DISTANCE SELLING REGULATIONS
Safelink Services are aware of your rights and are happy to ensure that all transactions are carried out in accordance with these regulations. For clarity the regulations explain that:
Distance selling contracts are those which are concluded exclusively by ‘means of distance communication’. This therefore covers goods ordered by consumers via our website or over the telephone or confirmed by e-mail communication.”
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.
Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, you are allowed to return an item if you simply change your mind.
Business to Business transactions are covered under different regualtions and you should confirm your familiarity with our normall B2B T&C’s.
Under the distance selling regulations, the goods must be delivered or the service carried out within the time period specified. If no time period is specified, then the statutory time limit is 30 days (unless you have agreed otherwise). If the supplier is unable to fulfil their obligations within 30 days, they must inform you before the end of the 30 day deadline. They may offer you an alternative date for delivery, but you are under no obligation to accept and are quite within your rights to ask for a full refund.
Traders must provide you with specific information in regard to their obligations and your rights before you confirm your order. The supplier must provide you with pre-contractual information in respect of identity of the supplier, description of the main characteristics of the product or service, price, delivery costs, arrangements for delivery, performance and payment, cancellation rights, cost of communication, period of validity of offer, information regarding substitute products. This information must be communicated clearly, but not necessarily in writing, before your order is confirmed so that you can be in possession of all the facts should you wish to change your mind. Once you have made your order, you must then receive written confirmation of this order no later than the time of delivery of the product or performance of the service. This is an important point, because the time you received written confirmation of your order has implications for the length of time in which you have to cancel.
One of the most important implications of the distance selling regulations is a seven day cooling off period during which you have the right to cancel and get a full refund. In reality, it is more than seven days, because it starts at the point at which contracts are concluded, and ends seven working days after the day on which the goods have actually been delivered. The supplier is obliged to present you with specific pre-contractual information, concerning among other things, your cooling off rights, plus how, when and to whom items should be returned. If this information has not been presented to you before the items are delivered to you, your cooling off period will be extended to 7 days after the information is presented.
HOW TO CANCEL
Your right to cancel an order for goods starts the moment you place your order and ends 14 days from the day you receive your goods. If your order consists of multiple goods, the 14 day period runs from when you get the last of the batch.This 14 day period is the time you have to decide whether to cancel, you then have a further 14 days to actually send the goods back.
You must provide notice of cancellation in writing and it must be posted to or emailed to the business address of the supplier, and you must ensure this is sent no later than seven working days after receipt of goods. Ensure you keep proof of your cancellation notice in case of dispute. The supplier must then reimburse you within 30 days without charge, unless you have been expressly informed that you will be liable for a charge.
There are obvious exceptions and you will not have the right to cancel with the purchase of:
Goods made to a personalised specification
RETURNS AND REFUNDS
You should get a refund within 14 days of either the trader getting the goods back, or you providing evidence of having returned the goods (for example, a proof of postage receipt from the post office), whichever is the sooner. A deduction can be made if the value of the goods has been reduced as a result of you handling the goods more than was necessary. The extent to which you can handle the goods is the same as it would be if you were assessing them in a shop.
Please note: This does mean that if the goods have been fixed to the wall or show signs of having been used or are damaged in any way a full refund IS NOT guaranteed.
Refunding the cost of delivery
The trader has to refund the basic delivery cost of getting the goods to you in the first place, so if you opted for enhanced service eg guaranteed next day, it only has to refund the basic cost.
Exemptions
There are some circumstances where the Consumer Contracts Regulations won’t give you a right to cancel. These include, CDs, DVDs or software if you’ve broken the seal on the wrapping, perishable items and tailor-made or personalised items. They also include goods with a seal for health protection and hygiene reasons that’s been broken. Also included are goods that have been mixed inseparably with other items after delivery.
Always check the terms and conditions
The minimum cancellation period that you must be given is 14 days but many sellers choose to exceed this, so always check the terms and conditions in case you have longer to change your mind.
DELIVERY OF GOODS
The Consumer Rights Act, which came into force on 1 October 2015, says the retailer is responsible for the condition of the goods until the goods are received by you, or by someone else you have nominated to receive them on your behalf such as a neighbour. This means that the retailer is liable for the services provided by the couriers it employs – the delivery firm is not liable.
There is a default delivery period of 30 days during which the retailer needs to deliver the goods to you unless a longer period has been agreed. If your delivery is later than agreed and it was essential that it was delivered on time, then you have the right to cancel the purchase and get a full refund. If the delivery isn’t time essential but another reasonable delivery time can’t be agreed, you’re also within your right to cancel the order for a full refund.
PACKAGING
Under a distance selling contract, a supplier cannot make refunds subject to the goods being returned unopened in their original packaging. One of the principles of the distance selling regulations is to give you a chance to examine the goods at home, not having had a chance to do so in the shop. It would be impossible for you to do this without opening the packaging and trying the product out. Having said this, you will still be under a duty to take reasonable care of the goods while in your possession, and may be subject to certain instructions such as not to wear shoes outdoors, or remove hygiene seals. But you can never be penalised simply because you did not return the goods in their original packaging. However Safelink would like to point out that although you are free to unpack the goods we cannot accept for return any items that have been screwed onto the wall, connected up or otherwise used unless the items are faulty. All “faulty” items will be tested upon return and an assessment made. Should the fault be deemed to be “customer damage” due to incorrect connection etc we will be unable to issue a full refund.