I kid not when I say how in undated I have been lately with people who have been in their minds ‘ripped off’ when buying handmade items from fellow performers. Too scared to speak up under some fear of a career damaging move they are allowing this rogues to get away scot free and with their hard earned money in their grubby hands.
So you bought lets say a pair of brand new handmade fans from a performer who sells them. They arrive 8 weeks after they are meant to. Have you chased them? Have you demanded to know why they are late? Lame excuse given? well guess what, if you have paid and been told a deadline, a delay in the product reaching you can be seen as a breach of contract and thus you can exercise your statutory rights. Just be mindful that sometimes delays can happen but you do need to be communicated with in good time. Sickness amongst the self employed can take time to get over but TELL PEOPLE!
As of 13 June 2014 the new Consumer Contracts Regulations – which implement the Consumer Rights Directive in UK law – apply to all purchases you make at a distance. This includes shopping online, by mail order, over the phone or through a TV shopping channel. – http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/distance-selling-regulations
Regulations state (that government saying people!) that that goods must be delivered within the time frame you agree with the seller. If no time frame is agreed, the seller has 30 days from the day after they receive your order to deliver your goods. So if those fans turn up late…thats a breach.
Need to send something back?
The original cost of the outgoing postage to you should always be refunded by the seller. The seller’s terms and conditions or returns policy should state who pays the cost of returning the item. BUT IF THEY DONT OR DONT HAVE ANY , then the seller has to cover the cost. In this case, you are therefore entitled to a refund of the total amount you paid, including costs to ship the item to you, and the fee to return the item. No admin or restocking fees should be charged.
Be aware though there are certain items you cant return because you have simply changed your mind:
Tailormade garments, underwear, earrings or personalised goods.
Faulty/Crap Quality Goods Arrive
If you receive faulty goods (fans broken or falling a part say) and you wanna send those demons back, The Distance Selling Regulations are in addition to your other legal rights. So, if your goods are faulty and don’t do what they’re supposed to, or don’t match the description given, you have the same consumer rights under the Sales of Good Act as you have when buying in a shop or over a counter.
Any terms and conditions that say you must cover the cost of returning an item wouldn’t apply where the goods being returned are faulty.
Sales of Good Act 1979
Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. Read that again. SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND FIT FOR PURPOSE!
Fit for purpose means both their everyday purpose, and also any specific purpose that you agreed with the seller (for example,if you asked for a front opening corset witha spoon busk)
Goods should also match any samples you were sent or descriptions.
Who Is Responsible?
So you bought something and it isnt up to what you were told you would be getting…then you could have a claim under the Sale of Goods Act.
If you want to make a claim, then there are ways to resolve the issues depending on the circumstances and what you want done.
Your rights are against the retailer. The person who sold it the item to you. Not the company who made the item. Unless the person selling made that item. So if I was selling corsets and you bought one and it was faulty. That’s my issue to resolve with you, not the company I bought the corsets from to sell to you.
If you want to reject an item for a full refund you should aim to do so with in 4 weeks of obtaining it. If you want to send an email/letter with all the necessary detail to show you mean business here is a fab template from Which? http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/action/letter-to-get-a-refund-if-your-item-is-faulty-
Getting goods replaced or repaired
You have the right to get faulty items repaired or replace if you have left it too late to reject them. You can ask the retailer to do either, but they can normally choose to do whatever would be cheapest so be aware of this.
However under the Sale of Goods Act, the retailer must either repair or replace faulty goods ‘within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience’.
If the seller doesn’t do this, you’re entitled to claim either: a reduction on the purchase price, or your money back, minus an amount for the usage you’ve had of the goods (called recision) That can be tricky to work out so you need to factor in how long the item was expected to last, how much you were going to use it etc.
If the pesky retailer refuses to repair the goods, and they won’t replace them either, you may have the right to arrange for someone else to repair your item, and then claim compensation from the retailer for the cost of doing this. Receipts and invoices must be kept.
Did you know you have six years to take a claim to court for faulty goods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; in Scotland you have five years.
Here is a little bit of useful info too
In the first 6 months from when you buy something, the onus is on the seller to prove it was of satisfactory quality when you received it. If the seller simply says the problem must be due to something you’ve done, it’s for them to prove that.
Dont be afraid to speak out about faulty products. Fans are natural material so you will lose feathers and shed a few plumes but if they arrive looking like a bag of crap, falling apart then you need to be exercising your rights.
Dont think that just because someone is a ‘big name’ (screw that crap) that you dont have the right to speak up. Do it. Money out of your pocket lines theirs and for what? So you have to buy an item again to replace the shoddy first one. Most decent sellers will replace or advise. Dont settle because you are too scared to speak out. Burlesque is only burlesque and I have been ripped off in the past and now speak out about it.
Naming and shaming is a personal choice. It can look petty. Have the evidence to back up any claims. Dont spout unless you have tried the right route to obtain your money back/address the situation and you arent being unreasonable in your demands. Having a massive costume made and kicking off that the gems arent perfectly matched to the colour you had in your head is a bit of a dickhead move when you can simply send a colour sample for them to be rematched if possible. But lets be honest you should have sent that colour sample first. But if that costume were to arrive and it was not like the sketch or how you were told it would look like (keep all evidence such as emails) then you should be doing something about it.
For more info: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/distance-selling-regulations#link-1
https://www.gov.uk/online-and-distance-selling-for-businesses/overview
