On Wednesday 21 August 2013 20:43 stuart noble wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On 21/08/2013 16:39, mike wrote:
On Monday, January 21, 2013 8:01:36 PM UTC, Rick Hughes wrote:
I bought an item from Machine Mart (magnifier & Fl light) it was

useless, quality of magnifier lens was so poor everything was out
of focus.



Took it back the next day ... as I had 'opened the box' would only
give

Credit Note.

Replying to the older thread as this is where you mentioned the
original circumstances.

Just looking at the SOGA on Trading Standards website and saw this:

http://sogahub.tradingstandards.gov.uk/sogaexplained

"Customers do have a legal right to a refund, repair or replacement
if an item they purchased

- does not match the description - is not of satisfactory quality -
is not fit for purpose ."

"You cannot remove a customer's legal rights, for example by
displaying a notice saying 'we do not give refunds under any
circumstances' or 'credit notes only in the case of faulty items'.

It is also against the law to mislead consumers about their legal
rights - this could lead to a criminal prosecution under the Consumer
Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008."

I think someone mentioned that you'd effectively played into their
hands by accepting the credit note, and on the basis that "ignorance
of the law is no excuse" that might seem true.

But since they used the "opened the box" excuse to refuse a refund,
aren't they liable to criminal prosecution?


Well done that man. One would have thought the small claims court would
be aware of SOGA.....

Perhaps the defence (ie the OP) would have had to present that argument
explicitly? Not ideal I know, but I wonder how the court operates.

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