Refund of delivery fees

Padre_Pio

Hi,

Probably answered already but I can't find a thread.

I bought a oven from HN with an extra 30 euro delivery fee. After 6 months the oven is faulty. HN are going to refund the cost of the oven, and free removal of the broken oven and delivery of a new one. However they don't have the same oven in stock, so Im going to a different supplier.

HN saying they will refund for the oven, but they won't refund my initial delivery fee, I'm fairly sure they also need to refund this too though.

Am I right?

Peregrinus

No, you're not. If they are delivering the new oven for free you are getting the service for which you paid (delivery of an oven) so why would you expect a refund of the cost of the service?

magicbastarder

It's not Harvey Norman delivering the new oven though. He bought an oven from HN who are providing a 'full' refund for the faulty one. But that oven cost more to purchase.

OP, was the delivery charge on the original oven unavoidable?

Peregrinus

Ah, right, gotcha.

Possibly the delivery charge for the oven was avoidable if the purchaser collected it from the store, rather than having it delivered. This would be a common enough arrangement; it wouldn't be unusual for an oven to be bought and installed in the context of a kitchen renovation, with the renovation contractor collecting the oven, bringing it to the premises and installing it. A customer in that situation won't want to pay for delivery or installation.

If the delivery charge is not baked into (see what I did there?) the price of the oven but is a separate charge for a delivery (and installation?) service availed of only by those customers who want it, I think HN's position would be that the delivery service was provided satisfactorily and there is no case for a refund. It's only the oven that was defective, and they are refunding that in full.

Padre_Pio

No it wasn't baked in. I could have collected from the shop if I had a van.

I suppose my take is that HN should refund the TOTAL amount paid, not just the cost of the item.

Since the item is defective, the only way I would be made whole from the refund is if it's the total amount.

Their offer of free delivery is just a goodwill gesture. They may easily not offer it, and if I purchased a replacement from HN then I would be paying twice for delivery. Once for the faulty, once for the replacement, which doesn't seem right.

At the end of the day, it's 30 euro, but better in my pocket than theirs.

cap.in.hand.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122273134#Comment_122273134

Was it private van delivery of the oven to you organised by Harvey norman

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122273154#Comment_122273154

Harvey Norman organised, paid on-top of the oven cost.

What I'm trying to get at is, they can't repair it, they can't replace it, the only option is to refund, so do I get the full refund including delivery, or excluding.

Dublinandy3

One is a service, other is goods. I agree with you that they should, and a lot of companies will, but they don't have to, unfortunately.

cap.in.hand.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122273196#Comment_122273196

Ok,do they have their own delivery vans and drivers ..if it's a private courier I don't think HN are in a position to refund you delivery cost

Victor

"I think HN's position would be that the delivery service was provided satisfactorily and there is no case for a refund." - nobody is 'desirous' of a delivery service. They want a working oven.

JVince

assuming it was bought instore, there is no refund of the delivery fee.

They theoretically could insist that you bring the oven back to the store yourself but common sense should prevail and they will collect it.

Padre_Pio

Alright, thanks everyone. I'll keep asking on the off chance they refund everything, but I won't expect it.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122273237#Comment_122273237

If the delivery was optional, that's a separate service to the provision of the oven. But I'd still be taking the OP's approach.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122273237#Comment_122273237

I taske the point, and I'd feel the same.

But your rights as a consumer are focussed on the goods/services you have bought — you get those, or you get your money back. There's no concept of being made whole, being put in the position you would be in if the problem had never arisen, being compensated for incidental or consequential losses. For example, if your oven doesn't work and you have to order expensive Uber Eats meals until it is repaired/replaced, there's no refund for that. Or if you incurred expense - hiring caterers, say, to cook and serve a meal in your home to celebrate a family occasion, and they can't provide the service because there's no oven and you cancel and lost a deposit - you don't get that back.

In this case the OP paid to get an oven delivered in the expectatioin that he would be able to use it. He wasn't able to use it, and the money he spent on getting it delivered was therefore wasted. But, still, the consumer rights legislation doesn't provide him with a remedy for that.

cap.in.hand.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122274388#Comment_122274388

After Delivery....They seem to been using it for up to 6 months and THEN it became faulty.

MacDanger

I looked into this previously where I received an incorrect item and from what I could gather, there's no explicit obligation on the company to refund you delivery charges (or in my case the cost of returning the incorrect item) so you're just relying on them providing good customer service

Padre_Pio

I got the delivery fee refunded in the end. V happy with the whole process.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122274838#Comment_122274838

There's no obligation on them to provide a refund on the cost of delivery if they provide you with the incorrect item? That's different to the OPs situation and I'd fight that one tooth and nail.