Legal question about returning a product to the manufacturer for refund

[Rerun]

I just purchased a motorized stairlift for my elderly mother. I ordered it the second week of August and received it on August 20. That weekend, my mother decided that she doesn't need it and asked me to look into returning it to the manufacturer for a refund. Now I didn't expect a full refund as the rail that the motorized chair runs on is cut to suit the length of the stairs but they just got back to me today telling me that they will take back the lift but they will charge me a 45% restocking fee, plus I pay for the freight to return the lift to Ontario. The original cost of the lift was $2500 so they want $1125 as a restocking fee. I would get back $1375 of the original $2500 that I paid (I used Visa by the way... I gave them my Visa acct number on Aug 19 to pay for it).

Is there anything I can do about getting a smaller restocking charge? Or am I stuck and at their mercy? What about buyers remorse? Isn't there some kind of law that gives you a certain number of days to change your mind?

P.S. The unit hasn't even been taken out of the original shipping boxes yet.

[troutman]

California:

http://blog.laborlawtalk.com/2006/12...-remorse-laws/

I'm trying to zero in on Canadian consumer laws . . .


The Consumer Protection Act, 2002,

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/oca-bc....g/ca02478.html

Don't count on always being able to return a product you've bought, whether it's from a store or the Internet. There is no law that says all sellers must take back an item. It may not matter that you don't like it, decided you can't afford it or found it cheaper somewhere else.

Every seller has a different return policy. Find out what the seller's policy is before you buy. The return policy is often stated on the back of the receipt and/or posted near the cash register; if not, get it in writing on the receipt. Note that these policies may change during promotions and for items that are on sale or are deemed to be "party wear."



Some stores will allow you to bring goods back but will set conditions. Examples are:

• No returns or exchanges allowed on personal goods such as pierced earrings or swimsuits
• Products may be exchanged but not returned for cash back
• Goods must be returned within a set number of days
• A credit note will be given instead of money returned
• Goods must be unused and still have all tags, packaging, etc
• You must have your sales receipt (although this is almost always required, some stores will refund or exchange without a receipt)
• A restocking fee may be charged

Your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office may have legislation that gives you the right to return specific products or cancel contracts. Contact them for more information.

[troutman]

http://www.the-cma.org/?WCE=C=47%7CK=224227

http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/index.cfm

7. The sweater Aunt Betsy gave me for Christmas is huge and I don't like the colour. I've got the bill, so the store has to exchange the sweater, right?

Wrong. Most stores allow exchanges to maintain good customer relations, but they are not required by law to do so. Before you buy any item that you might wish to exchange, make sure you know what the store's policy is. Some stores will only exchange items under certain conditions e.g. only if you have the bill, or only within 30 days. For extra security, get the store clerk to write the policy and conditions on the back of the bill and sign it.

10. I bought an expensive vacuum cleaner from a door-to-door salesperson and now realize I just can't afford it. What can I do?
Under the Fair Trading Act you have 10 days to cancel the contract. The best way to do this is by registered mail but you can use any method that gives you proof of the date on which you cancelled. If the seller was not provincially licensed you have up to one year to cancel. After cancellation the seller has 15 days to refund your money. See our tipsheet Dealing with Door-to-door Sales (pdf).

http://www.servicealberta.ca/1025.cfm

[TimSJ]

That is brutal a 45% restocking charge.. could you sell it yourself through kijiji or the like and get more than the $1,375

good luck i would fight them to take it back though

[Slava]

For some reason I always thought that you had 10 days to void a contract and get all of your money back?

[Rerun]

What are the implications if I contacted Visa and asked them to cancel the charge on my visa account?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Slava

For some reason I always thought that you had 10 days to void a contract and get all of your money back?

Only with unfair business practices.

http://www.servicealberta.ca/1025.cfm

ex. high-pressure time share sales

[redforever]

I think the key here is you stated the unit was customized to suit the length of your stairs. Consequently, it will take another consumer with exactly the same specifications as your unit for the manufacturer to resell the unit. Keeping that in mind, the fact they are even considering a refund speaks volumes about their customer service to me.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Rerun

What are the implications if I contacted Visa and asked them to cancel the charge on my visa account?

