UK Bike Store being funny…

right i need some advice for a friend.
he recently placed an order for some Marzocchi 350CR from the above retailer for £320. after he placed the order he noticed that Merlin were selling the same fork for £240.
so he called up UK Bike Store and asked if they were willing to price match which they said they would and offered to refund him the difference…1 hour later UK Bike phoned him back saying that as Merlins website said the fork was out of stock they wouldnt price match and would be sending the forks to him at the agreed price of £320.
they also refused to cancel the order and give him a refund.
my friend then contacted Merlin and asked “i know your website says out of stock but is there any chance you may be wrong?”
the lads at Merlin agreed to look around for him and came back and said “yes you’re right/its your lucky day…we have the last pair available and you can have them for £240”

anyway the forks from UK Bikes arrived yesterday and UK BIkes are refusing to accept their return and issue a refund even though the box is unopened.
the forks from merlin got dispatched yesterday and should arrive today…

how does he get his money back from UK Bike Store?

UK BIkes are refusing to accept their return and issue a refund even though the box is unopened.

I know SOGA and distance selling regs get overused on here but this really is an occasion when they apply and should be referred to (imo, obviously).

so many day distance selling regs, of course they can be sent back to ukbikestore – he’ll have to pay postage though.

HOWEVER, in the sake of customer service, I’m amazed they wouldn’t cancel the order before despatch, doubt your mate will use them again now.

beaten to it

I know SOGA and distance selling regs get overused on here but this really is an occasion when they apply and should be referred to (imo, obviously).

thats what i told him to state as well but at the time of his initial conversation with them they refused to cancel the order and then when the forks arrived they still refused to accept the return and issue a refund

so many day distance selling regs, of course they can be sent back to ukbikestore – he’ll have to pay postage though.

HOWEVER, in the sake of customer service, I’m amazed they wouldn’t cancel the order before despatch, doubt your mate will use them again now.

he told them he was willing to pay the return postage fees but they still wont take them back…and yes i very much doubt he will be using them again

so seeing as they are refusing to take them back and wont give him his money back either…where does that leave him? other than being £20 out of pocket with a pair of forks he no longer has the need for?

they *have* to take them back.

How can they refuse to accept the return? Has he posted them and had them sent back ‘refused’?

[did he pay by credit card or paypal? Complain to them too]

From their own website…

Returns Policy

All of our products come with a 10 day returns policy. If you change your mind and don’t require the item(s) you have ordered, please return them to us, unused in their original wrapping & in a re-saleable condition within 10 days of receipt. A refund will normally be given within 10 days of us receiving the returned goods although this may take a little longer in high season when we are exceptionally busy. We do not want you to be stuck with items that don’t fit or cannot be used so we are more than happy to exchange incorrectly ordered items or wrong size parts & clothes etc. If you are returning an item, the costs incurred in sending it back to us are the responsibility of the customer and we also advise that proof of postage is obtained as we cannot be liable for items lost in transit. If you return an item to us with insufficient postage, we will deduct the extra postage & associated charges made by the Post Office from your refund or charge them to the card used for the original order. We also reserve the right to charge for the postage costs of sending out replacement or exchange items back out to you.

he told them he was willing to pay the return postage fees but they still wont take them back…and yes i very much doubt he will be using them again

I think the time for “asking” has passed. A mail stating that due to the distance selling regs, and their own returns policy; he will be returning the fork and be expecting a full refund within 7 days, followed by sending the fork by recorded delivery.

If that’s really the full story then it’s pretty stupid of UK Bike to try and force this on the buyer – they’re clearly in breach of their own returns policy and SOGA.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/i-want-to-return-my-goods-what-are-my-rights

Check returns policy before you buy

You can only return non-faulty goods for an exchange or refund if the retailer has a returns policy.
It’s worth noting that shops aren’t required by law to have a returns policy, but if they do have one they must stick to it.
Under the Sale of Goods Act you have a statutory right to return something and get your money back if it’s faulty.
But you’re only entitled to a refund if you return it within three to four weeks, otherwise you can get a repair or replacement.
Returns policies are usually displayed on receipts, on signs in-store and online.You can also ring the shop’s customer services line to find out its returns policy.
Most retailers impose time limits for returning non-faulty products, such as 28 days, but many extend around Christmas for example, so you might have more time than you think.
If you paid by credit card, you also have extra protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

thats what i thought too wwaswas
the package has not even been opened. he phoned them up as soon as they arrived and told them he didnt want them. he would send them back at his cost as long as they refunded the £320 he paid for them and they refused.
when he placed the order and they refused to price match and then refused to cancel the order he contacted them again to say that although Merlins website said out of stock he had contacted them and they confirmed they had 1 left in stock and had sold it to him for £240, and therefore he no longer wanted the forks from them and again they refused to cancel the order even though they hadnt dispatched them.

