Broken Gun Delivered, help?

[sdoolan]

So last week I ordered a two tone pistol to take airsofting. It's the ASG m93r full metal model and it arrived today. Well basically the gun isn't working properly and the trigger stops responding every couple of shots. I have to drop the mag, cycle the slide a couple of times and put the mag back in to make it work. On top of this the blue paint was still wet and tacky on the gun when it arrived and the test certificate was dated the day after I received it! Even worse is the box looks like it's been kicked around in transport and it even has 3 or 4 bb holes in it (clearly that wasn't the delivery guy).

I haven't used it for anything other than testing it out in the garden so it's pretty much brand new.

Ive emailed the company and I'm waiting on a reply at the moment. I just wanted to ask people who've maybe worked in an airsoft shop what sort of consumer rights do I have here and what should I expect? I dont want to get offered some dodgy repair service and end up spending more or invalidating my warranty.

Cheers.

 

[PT247]

if it don't work, send it back. You may have to cover the cost of posting it back but if you speak to the shop tnicely they may send you a prepaid pack you can send it back in

 

[Dechande]

Have a read of the 'Distance Selling Regulations', essentially, if you're not happy, even if there was nothing wrong with it, you're entitled to return the item for a refund (within a certain amount of time).

If there was nothing wrong, you'd be liable for return costs and, unless things have changed since I worked in retail (could well have) yo can be held liable to a 'restocking fee' by the retailer.

In this case, it sounds unacceptable, so you're within your rights to refuse the item and ask for a refund, including postage if you pay to return it. A lot of retailers will arrange for it to be picked up, although this can lead to problems like having to stay in all day (that is a problem with the courier services in fairness).

If it was me, from what you've said, I'd request a refund and shop elsewhere. Sounds like it could be caused by a sticky slide, which could be caused by the tacky paint.

How long have you had it?

 

[proffrink]

Distance selling regulations are old hat now. We got into a handbags at dawn here: http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/32101-am-i-right-to-be-annoyed-about-this/ - it's under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Consumer Contracts Regulations 2014 these days. Gripping stuff - worth the 27 hour read.

Basically OP, you're entitled to cancel and return in some cases but this probably isn't what you want to do. If you paid with PayPal then you can begin a dispute there by clicking on the sale then going to 'contact seller' - they are then forced to reply or PayPal will rule in your favour by default. Ask for the return postage to be covered or ask for a collection.

Don't attempt to repair it. Just put it aside and try your best to get a hold of that retailer. Most are reasonable, but feel free to name and shame if they're not because that's the only language the bad ones understand. We're not ZeroIn, so you won't be banned or anything.

 

[Dechande]

Distance selling regulations are old hat now. We got into a handbags at dawn here: http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/32101-am-i-right-to-be-annoyed-about-this/ - it's under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Consumer Contracts Regulations 2014 these days. Gripping stuff - worth the 27 hour read.

Basically OP, you're entitled to cancel and return in some cases but this probably isn't what you want to do. If you paid with PayPal then you can begin a dispute there by clicking on the sale then going to 'contact seller' - they are then forced to reply or PayPal will rule in your favour by default. Ask for the return postage to be covered or ask for a collection.

Don't attempt to repair it. Just put it aside and try your best to get a hold of that retailer. Most are reasonable, but feel free to name and shame if they're not because that's the only language the bad ones understand. We're not ZeroIn, so you won't be banned or anything.

After a quick google, you're right, the name has changed but the rights are much the same anyway. Why read all that thread to come to the same conclusion though?

I'd get in touch with the retailer first and give them a chance to rectify before opening a dispute with paypal. If the retailer is unresponsive/unhelpful, then pursue a dispute, this can also be done via your bank or credit card company, it's not unique to paypal.

Edit - Just remembered, a couple of years ago I had a problem with a purchase where I'd used paypal. I couldn't get a response from the retailer, so I opened a dispute. Paypal got a response from the seller and ruled in my favour. However, my refund was only completed once I provided a working tracking number for shipping the item back to paypal. The cost of which wasn't returned to me by either paypal or the retailer in this case.

