Distance Selling Act and Ebay.

[Matteh]

There are companies on ebay that charge restocking fee or not offering a refund within 7 days.

Are these companies breaking the law?

[Blitzen]

If they are a business then probably. A business has more than 7 days to offer a refund though. If you return something under DSR then its usually 7-14 days you get to return the item.
If they arent they can use more or less what terms they like.

If you think you may need to exercise legal rights then EBAY really isnt the best place to buy.

[Agent]

A restocking fee is not legal under the DSR, IIRC.
You have to notify them within 7 days for the DSR to be enforceable, and they have a maximum of 30days to refund you.

As for the DSA + Ebay - Yes, you are covered, even though real world auctions are not
eBay.co.uk Guides - Distance Selling Regulations And eBay

[Saracen]

There are companies on ebay that charge restocking fee or not offering a refund within 7 days.

Are these companies breaking the law?

Yes and no.

Your DSR rights aren't something the company are required to provide automatically. You have to claim them - though they can't (legally) avoid them.

If the DSR applies (and there are some conditions and it doesn't apply to all goods), then it's not that they have to offer a refund within 7 days but that you have to claim it. The time limit varies, too. It's a minimum of 7 days, and that's working days (not including weekends and public holidays), and it starts the day after delivery. So it doesn't start when you order, and it doesn't start when they despatch the goods - it starts the day after you receive them.

There are various bits of information that they MUST notify you about, prior to delivery. If they comply with that, you get the above 7 days. If they don't, then you either get the above 7 days from the date they do get around to telling you, or at most, you get 3 months and 7 days.

So ... if the company does everything they can and should, it's 7 working days from the day after delivery, but it could be a lot longer if they don't comply with their notification duties.

Also, that 7 days stipulates the period within which you must notify them of the desire to cancel. And unless it's been agreed otherwise, it MUST be a notification in permanent form - that is, fax, letter, email etc but not telephone. And if you miss that 7 day deadline for a proper notification, you lost the right to cancel - so don't delay beyond that period with the letter/email/fax because you've rung - if you're going to do it, do it promptly.


As for restocking fee .... IF you cancel under the DSR, they cannot charge a restocking fee. There are several situations that may arise :-

1) If the companies T&Cs stipulate that the buyer bears the cost of returning cancelled goods, then that applies. If the T&Cs don't state that, then the company pays. As you can imagine, any company that is half awake has that in their T&Cs.

2) If 1) above applies, then either you return the goods at your cost, or if the company collects, they can deduct the "direct cost" of that collection. But that does NOT mean a fixed fee (unless it's what it actually costs them) or a restocking charge. But providing it's their actual cost, the DSR doesn't stipulate what the fee is ..... so beware of a smart-alec company that sends a direct collection car and charges you the £60 it actually cost.

3) IF you have any other contractual right to reject the goods (such as faulty goods rejected under the Sale of Goods Act protections) then 1) and 2) do not apply and the company must pay for collection. This is logical if you think about it, because they're in breach of contract for not supplying goods that conform with the contract, so why should you pay to return non-conforming goods.


Oh, and finally ..... are the companies on eBay you refer to operating from UK jurisdiction? If they're operating from the US, or China, or Hong Kong (China) or .... well, guess how much they're bound by the DSR? Yeah, quite so.

And it isn't always entirely clear quite where companies are based. Some specify that the goods are in the UK, but that doesn't mean the company is. If they have a warehouse (or back bedroom) in the UK, the goods might physically be here, but it doesn't mean the company is or that they are bound by the DSR.

Finally, whatever the DSR says the law is in theory, ultimately, if the company ignore it you may have to resort to a court to enforce it. Are you prepared to do that? And if you are, where are the company based? Unless you can and, if need be, act to enforce it. it's largely irrelevant what the DSR says.


So in answer to your question, the short version is .... if the goods are covered by the DSR and if the company is UK-based, then they're breaking the law if they don't comply with the DSR if you cancel ..... but it's up to you to initiate the rejection of the goods. If they don't advise you of the things they must advise you of (including you right to cancel under the DSR) then they certainly extend the time period for notification, and after notification, if they still don't comply, then you have a civil case against them. But it isn't breaking the law in the sense of a criminal offence.