A bad experience with Autobulbs Direct

[dom]

I wanted LED replacement bulbs for my van.

I wasn't certain which was the right model from their website.

I sent an email (with my vehicle details), and asked.

They sent a link to the product on their website (or rather Kim Stubbings did).

I ordered it.

It arrived.

It's the wrong one.

I've now had a very frustrating conversation with Peter Stubbings.

Haven't got the correct product (1 month delay).

Can't refund my postage if I send it back.

Don't accept it's their mistake.

Aren't willing to take any steps to put matters right.

Oh and the boss of Autobulbs Direct is a Chris Stubbings - a family business where the customer is always wrong.

[Man at B&Q]

Under distance selling regs you have a cooling off period to cancel the order for any reason whatsoever. Inform them in writing (or any other "durable medium") within 7 days of recipt and they must give a full refund within 30 days.

See

the goods are not as described, you also have a statutory right to cancel under the Sale Of Goods Act which means that the supplier cannot charge for recovering them (see Q4). All you have to do is make them available for collection.

MBQ

[Andrew Gabriel]

Since the goods are not as described, you also have a statutory right

If you really have reached the end of the road with the company, I would see if you can get a refund from your credit card company. (I only ever did this once, and found the card company most helpful and obliging -- indeed they said I should have come to them earlier and saved myself the hassle.) If you do get a refund, then you should advise the company that their goods are available for collection, if they wish to do so, or you will dispose of them after some period (say, 3 months).

[Tim Downie]

Only any good for purchases over £100.

Tim

[Fred]

Legally - yes. But I have known a card company to get involved with lesser amounts.

[willie]

This trader is within their rights to only refund the cost of the goods if the return is made under the distance selling regulations. Their T&Cs state that they will refund the cost of the goods, DSR do not require traders to refund the cost of the shipping. So the OP would bear the costs of shipping both ways if they return the goods under this piece of legislation.

The goods as I understand it are "as described" - the OP has ordered say 1x H1 bulb and recieved what he ordered. The SOGA breach here is the goods are not "Fit for Purpose Made Known" at time of sale. Rejecting the goods under this would entitle the OP to a full refund and the trader would bear the costs of shipping the bulb back.

As the OP has an email backing up his case that he was recommended the wrong bulb this should be fairly straightforward to prove should the trader fail to refund quickly and this has to go to Trading Standards.

Kind Regards

Willie

[TheOldFellow]

Do not pass go. Go directly to Trading Standards. They are the most helpful Govinmint Agency that I have ever dealt with - not quick though.

R.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember " [e-mail]" saying something like:

How so? How clear was the illustration and description of the product? Are you sure you ordered the right one and they sent the wrong one?

[RubberBiker]

They emailed me a clickable link, saying "this is the right one".

I clicked on the link and paid.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Given that car makers can supply the wrong parts even against a chassis number, I'd say it's up to the buyer to some extent to make sure a non standard part is suitable.

[Fred]

For trade - yes, retail no. There is a duty on the supplier to ensure the correct part is supplied. If there is some uncertainty, then it is the duty of the supplier to ask the relevant questions.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

A dealer will supply both trade and public. Makes no difference to the fact that parts are sometimes supplied incorrectly against the correct information. And if the car maker sometimes can't get it right with their own parts it's not surprising an aftermarket supplier can make 'mistakes' too. In other words it's possible they are supplying what the maker says is used.

I'd expect most who want to change the type of bulb used in a car to know what they're asking for.

Not that this excuses the seller for refusing to refund correctly.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember RubberBiker saying something like:

Fair enough, their fault, imo. Reason I ask is that there seem to be a few variations on rear lamps now, where there used to be just a couple.

[Peter Parry]

Absolute rubbish. The DSR's explicitly require the trader to refund outbound (from them to the customer) carriage charges. They have no choice in the matter and cannot contract out of it.

Moreover many traders are so abysmally ignorant of the DSR's that they fail to give the correct information and become liable for the default position which is they are responsible for collecting the goods at their own cost and the time in which the customer can rescind the contract extends to 3 months and seven days.