This may not be the case now, but something to bear in mind if you can get it rectified without opening a dispute.

 

[proffrink]

No, it's pretty significantly different in some places but only a little different where it's relevant to us (the timescales being the biggest difference) - worth checking the second page of that thread.

I may have been having a giggle when I said it was a gripping read, but it's never worth not informing yourself of these things. It's why some people still think UKARA is a license - a lot of threads say it is. Anyhow, seems you've basically said what I have now so I guess we're in agreement in as much as what OP should do!

OP: You can recover the cost of postage directly through the retailer, but like a lot of things in life in practice they can ignore you and the cost of small claims court is going to exceed when you paid anyway. That's when you leave poor reviews everywhere to makes you feel better.

If the law were cheaper to access then we'd not need PayPal's dispute process. Unfortunately that's not the way it is, so you'll almost certainly not see that money back for the shipping. The one thing you can always do is ensure you quote the law at them when you email. Again, page two of that thread has the excerpt that you need.

 

[sdoolan]

Quick update. Was contacted by the company and they're excuse is that it was damaged in transit so it's UPS' fault. As for the paint apparently it was a hot day so it didn't set right, not really an excuse as it shouldn't have been sent out like it. Either way they've arranged pick up for the gun and are going to re spray it, fix any mechanical issues, re test it and send it back out to me. Guys seemed pretty apologetic on the phone but I guess I'll wait and see what happens now.

 

[proffrink]

Yeh, just don't let them give you that 'it was a 3rd party's fault' nonsense. It's their responsibility until it arrives at your doorstep because they chose the courier. As an extreme example: If I gave your delivery to some tramp and he never delivered it then in the eyes of the law it's the merchant who's at fault. They can go after whoever delivered the package for damaging the item, but ultimately that is not your burden at all.

See what happens, but don't take any rubbish. I'd expect a small discount too given the delay, but hey.

 

[Snakeeyes75]

Quick update. Was contacted by the company and they're excuse is that it was damaged in transit so it's UPS' fault. As for the paint apparently it was a hot day so it didn't set right, not really an excuse as it shouldn't have been sent out like it. Either way they've arranged pick up for the gun and are going to re spray it, fix any mechanical issues, re test it and send it back out to me. Guys seemed pretty apologetic on the phone but I guess I'll wait and see what happens now.

Name and shame!!

 

[Dechande]

Quick update. Was contacted by the company and they're excuse is that it was damaged in transit so it's UPS' fault. As for the paint apparently it was a hot day so it didn't set right, not really an excuse as it shouldn't have been sent out like it. Either way they've arranged pick up for the gun and are going to re spray it, fix any mechanical issues, re test it and send it back out to me. Guys seemed pretty apologetic on the phone but I guess I'll wait and see what happens now.

That doesn't sound ideal, but at least you haven't got to pay to send it back.

How they handle it now will be the real test of if they're a good retailer or not. At least they sound like they want to sort it out, I'd be interested to hear how you get on.

 

[sdoolan]

So I got the gun back today. To be fair to them they did a great job with it. Looked the gun over and said it was too damaged to repair so they'd be painting another one and sending it out brand new. When it arrived it was really well packaged, paint job was good (and dry), and most importantly of all it works as it should. Only minor issue I had was no tracking info was given when it was posted so I couldn't really tell what time of day it was likely to show up, but that really is being picky. I wont name the company as they fixed any mistakes they made and gave a great service once I raised an issue. Just begs the question does every order get sub-par treatment until you complain?

 

[proffrink]

Just begs the question does every order get sub-par treatment until you complain?

Generally in life: Yes.

A lot of companies that mean well also just don't improve because people don't take them time to tell them little nit-picky things (such as providing tracking info). Maybe just let them know when you're thanking them for sorting it out or whatever. If they're a good business then they'll appreciate the feedback.