Groupon Returns - 2 Items Sent Back to them Missing

[SamStones]

Hello All,

I'm looking for some advice on the following situation:

Background: I purchased a pair of shoes on Groupon, the purchase went through fine, and on the order confirmation page it showed the usual "other items you may be interested in". Amongst those other items were the same pair of shoes, only £5 cheaper. Bargain I thought! I immediately sent an email requesting to cancel the first order as I was reordering. I then went on and purchased the second pair.

Groupon replied to my cancellation email giving a poor reason for the price difference between the two shoes, but it seems they hadn't actually cancelled my order.

I then promptly received two pairs of essentially the same shoe. Having tried on both pairs, sadly they weren't suitable (they were to form part of a wedding outfit, and didn't quite match what the other groomsmen were going to be wearing).

I duely logged into Groupon and requested a return for both orders. Groupons web site provided a pre paid Royal Mail postage label to send the items back. I packed up each pair of shoes in a separate package, and attached the respective mailing labels.

As we get a daily Royal Mail collection from our business premises I just handed over the two packages with the rest of the days mail.

We're now a month down the line, and there's no refund in sight. I contacted them a couple of weeks ago and was informed they could only refund me when I provided the proof of postage to show the items had been returned. They're saying they've not received them back. I don't have any proof of postage, as this isn't something provided by the Royal Mail collection service.

The items were purchased through groupon but provided by two different suppliers. Both items went back to the same address, which was a returns processing centre of some kind.

Groupon are saying as a gesture of goodwill they can credit my groupon account for the order as a one off, but I believe I should be entitled to a cash refund back to my payment card. I can't claim with Royal Mail for the 'lost' items as it wasn't me who paid the postage (Groupon provided a pre paid returns label).

What can I do about this? Any ideas where I stand legally?

TIA

 

[ecoleman]

Unfortunately your return may have gone missing, but without proof that you actually posted them back, who says you even posted them.

Legally the law says you should received a refund within 14 days from the supplier receiving the goods, or 14 days from the date on which you provide proof of postage whichever is sooner.

They obviously haven't received the goods and you can't provide proof so it looks like you are out of pocket this time.

Here is some more info here
http://www.olswang.com/media/42025334/new_distance_selling_rules_in_force_from_june_2014.pdf

See Page 5, point 7

 

[SamStones]

Thank you for your reply.

Is it no longer the case that they must issue a refund within 30 days of the order being cancelled whether they have the goods back or not? As I have sent them with Groupons return method, surely there should be some onus on them?

I find it highly suspicious that TWO packages can go missing simultaneously!

I've looked through our CCTV footage and have found where I packed them, and can even see them going onto the back of the Royal Mail van, I just don't have that post office receipt as proof of postage.

Happy to hear any more replies!

 

[ecoleman]

No, that is no longer the case. It changed when the new version of the DSR (can't remember what that are called now) went live a couple of months ago.

It does seem strange that two parcels have gone missing, but without proof of postage yiur stuck between a rock and a hard place. Sure the onus is on them and certainly if you could provide proof of postage they would refund you. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Would you refund a customer without receiving the goods or at least proof that they actually posted them back.

 

[cholland]

Do you know if the label provided by Groupon was a Royal Mail Tracked Returns label? If so these have to be used through the Post Office otherwise they just end up sitting at the local sorting office with fees to pay - maybe this happened?

 

[wayzgoose]

I think basically that your return labels should have gone via a Post Office to be correctly "in the system". By returning them with your own collection has meant that they are somewhere they shouldn't be and I think you'll have to take the hit on this one.

Put yourself in their shoes for a minute

He did, they didn't fit ;-)

 

[SamStones]

The returns label was an "r48" Return Postage Paid Label. As far as I know, they can be sent via Royal Mail without going through the post office, but that may be where I'm going wrong! hmm.

It's not a tracked service unfortunately.

To answer the question about .... would I refund a customer... actually, yes, I have done, once, on an occasion that they claimed an item went missing in the post. It's the only time I can think of where an item has gone missing on the return trip. We also often send replacements to customers before we actually get the faulty item back. To me, it's just good customer service.

 

[williham]

An r48 label is tracked returns and must be taken to a post office where they apply a barcode.

 

[SamStones]

An r48 label is tracked returns and must be taken to a post office where they apply a barcode.

Thank you for your reply. This being the case, it would seem this is where I have gone wrong. I've spoken to the collection driver about it, but not come up with any answers... do you know where the item is likely to go if it's found in a collection depot without the correct barcode on it?

 

[ecoleman]

Did Groupon provide any instructions to say that the item needs to go via the post office to be scanned and have a label attached?

 

[SamStones]

Not as I recall, certainly nothing about it being scanned or barcoded, but I may have missed something.

 

[wayzgoose]

Perhaps ask your collection driver about it. He probably should have known he shouldn't have taken it and may know which corner of the sorting office it has come to rest.