Legal question on return postage reimbursment

[flat spot]

Recently I decided to buy a new camera (panasonic FX500) and saw one at the Digital-Camera Company (also known as Camerabox).
I know they source the cameras from the UK and EU so I emailed them asking whether the fx500 would be UK sourced.
Got an email back stating all their fx500s are from the UK, so I ordered one.

Low and behold it arrives in a foreign box with an adaptor socket for the battery charger.
I phone them up to explain I didn't want an import one and that they said it would be UK. They said if I'm not happy to send it back.
They got it back on the 8/6/09. After numerous emails I eventually got a refund on the 3/7/09.

The return postage of £6.70 wasn't included though. (I did email a scan of the receipt).
I mailed them asking for the money but they said it states on the website the cameras could be from the EU and I'm not getting a refund on the postage.

I mailed them back stating they had told me it would be UK sourced so it was their error and I want the postage money back.
Not surprisingly it's all gone quiet at their end.

FINALLY, the question. I think I'm entitled the postage back, what do you think? Also I've been looking for the legal aspect and it's possibly covered in the distance selling regualtions act but I really need a concrete legal thing to send them.

Has anyone had this problem before and what did you use to get your money back?

cheers

F.S.

[.....]

If you are returning the camera under the DSRs then you have to pay for postage.

If you can find a reason to return it under the Sales of Goods Act then they are liable.

Don't take my word as gospel but I had a similar situation recently and that is what I found out after my (very brief) research.

[MaybeGuy]

sales of goods and services act 1979, something like section 14, saying that the products/services provided must be of expected standard.

i think you'll struggle to get the postage costs back though.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[flat spot]

The problem is under the Sale of Goods Act it states the goods "must conform to contract".

It says in the blurb that the cameras can be sourced outside of the UK so it that sense it does conform to contract and I guess I signed to that when I bought through their site.

However I have the email stating the camera would be UK sourced, which it wasn't.

[flat spot]

Think I'll try the AVforums as well on this. If it doesn't turn out well for me at least other may think about buying from them eh?

[Steve H II]

Joe's right.

The Distance Selling Regulations give you a certain period of grace to return goods when buying online/mail order - basically this gives you the opportunity to inspect them as you would in a shop prior to purchase. If the goods are fine and you just don't like them then returning them under the DSR's would be your only (legal) option and you would be liable for the postage.

In this instance however you could argue that as you stipulated that you didn't want an imported product prior to any agreement to supply, then this forms part of the contract and as such if Camerabox supplied something other than the product specified (in this instance an import as opposed to UK spec) then they're in breach of contract. If this is the case then you'd be returning the goods in view of the breach of contract and not utulising the DSR's (I won't go into chapter and verse although if you'd like me to put something in writing for you to copy 'n paste into an email PM me) and should be put back into the position you would have been had the contract not been performed which means that you shouldn't be out of pocket at all and therefore should receive a full refund plus postage.

Clear as mud? Yeah, thought so
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Mellow Yellow
The BCF Top Ten - The Original, 2008, 2009

[flat spot]

Sent you pm.