Probably won't fly. It doesn't sounds like you have any reasonable grounds to do a chargeback; they provided the item as promised for the quoted price in a reasonable time frame and its functional.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Probably won't fly. It doesn't sounds like you have any reasonable grounds to do a chargeback; they provided the item as promised for the quoted price in a reasonable time frame and its functional.

the obvious solution here is to break it and return that for a refund

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by redforever

I think the key here is you stated the unit was customized to suit the length of your stairs. Consequently, it will take another consumer with exactly the same specifications as your unit for the manufacturer to resell the unit. Keeping that in mind, the fact they are even considering a refund speaks volumes about their customer service to me.

Well actually it comes in various pieces. There is the stair rail that the chair lift attaches to and then there is the motorized chair complete with battery. Only the length of the rail is custom cut. The chair is the same on every unit they sell. I suspect the majority of the cost is in the motorized chair, not the rail that it rides on.

You bolt the rail to your stairs and then you mount the chair lift onto the rail.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by redforever

I think the key here is you stated the unit was customized to suit the length of your stairs. Consequently, it will take another consumer with exactly the same specifications as your unit for the manufacturer to resell the unit. Keeping that in mind, the fact they are even considering a refund speaks volumes about their customer service to me.

I think his issue is that the chair isnt customized, only the lenght of chain.

I am thinking what they are doing is basically giving you 0 on the return of the chain, and probably a 25" restocking fee on the chair.

I think Futureshop/BestBuy charge a 25% restocking fee. That is normal on items where you want your money back and not just an exchange.

[Tron_fdc]

As a manufacturer, we do the same sort of thing to our customers. Reason being, is that when we take an order from someone we have to order in from our suppliers, assemble parts, then ship to an end user. When we get paid our suppliers subsequently get paid from us.

When someone returns something, we're out of pocket whatever cash was paid to our supplier, the parts sit in our inventory, tying up cash, until they're re-sold to someone else.

In today's marketplace, especially with cash being tight from banks, you're going to see this a lot. Companies simply don't have the finances to accept returns, and that's likely what you're seeing here.

[VladtheImpaler]

I think you're just going to have to hit up mom for the balance of the refund.

[HOOT]

Why doesn't your mom want it anymore?

Is there a chance in the future she may change her mind?

It would suck a year from now she changes her mind and you end up paying close to $4K by the time both purchases are done.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I think Futureshop/BestBuy charge a 25% restocking fee. That is normal on items where you want your money back and not just an exchange.

I don't think many big consumer retailers charge a restocking fee. They just have a 30 or 90 day policy.

You see restocking fees more often for suppliers to trades, companies like that.

[Hack&Lube]

My grandparents have one of these things too. There is a lot of customization in the rail and the electronics because it's not just a piece of metal that they cut and bolt in, the wiring, etc. has to be custom made to fit the length of it as well, etc.

Why does your mom not want it anymore? She may need it a few years down the road if she has trouble going up the stairs.

My grandparents got the government to pay for about half the cost IIRC, go see if you can get this disability benefit as well.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

I think his issue is that the chair isnt customized, only the lenght of chain.

I am thinking what they are doing is basically giving you 0 on the return of the chain, and probably a 25" restocking fee on the chair.

I think Futureshop/BestBuy charge a 25% restocking fee. That is normal on items where you want your money back and not just an exchange.

He said his Mom no longer wants it, he never specified that the chair was not to her satisfaction.

Really, when you get anything customized, I can't see how you can expect a full refund. If you got a customized suit, would you expect any sort of refund because you no longer wanted it?

When I buy anything, let alone something customized, I always ask if you can return the item and ask what the terms of return are. There are different conditions of sale for just about everything out there.

[VladtheImpaler]

Yeah, in all seriousness, OP should have done some homework re refund/service policies before plunking down the CC. You might as well install it - your mother can still walk up the stairs if she wants, and it will be there if/when needed.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Why doesn't your mom want it anymore?

Is there a chance in the future she may change her mind?

It would suck a year from now she changes her mind and you end up paying close to $4K by the time both purchases are done.

My mom moved out from Ontario be be closer to me and she was going to live with my wife and me in our home. However, since she has been here 3 weeks, she is finding it quite lonely and boring sitting at home all day alone (both my wife and I work and we leave at 7:15 am and usually get home sometime between 5:30-6:00.)
My mom has decided she wants to move into a local seniors retirement residence where there will be a lot of other seniors and hopefully she will make lots of new friends. They have regular activities (entertainment, bingo, exercise classes) and excursions going on.

Thus, since she will be moving out of my home (we have a set of stairs she finds tiring to climb) in the near future, we don't need the stairlift.