How to return money for undelivered goods

What to do if the seller did not deliver the goods on time?

Legal relations between the consumer and the seller are regulated by the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”; the specifics of delivery of goods to the buyer are regulated by the Rules for the sale of goods according to samples, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. In accordance with these regulations, if the seller has not fulfilled his obligations to deliver the goods, the consumer is entitled to:

demand a refund of the paid price of the goods;
set a new deadline for the seller to deliver the paid goods;
contact the authorities responsible for protecting consumer rights;
go to court.

IMPORTANT: the period during which the goods must be presented to the consumer is indicated in the text of the sales contract. If the delivery period is not expressly provided for in the agreement, the consumer has the right to specify a new delivery period.

How does a refund work?

Paid money can be received back in three ways:

based on a written request;
based on a claim with a legal requirement for the return of funds;
as a result of a court decision.

The first step is for the buyer to write an application for a refund based on Art. 22, paragraph 2-3 art. 23.1 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”. In the situation of receiving a categorical refusal to pay or if the response is not sent in a timely manner, the citizen goes to court. And for an entrepreneur, the relationship at this stage moves into the stage of litigation.

The claim for a refund must contain copies of the payment documents of the goods supply agreement itself and must be sent with acknowledgment of delivery.

When preparing a claim and statement of claim on behalf of an individual, it is necessary to refer to the provisions of the Russian Federation Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”. If the debt arose in relations between organizations, in the justification it is necessary to refer to the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

An application to the court is sent only after the statutory period for responding to a claim has expired and the supplier has refused to satisfy its demands or has not responded.

REFERENCE! Typically, the period for responding to a claim is 30 days, but the supply agreement may provide for shorter periods.

In relationships regulated by the Consumer Rights Act, the time to respond is even shorter, only 10 days. The procedure for filing a statement of claim provides for attachments in the form of copies of all documents in the case, as well as evidence of delivery of the statement and claim to the counterparty.

⏰ The right of the online store to unilaterally change the delivery time of the order

Delivery of goods ordered via the Internet must have its own deadlines. And online stores do not have the right to unilaterally postpone these deadlines in the direction of increasing them. Such a change can only be made in the direction of reducing delivery times, which puts the buyer in a clearly advantageous position.

Currently, there is no clear prohibition, from the point of view of current legislation, that stores do not have the right to postpone the delivery of paid goods in the direction of increasing them. However, the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” contains Article 23.1, which establishes penalties for stores that violate pre-established agreements . We are talking about the opportunity for buyers to collect penalties both pre-trial and in court if there is a violation of delivery deadlines. In addition, Part 1 of this article requires the seller to indicate when the goods will be delivered if, under the sales contract in question, the buyer is required to make full or partial prepayment of the order.

Short delivery or non-delivery?

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation, when considering issues of deliveries under relevant contracts, does not explain what exactly is considered a shortfall. Nevertheless, buyers, unfortunately, often encounter this phenomenon in practice. The courts have accumulated enough precedents related to short deliveries, so the following definition has emerged.

Question: What are the features of calculating penalties for short delivery or late delivery of a consignment of goods? View answer

Shortage of goods is a violation by the supplier of the conditions specified in the supply contract or other shipping documents regarding the volume of goods actually delivered. In other words, less goods arrived at the buyer’s warehouse than was indicated:

in the supply contract;
on the invoice;
in the invoice, etc.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION! According to existing judicial precedent, short delivery also includes the inability to sample goods if the supplier is at fault.

A delay in the delivery of all goods or its next batch does not apply to non-delivery - such a violation is called non-delivery .

What is the buyer's procedure if (quantity discrepancy) is detected upon acceptance of the goods

general information

Many people do not know that when using some payment methods (terminals, bank transfer, plastic cards) there is a delay that can last five days.

Instant payments are received from WebMoney and Yandex Money and other electronic methods. It turns out that just because you paid, this does not mean that the funds have arrived. People also often encounter fraud; victims are sent false checks for payment, and as a result, the money ends up in the hands of the attacker.

How can I return money for undelivered goods according to the law?

To get a refund for undelivered products, you should try to resolve the issue through negotiations with the seller. If they were unsuccessful, you must file a statement.

