I bought a dress online for my office Christmas party and chose ‘click and collect’ to make sure I got it on time.
I picked it up but when I tried the dress on at home I realised I didn’t like it so tried to return it for a refund.
The retailer has refused saying it’s not a ‘distance’ sale as I went into a store to collect.
M.M., London.
Click and collect: The Consumer Contracts Regulations protect consumers where there is a purchase between a trader and a consumer without either present
Dean Dunham replies: The rules are easy in this case. The Consumer Contracts Regulations protect consumers in a ‘distance contract/sale’ where there is a purchase between a trader and a consumer without either present.
This means if you conclude a purchase online – here by buying the dress online, choosing the method of collection/delivery online and paying for the dress online – it is a distance sale causing the Consumer Contracts Regulations to engage.
In your case, you are entitled to change your mind about the dress and ask for a refund, if i) you notify the retailer within 14 days of collection, ii) you return the dress within 14 days thereafter and iii) you return the dress in pristine and saleable condition, meaning the packaging must also be intact.
If the retailer continues to refuse your refund, you can make a chargeback claim if you paid by debit or credit card or a Section 75 claim if on a credit card.
The key points to note with this are for either claim there must be a breach of contract.
Here the breach of contract is the retailer flouting the Consumer Contracts Regulations and chargeback claims must be made within 120 days of purchase.
Also, you can only make a Section 75 claim if the goods were purchased for £100 or more.
However, if you reserve goods online or pay a deposit online and then collect and pay the rest in store, it generally would not be considered a distance sale.
The key factor is that the final part of the transaction in these circumstances – the payment – happens in person at the store so it is classed as an in-store purchase.