the retailer you want compensation for the verbal abuse.
EDIT:
I just had another look at their terms and conditions and there is no �55 amount there for a courier fee …….. so just tell them to piss off and give your money back or take the consequences of you contacting Trading Standards, the newspapers etc.
Really appreciate all this guys, thanks alot, will copy and paste all this to her in the morning thanks again.
From the terms and conditions:
10. OUR REFUNDS/RETURNS POLICY
1. If you are asking for a refund because you have cancelled the Contract between us within the seven-day cooling-off period (see Clause 6 above)either by email or writing, we will process the refund due to you as soon as possible and, in any case, within 30 days of the day you have given noticeof your cancellation and collect the Goods from your premises as soon as practicable. In this case, we will refund the price of the Goods in full,including the cost of delivery to you (if any). However, there is a charge of �49 per order this is to cover the cost of delivery and collection fee.
2. For any other reason (for instance, because you have notified us in accordance with paragraph 20 that you do not agree to any change in these termsand conditions or in any of our policies, or because you claim that an item is defective pursuant to clauses 12 below), we will collect the item freeof charge as soon as practicable, examine it and notify you of your refund via e-mail within a reasonable period of time. Goods returned by you becauseof a defect will be refunded in full, including a refund of any delivery charges for sending the item to you. We will usually process the refund due toyou as soon as possible and in any case within 30 days of the day we confirmed to you via e-mail that you were entitled to a refund for the defectiveGoods.
3. We will usually refund any money received from you using the same method originally used by you to pay for your purchase.
http://www.hf4you.co.uk/terms-and-conditions
Pay.
From the terms and conditions:10. OUR REFUNDS/RETURNS POLICY
1. If you are asking for a refund because you have cancelled the Contract between us within the seven-day cooling-off period (see Clause 6 above)either by email or writing, we will process the refund due to you as soon as possible and, in any case, within 30 days of the day you have given noticeof your cancellation and collect the Goods from your premises as soon as practicable. In this case, we will refund the price of the Goods in full,including the cost of delivery to you (if any). However, there is a charge of �49 per order this is to cover the cost of delivery and collection fee.
2. For any other reason (for instance, because you have notified us in accordance with paragraph 20 that you do not agree to any change in these termsand conditions or in any of our policies, or because you claim that an item is defective pursuant to clauses 12 below), we will collect the item freeof charge as soon as practicable, examine it and notify you of your refund via e-mail within a reasonable period of time. Goods returned by you becauseof a defect will be refunded in full, including a refund of any delivery charges for sending the item to you. We will usually process the refund due toyou as soon as possible and in any case within 30 days of the day we confirmed to you via e-mail that you were entitled to a refund for the defectiveGoods.
3. We will usually refund any money received from you using the same method originally used by you to pay for your purchase.http://www.hf4you.co.uk/terms-and-conditionsPay.
I’d assume there is a clause in the terms and conditions that allows them to change the �49 (change to �55) to anything they like as and when they decide.
I’d have a go at breach of contract etc.
1) Agreed free delivery and time not kept to.
2) Fraud (trying to gain an advantage) by the courier who put a card through the door on Wednesday with a Tuesday date on it.
3) Insulting language/anger over the phone by courier causing great distress.
4) Rights under distance regulations if cancelled within 7 days.
Plus anything else you can put to them.
Under the Refunds and Returns though, that �49 is if they come to collect the goods from your premises, well the goods were never seen by my friend, so she shouldnt be paying anything.
Might I also suggest that the people who stayed in on the dau they were supposed to deliver (other than her, herself) write a statement to that effect, with names and addresses.
There’s nothing like being prepared for a civil case..
Her mother has already taken part in this, shes also been helping to ring the companies while my friends been ringing the other places,
shes just going through an email now to send to them, im also waiting for a reply back from Citizens Advice.
Her mother has already taken part in this, shes also been helping to ring the companies while my friends been ringing the other places,
shes just going through an email now to send to them, im also waiting for a reply back from Citizens Advice.Make sure she keeps copies/details of ALL communications (times, dates, contents) …… essential if an ombudsman becomes involved.
It’s often a case that when retailer/company becomes intransigent towards customers they are about to go into liquidation and if that is the case all moneys will be lost. Let’s hope that isn’t the case.