From another page on nemesis’ link;

When you buy goods online you have additional rights to return them.

This is because your decision may be based on a brief description or a photograph – so what you receive isn’t always quite what you’d expected.

The Consumer Contracts Regulations replaced the Distance Selling Regulations in June 2014.

Under the Distance Selling Regulations, you had the right to return your order up to seven days from the day after you receive your goods.

The Consumer Contracts Regulations extend this right to 14 days from the day you receive your goods.

Many online retailers extend this even further so be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully as you may have longer to return unwanted items

Did he pay by credit card?

I’ve used UK Bike Store in the past but might reconsider that in light of their fickle returns dept!

Maybe send them a pointer in the direction of this thread.

SOGA and credit card cooling off should mean your mate is fine. Worst case, post back, tracked/recorded/signed (so your mate can see a name & signature given on delivery) then claim back form the CC issuer.

Ive always found ukbikestore pretty good in teh past

they are next door to windwave, I wonder if theyve got sulky at merlin flogging grey imports?

still no excuse for their shitty attitude

Did he pay by credit card?

yes he did so he has that to fall back on to claim his money back if UK Bikes dont issue a refund.

Always been happy with ukbikestore so find it surprising they’d be digging their heels on this contrary to their own T&Cs and SoGA…silly attitude that’ll get them some bad publicity

Slightly bizarre attitude for an online retailer to adopt given how clear the laws are regarding returns, they are even breaching their own returns policy by the look of it.

Weird!

Part time summer staff on the phone maybe.
Or just trying it on. Both hard to justify by the shop tbh.

It’s said all publicity is good publicity. But not in this case.

UKBikeStore are being muppets. Rarely does anyone go online and praise a retailer and with STW having the online presence of a small country this thread will pop up on a Google search forever.

Point them to this thread and tell them to stop being idiots.

with STW having the online presence of a small country.

Really?

Google anything vaguely bike related and STW comes on the first page of results more often than not.

Google is cleverer than you think. It pushes those result you’re more likely to click on (since they know you use the STW website) further up the rankings.

Google anything vaguely bike related and STW comes on the first page of results more often than not.

To you – I’m sure STW does well on google, but remember that all google results are personalised to the viewer, even without being logged in.

Edit: Beaten by 11secs

And even without cookies too, I believe. There’s nowhere to hide, Google knows all about you. 8)

they refused to cancel the order

this is odd even before the refusing to accept a return.

Why wouldn’t they cancel the order before dispatch when requested?

You could almost go as far as to say he DID cancel the order on the phone with them and that they sent them anyway.

Not sure what the rules are around cancelling before payment taken and before dispatch, is a phone call enough (legally) to cancel an order?

If UK Bike Store are genuinely refusing to accept a return, I’ll put money on the story not being quite that straight forward. A tenner says the friend has had them more than 10 days.

Agree it seems hard to believe if the story is exactly as told but you do get the odd muppet who thinks that they can get away with this sort of thing though if that’s the case, shops should make sure they’re not allowed anywhere near customers…

Worth getting your mate to put something in writing/email to them so there is documented evidence of him trying to arrange a return in a timely fashion, just in case they continue digging their heels in and it needs to be taken further.

A tenner says the friend has had them more than 10 days.

he has 14 days by law (if ordered online)

If UK Bike Store are genuinely refusing to accept a return, I’ll put money on the story not being quite that straight forward. A tenner says the friend has had them more than 10 days.

i saw the package in his hallway last night and the delivery note had yesterdays date and the invoice date was saturdays….you owe me a tenner

I’ll bet a tenner that poisonspider never pays up 😉

Shame these forks are no longer called “bombers”.

Might have been able to make a useful suggestion otherwise.

he’s sent a couple of emails since yesterday and has had no reply yet. i’ve told him to phone them again and speak to a manager to get it sorted out. i’ve also told him to state SOGA and distance selling regs and quote their own returns policy….hopefully they’ll see sense and do the right thing

Shame these forks are no longer called “bombers”.

Might have been able to make a useful suggestion otherwise.

they still say bomber on the top of the brace…

Everyone other than us the buyer gets annoyed at merlin but print off a ret form send them back they have to refund.
Price matching is only done on stocked items but that’s irrelevant

update: he managed to get hold of one of the managers and explained what had happened. he also mentioned SOGA, dist selling regs and their own returns policy and the manager eventually agreed with him.
they will now issue a full refund and he’s shipping the forks off to them as we speak.
retailer finally sees sense…maybe the manager is on STW!

thanks for the advice folks!

All this is just the gods telling him that morally he is wrong. Shouldn’t have clicked yes without checking.
Sadly the law is an ass and he should get his way.

they will now issue a full refund and he’s shipping the forks off to them as we speak.

Good news.

I bet it takes 30 days to get the refund. 😉

Maybe Dave Hinde was doing a summer placement at the shop.