Mobile Phones Direct - illegal Ts &Cs re RETURNS

[simplyme]

Hi guys,

I am in the market for a HTC HD2 and I ordered a phone from them, but have now cancelled because I think I will purchase sim free and get a separate sim. Anyway, this is mostly irrelevant.

I have just been reviewing their returns policy and I just wanted to flag this to other people who may be looking to purchase with MPD. They may be a perfectly reputable store, but I believe their Ts&Cs re the Distance Selling Regulations are illegal, have a look:-

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7.1 Under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 you have a right to cancel your purchase. However, to exercise this right you must notify us in writing, (email or letter) within 7 working days from the day after you receive your goods.

7.2 As stated above notification of cancellation must be in writing, a telephone call is not a valid cancellation.

7.3 No right of cancellation, refund or return exists under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 once you have used your product, unless the product is defective and you are returning it for this reason.

7.4 Goods that are sealed or shrink-wrapped and this is removed can only be returned if the goods are defective as diagnosed by the manufacturer or a manufacturers appointed agent or repair centre.

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Surely 7.3 and 7.4 are wrong? The consumer has a right of inspection when they receive the goods and the Ts and Cs under 7.3 state that the right of cancellation is extinguished if the goods are used. However, this is not true. The goods can be opened and used as part of the consumer's right of inspection.

7.4 - Again, this presumes that the consumer has no right to OPEN the goods, which again is wrong because of the above point.

Thoughts? Beware in my opinion...
Or if you do order - order by credit card for added protection!

[LFC_SL]

You are correct. The Distance Selling Regulations provide a 7 day cooling-off period in which you can cancel a contract. The point is that so you can examine goods just as you would when buying in a shop

Mobile phones are not within the exceptions to this 7 day cooling-off period

[beasty54]

Ive seen this so many times, loads of online stores seem to think that any items returned under the distance selling regulations need to be unused and still sealed in the original packaging but as you point out this is complete rubish.

[simplyme]

I have looked at a good few etailers and they all stipulate the same onerous, illegal conditions.

However, devicewire.co.uk seem to at least have a good lawyer and simply stipulate:-
Returning Non Faulty Goods
Should you wish to return any non-faulty item within 7 days of purchase, please email us at customer.care@devicewire.com. A customer service representative will then guide you through the simple process.
Non-faulty items must be returned including all packaging, accessories and software. A duty of care for the product(s) is required during the cancellation period.

As a result I will most likely go with them to avoid future hassle, just in case. It surprises me why the OFT don't intervene with illegal clauses since there are so many, even play.com has a "we do not accept used goods" type clause in their Ts & Cs. I presume a good amount of customers would honestly believe they couldn't return their goods if this was quoted back at them by a customer rep after a purchase.

Credit card seems to be the way forward - if all is lost - good old chargeback!