How to properly file a claim for a refund for undelivered goods?

The form of the claim letter is not established by law. Based on current practice, it must contain the following information:

name of the selling organization;
Full name of the buyer and his contacts;
date of conclusion of the purchase and sale agreement;
terms and conditions for delivery of goods;
data on advance payment under the contract;
information about late delivery of goods;
request to return the money for the goods.

At the end of the document there is a list of attachments, a date and a signature.

The application must be accompanied by a contract, payment receipt and passport.

If difficulties arise when drawing up an application, it is advisable to entrust this issue to a qualified lawyer who will conduct a conversation with the seller in order to resolve the conflict peacefully. If an agreement cannot be reached, he will file a claim and ensure that it is resolved in a timely manner.

How to send a statement to the seller?

The letter of claim is handed personally to the responsible employee of the store. The client needs to ensure that his copy of the document is stamped with a date and signature.

If a citizen is unable to visit the seller due to a remote location, a letter for a refund for undelivered goods is sent by registered mail with notification and a list of attachments. After the store receives the correspondence, a notification will be returned to the sender, which is proof of delivery of the claim.

When must the refund be made?

The refund period is established by part 4 of article 23.1 of Law No. 2300-1. In accordance with this norm, the client’s demand must be satisfied by the seller within 10 days from the date of filing the claim.

How to get money back

There may be various reasons why you need to return the money, for example:

excessive transfer of funds;
erroneous transfer;
termination or modification of the terms of the contract.

To return money if you have overpaid or get it back due to the return of a low-quality product, you must send a request to the supplier. This may be a letter for a refund due to the refusal of the goods or due to an error in the transfer of funds.

How to calculate the penalty for failure to deliver goods on time?

The amount of the penalty established for failure to fulfill the goods on time is fixed and amounts to 0.5 percent of the cost of the paid goods per each day of delay. The moment when such a period begins to run is the day on which the seller should have presented the goods

Let's assume that the buyer makes a partial payment for the goods in the amount of 3,000 rubles when the total cost of the goods is 6,000 rubles. The parties agreed to deliver the goods within 7 calendar days. The goods were delivered on the 20th day. The delivery delay period is:

20 – 7 = 13 days.

The amount of the penalty should have been:

(3000 rubles * 0.5%) * 13 days = 195 rubles.

However, the law establishes that the amount of the penalty cannot exceed the actual amount of the goods paid for. Thus, the amount of the penalty is 3,000 rubles.

The period for payment of the penalty is ten calendar days from the moment the seller receives the corresponding request.

USEFUL : what to do if you receive the wrong product in the mail, read the link

Refund period

Clause 2 of Art. 314 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that money that was transferred by mistake or overpaid funds must be returned to their owner within 7 days from the date of presentation of the request for return (i.e. from the moment of receipt of the letter).

Please note! If the person obliged to return the money within the specified period does not return it, then its owner may well demand interest for the illegal use of someone else’s finances.

This rule is confirmed and reinforced by paragraph 1 of Art. 395 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and clause 5 of the Review of the practice of disputes related to the application of rules on unjust enrichment.

How to apply for a refund from the tax office, read here.

Attention! Interest for the use of other people's money upon termination of the supply agreement is regulated by another rule - clause 3 and clause 4 of Art. 487 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Important! To avoid unnecessary costs in the form of interest, always pay attention to the date indicated in the letter and try to resolve the issue within 7 days.

A slightly different practice exists when returning funds transferred as an advance upon termination or modification of a work contract. Here, the contractor is required to prove the fact that at the time of receipt of the letter, part of the obligations under the contract had already been fulfilled.

Expert opinion

Makarov Igor Tarasovich

Legal consultant with 8 years of experience. Specialization: criminal law. Extensive experience in document examination.

If this fact can be proven, the contractor has the right to withhold part of the advance payment made in proportion to the work performed. In the cases provided for in Art. 717 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the contractor compensates for losses that would result from termination of the contract.

Watch the video. What to do if you have been credited with “extra” money?

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In business, situations often arise when paid supplies, goods or services do not suit the customer for some reason. In this case, you should find a sample letter for the return of funds and study the rules for filing a claim in each specific case in order to draw up your own document.

