Quote from: spectrem1 on July 23, 2014, 12:44:46 PM

Quote from: Mikebeav3r on July 22, 2014, 01:08:46 PM

I have received a letter back from the UK Citizens Advice Bureau, it reads as follows.....

Dear *********,

Thank you for your e mail about case reference number CS *********

Thanks for updating us about your case.

Your rights and obligations
When you enter into a contract with a trader by means of a distance communication (telephone, internet, mail order etc.) you will often have cancellation rights under what is known as the Distance Selling Regulations. These state you are entitled to a written notice confirming the details of your order and the fact you have cancellation rights. If you have been given the notice at the time you place the order, your cancellation rights run from the time of order until 7 working days starting from the day after you receive the goods. If you have not been provided with this written information, your cancellation rights are extended for up to 3 months and 7 working days. To cancel you must inform the trader of your intention, either by letter, email or fax - where you may ask for a full refund (including any delivery charges). The trader must provide this refund within thirty days. To be effective, your cancellation notice must be sent before the end of the cancellation period described above.

You will be able to withdraw from the order at any time for any reason for a refund as long as the goods are not customised in any way making them bespoke.

Criminal offence
If the trader is not allowing you to cancel as per this legislation then this could amount to a criminal offence.

Your next steps
At this stage it might be best to simply discuss the matter with the trader. However, if you are unable to reach an agreeable solution you could take a more formal approach and write. Your letter should outline all relevant events and make it clear both what action you expect from the trader, and why. It should also give the trader a reasonable time in which to respond to your claim(s), e.g. fourteen days.

In addition, sending your letter by recorded delivery will provide you with proof of posting; a signature on delivery and online confirmation of delivery.
The reason we suggest this, is just in case you and the trader fail to reach an amicable resolution. Having a record of your correspondence, and confirmation of delivery, could help demonstrate how and when you attempted to resolve the dispute yourself, should you need to escalate your complaint. Furthermore, the trader would find it difficult to maintain that you have never actually raised a complaint with them if they have signed for your letter. This may be helpful if you consider Court action or some form of formal / managed dispute resolution in the future.

Alternatively, you may consider obtaining a Certificate of Posting - from the Post Office - when you post your letter. Although this does not prove delivery, it can help to show that you sent a letter, on a particular day, to a particular address.

What well do
Due to the business practices described, we will be forwarding the information to Trading Standards for further consideration. The case details will also be placed on a central database that can be accessed by all other Local Authority Trading Standards Services throughout the UK.

Although we work closely with Trading Standards departments, we are a separate organisation. Individual complaints do not necessarily lead to immediate enforcement action as, sometimes, numerous complaints are needed before effective action can take place. The information is, however, valuable intelligence for Trading Standards Services and other Government departments. Trading Standards will only contact you if they need further information or feel they could be of further assistance. We cannot make any commitment that Trading Standards will definitely contact you.

If you want to discuss this further please call us on 03454 04 05 06 or reply to this e mail

Kind regards
********
Citizens Advice consumer service

Things are moving forward I hope.

MB - What is the official address you are sending the "recorded Delivery" to at Alpha? I sent my Letter requesting refund by email and got the same response everyone else got "we're sorry bla bla bla. Is "recorded delivery" the same as certified mail here?

Basically it means that when you send a letter, the person at the other end has to sign it to receive it, so then you have proof that they got your letter and the recipient can't say that it got Lost in the Post or they did not get a letter.