Online retailer - faulty item refund

TheUnderfaker

Hi all, looking for some advice here.

I bought a projector for just over €1k online just before Christmas that turned out to be faulty. The day it was delivered I turned it on, went through some setup for around 10 minutes and then poof - The picture was gone, never to return.

I contacted the retailer via email the next day about a refund for the item but their entire business was closed for the Christmas period from 20/12 to 10/01 - Except for one person who seemed to be monitoring and responding to email queries.

The first response I received from them they advised me to revert to the projector manufacturer directly for repair/replacement. I said I want a refund as I'm within my 2 week cooling off period and they responded saying that I'm not entitled to a refund as the item wasn't in working order. Emails went back and forth a little bit and they told me that I had to submit a return request via their website as a "Dead on Arrival" (DOA) and that they'd sort me out in January when they're back so I did exactly that.

Fast forward to January 10th and I email to follow up to see what the status is and the same guy asks me why I submitted a DOA request if I wanted a refund. I told him I did that because he told me to. So he said to me that he'd have to contact the projector manufacturer himself to see if they'll agree to give me a refund for the faulty item or not, and I haven't had an update since last week apart from the guy responding to my follow ups to say that he's still not heard back from the projector manufacturer.

My question here is what should I do next? Would I be correct in saying that using the projector for 10 minutes for it to break in front of my eyes should violate my consumer rights to a refund within the cooling off period for an online purchase? Obviously I'm outside the cooling off period now, but I have an email trail making the company aware of the faulty item well within the cooling off period - Would my request for a refund hold up with consumer protection authorities/small claims court?

Thanks all

skinny90

I’d go down chargeback route

If it was bought from a retailer in the EU, you should have just availed of your distance selling rights and boxed it up/sent it back the day you noticed it wasn’t working. Agree with chargeback option, keep an eye on the cut off date for that.

Is it a well known retailer?

maestroamado

Do the chargeback option today as its kindof a pity you do not do on day one... the fact that you sent an email to seller will confirm that there was a problem from new... It can take a bit of time but the way to go...

I got chargeback from dodgy car-hire companies abroad...

maestroamado

TheUnderfaker

Thanks all. Pretty well known retailer, I think they're Irish and I think and they're reputable too so I'm surprised by how they've handled this. Their offices are in Dublin.

JPA

The retailer should provide you with the refund. Their dealings with the manufacturer are nothing to do with you.

They're basically saying if I get the refund then I can give you a refund.

maestroamado

BTW was it paypal or card...

TheUnderfaker

It was paid by card

silver2020

No choice for the retailer in this matter.

Just let them know that if you don't have a favourable response within 48 hours you will commence both SCC and chargeback.

If it was 9 months old, then I can see the advantage of going directly to the manufacturer's agent to save time on a repair, but not if it did not work the day you received it

HeidiHeidi

Is the issue here not that -

New item, not faulty, you have distance selling rights to return

New but faulty item, the retailer has the option to repair or replace before refund

I have no idea which trumps which, so interested to hear how this pans out.

skinny90

If you buy something that doesn’t work when it arrives should you accept a repair as an acceptable remedy?

should you have to go back and forth with the retailer to try and get this sorted and still be left out with what you purchased.

the retailer should have swapped it out right away, taken ownership of the issue and ensured they had a happy customer at the end of the day.

I for one would be annoyed at this stage and would have submitted a chargeback request given the emails back and forth regarding getting a refund

HeidiHeidi

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, but as far as I'm aware, those are the rules.

The "bought online" aspect muddies the water though, for me, so very open to correction on that.

silver2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118507068#Comment_118507068

It is indeed muddled as you correctly point out two different scenarios.

However now that the store has accepted that it was dead on arrival, then that allows the op to use the cooling off period in any chargeback claim.

rock22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118516059#Comment_118516059

But the OP said

"The day it was delivered I turned it on, went through some setup for around 10 minutes and then poof "

So not dead on arrival.

I think the 14day period for returns on distance selling items are where you don't use it/ turn it on. it is designed to allow you to inspect and decide if it is what you want.

However, if the item is faulty, and the assumption is probably that it is, then it is the retailer who has responsibility to deal with it. They are allowed verify that the fault was not cause by the OP though.

horse7

Give us a clue who the seller is,eg xurries?

silver2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118516130#Comment_118516130

Op said that the retailer told them to say it was doa. Which it effectively was if it failed at the set-up stage

TheUnderfaker

Thanks for all the advice on this and it's interesting to see the different opinions/how the technicalities of the situation might work.

The chargeback option is not something I was aware of before but will certainly use in future if something like this happens again. In my case, the retailer came back to me with a resolution before I initiated a chargeback so I didn't end up doing it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118505680#Comment_118505680

This is basically how it ended up going down. The manufacturer has agreed to the refund the retailer. They gave me a UPS label and I sent it directly back to the manufacturer. When they confirm they've received it (should be tomorrow or Monday) then the retailer will issue the refund to me.

It's a bit of a cluster*xx* to be honest but I'm just happy to get it resolved.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118507068#Comment_118507068

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118516130#Comment_118516130

I'd have thought that taking an item out of the box and using it briefly before encountering an issue wouldn't violate my right to a refund under the 14 day cooling off period. I can't find anything online that specifically covers something like this. I'd be interested if anyone had ever taken something similar to a consumer protection authority and had a positive/negative outcome.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118516134#Comment_118516134

I'll dish out a clue when the money is back in my account. It's not xurries or a big retailer like that.

TheUnderfaker

We're all done and dusted here. They've processed the refund but it was very much a case of "if the manufacturer will refund us then we'll give you a refund" as a previous poster pointed out.

I'll be steering well clear of Ireland's Online Computer Store in future :)