How to return money for undelivered goods purchased on Aliexpress?

Many citizens purchase goods on the AliExpress trading platform. It happens that the money for the purchased item is deposited into the online service account, but the goods are not delivered to the buyer.

The trading platform provides protection to buyers from possible fraudulent activities by sellers. Money transferred as an advance payment is not transferred to the supplier’s account, but is blocked by the intermediary.

If the product has not arrived to the buyer, he has the right to open a dispute with the seller in order to return the money. You can send an appeal no earlier than five days from the moment the parcel is sent and no later than 15 days after the expiration of the delivery period.

As proof of correctness, the client has the right to attach a screenshot of the page tracking the movement of the parcel. Many sellers prefer to resolve the issue peacefully and close the dispute. Therefore, money is usually returned to the client’s bank card within a few days.

In what cases can you make a refund for undelivered goods?

Practice considers two situations when it is necessary to return an advance payment for undelivered or underdelivered goods to the account of an enterprise or citizen:

in relations between legal entities that entered into a supply agreement, under which the seller made payment for a batch of products, but it was not delivered or was not delivered in full;
when a citizen pays for a purchase according to an invoice issued by a store or trading company, but the purchased item is not delivered to him.

The buyer has the right to either demand a return transfer of money, or wait until the seller finally delivers the products. But if it was needed at a certain time, and the buyer has already purchased the goods from another supplier or the need for it has passed, you can demand compensation for expenses (clause 1 of Article 520 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

ATTENTION! A timely drawn up and sent official request to return the money with a refusal to actually receive the purchase will take the relationship out of the formal context, and will also help to comply with the legal mechanism for resolving a conflict situation.

What to do if the seller refuses to return money for undelivered goods?

If the seller refuses to return the money for the goods, the client may file a lawsuit to recover the amount paid for the undelivered products. Disputes regarding the protection of consumer rights are considered by magistrates and district (city) courts.

A citizen will need to prepare the following documents:

statement of claim;
a receipt for sending the claim to the seller;
claim and response to it;
contract of sale;
advance payment receipt.

There is no need to pay a state fee for filing a claim.

We must remember! Jurisdiction of the dispute is determined at the buyer's discretion. He has the right to apply to the court at his residence address or at the location of the store. Requirements in the amount of up to RUB 50,000. are considered by magistrates' courts. All other claims are filed by district and city courts.

Refund period

Depending on the implemented mechanism for claiming compensation, the final moment of receipt of previously paid amounts is determined. Based on an application that does not have a claim name, money is usually transferred to a legal entity within 3-7 days.

If a claim is submitted by a legal entity, the money may be returned within 30 days, or a different transfer period may be indicated in the response to the application. Or the terms of offset are proposed, to which the buyer may agree or disagree.

IMPORTANT! If the case has gone to court, then the moment of receipt of payment will be determined by the date of entry into force of the court decision, and it can be different: from 7 days when the case is considered in an arbitration court under summary proceedings to six months or more if the dispute has reached the appeal.

Help from a lawyer

The law office “Katsailidi and Partners” is ready to provide qualified legal assistance to consumer rights throughout Russia.

In particular, we:

We will advise you;
We will prepare a legal position on your situation;
we will prepare and send a claim to the seller;
We interact with government agencies;
we will draw up a statement of claim in defense of your rights in accordance with the law and judicial practice;
We will represent your interests in court and protect them.

USEFUL : instructions on how to file a claim for consumer protection on our website via the link, also watch the video and ask your question to the lawyer in the comments

Legal assistance in obtaining a refund for undelivered goods

Unscrupulous sellers try to shift the blame for failure to deliver on time to the buyer in order to relieve themselves of responsibility. If you do not have experience in resolving such conflicts, it will be difficult to prove that you are right. In such a situation, it is advisable to immediately use the services of a qualified lawyer. If you have a problem with getting a refund for an undelivered product, we recommend that you contact the specialists on our website, they will contact you and answer all your questions.

Chief lawyer – site expert

Profile in YandexServices

Lawyer. Total work experience 10 years. Member of the Russian Lawyers Association.

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