Purchasing goods via the Internet is regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”.
A retail purchase and sale agreement may be concluded on the basis of familiarization of the buyer with the description of the goods proposed by the seller through catalogues, prospectuses, booklets, photographs, means of communication (television, postal, radio communications and others) or other means that exclude the possibility of direct familiarization of the consumer with the goods or a sample goods when concluding such an agreement (remote method of selling goods) (part 2 of article 497 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, part 1 of article 26.1 of the Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”).
First you need to define what a product deficiency is. The Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights contains the following definition: deficiency of a product (work, service) - non-compliance of a product (work, service) with either the mandatory requirements provided for by law or in the manner established by it, or with the terms of the contract (in their absence or incompleteness of the conditions usually imposed on the requirements) , or the purposes for which a product (work, service) of this kind is usually used, or the purposes of which the seller (performer) was informed by the consumer when concluding the contract, or a sample and (or) description when selling goods according to the sample and (or) ) as described.
Required documents
In order to return the goods back to the seller, you must have the following documents on hand:
- Claim for return of goods.
- A document confirming the purchase of goods in this store.
Cash (payment to the courier) – the seller returns the money from the company’s cash desk. By postal transfer. The commission for transferring funds is paid by the seller. According to paragraph 4 of Art. 26.1 of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, if the consumer refuses the goods, the seller must return to him the amount of money paid by the consumer under the contract, with the exception of the seller’s expenses for delivery of the returned goods from the consumer, no later than ten days from the date the consumer submits the corresponding demand. When returning a defective order, you can negotiate with the seller to compensate you for shipping costs.
What to do if the store refuses to accept the goods
Often the seller breaks the law, refuses to accept the purchase back or return the money, and the buyer is left defenseless.
The main provisions regarding the return of goods are set out in the “Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights”. Important article 26.1, which is called: “Remote method of selling goods.” It sets out the following provisions:
- Refusal is possible at any time before receipt - in this case, the transferred funds will be returned to you if you purchased the goods on an advance payment.
- If less than 7 days have passed since the receipt of the goods, it can be returned without explanation.
- If you have not been sent an agreement specifying the specifics of returning the goods, you can return them within 90 days.
It is important to remember that in order to return the item must be in the condition in which it was received.
Returning goods of good quality when purchasing remotely
The remote method of selling goods allows you to return any product according to a simplified scheme.
Terms for returning goods
4. The consumer has the right to refuse the goods at any time before its transfer, and after the transfer of the goods - within seven days.
The buyer can return any product within 7 days from the date of delivery or refuse the purchase at any time before the delivery.
Moreover, if the seller does not provide the buyer with information about the procedure and terms of return, the return period increases to 3 months :
If information on the procedure and timing for returning goods of proper quality was not provided in writing at the time of delivery of the goods, the consumer has the right to refuse the goods within three months from the date of delivery of the goods.
What products can be returned?
However, you can only return goods that have not been used :
Return of a product of proper quality is possible if its presentation, consumer properties, as well as a document confirming the fact and conditions of purchase of the specified product are preserved. The consumer’s absence of a document confirming the fact and conditions of purchase of the goods does not deprive him of the opportunity to refer to other evidence of the purchase of goods from this seller.
So if, after a remote purchase, you are still not sure that you want to keep the purchased product, then you need to save its packaging, branded labels, etc.
Please note that the list of goods that cannot be returned or exchanged is not relevant to this article. Unlike purchasing in a store, the remote method allows you to return absolutely any product without explaining the reasons for the return.
What products cannot be returned?
The Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” also contains situations in which goods cannot be returned :
The consumer does not have the right to refuse a product of appropriate quality that has individually defined properties if the specified product can be used exclusively by the consumer purchasing it.
For example, if you buy car seat covers online, on which your name is embroidered according to your order, you will not be able to return them to the manufacturer. The same applies to keychains with a car number and other items made individually for you.
Returning goods to the online store via mail
During delivery, check the product for external damage (scratches, dents, etc.). When signing the acceptance certificate, be sure to indicate any defects found. If the order was delivered unassembled, please write down this fact. This will be useful in case of detection of hidden defects and disputes with the seller.
You will need to submit the following documents:
- correspondence with the store, from which it will become clear that he agrees to return the money, but for some reason has not yet done so;
- a document that confirms that the seller has received the goods. For this, printing a screenshot from a website that allows you to track parcels by track number may be suitable;
- a description of the purchased product, and if it was defective, then photographs of it indicating which specific defect.
This almost always helps you get your money back if you paid for your order with a plastic card.
If the store has received the goods, you have all the documentation in your hands, but the funds have not reached you, then contact the bank.
Online shopping without consequences: how to return defective goods to the store and not lose your money
The problem of returning money for defective goods when shopping online has been relevant for quite a long time. Expert from Yandex.Money Ekaterina Perfilova talks about ways to solve this problem. Online shopping is very popular today. According to the e-Commerce User Index, more than 20 million Russian users buy something online at least once a month. This is 71% of the total number of Russians who go online every day.
After placing an order online, many customers pay for it online. Thus, according to a study by GFK and Yandex, in 2014, almost half of the surveyed users ordered goods on the Internet at least once and immediately paid for them with a bank card, and a third of buyers did so with an e-wallet.
Online payment provides many advantages, for example, the user does not need to prepare cash and worry whether the courier will have change. Some stores offer discounts and bonuses to those who pay on their sites online. In addition, on many sites the buyer can choose the most convenient online payment method from several. Thus, "Yandex.Checkout" - the universal payment solution "Yandex.Money" - allows you to transfer funds from bank cards, from electronic wallets, from mobile number accounts and in other ways.
Despite the obvious advantages, paying via the Internet may raise doubts in the buyer: will he be able to return the purchased product if, after delivery, it turns out that it was defective? Will it be possible to get my money back? We have prepared several tips that will help you get out of this situation without losses - return both the goods and your money.
Return conditions for online stores
When purchasing online, there is always a possibility that the buyer may not be satisfied with the product after delivery. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and study the return policy in the store before you place your order. These conditions may vary greatly from site to site. For example, when ordering a hotel room on one site it is generally impossible to cancel the reservation, on another you can cancel it no later than a specific date, and on a third you will have to pay a penalty to cancel it.
If you have already transferred money to an online store, but want to cancel your order, we recommend doing so as soon as possible. By law, the buyer can refuse the product at any time before receiving it from the store and within seven days after the order is delivered. At the same time, the online store is obliged to take back any purchase - unlike regular stores, which may not accept back goods of certain categories, for example, underwear or medicines. This is explained by the fact that during an online purchase the user does not have the opportunity to fully inspect and evaluate the product.
Return procedure
To return an order that has already been delivered, you will need to inform a representative of the online store about this in any convenient way - by mail or, for example, by phone. In any case, it is important to receive confirmation from the store of the cancellation of the purchase, for example by email. It will guarantee that the online store agrees to accept back its goods and issue a refund to the customer.
You can return your order only if it is still in salable condition and you have a receipt. However, you can confirm a purchase without a receipt - by recording it from your personal account in the online store or by notifying about the order from your email.
By law, you will have to pay to ship the item back to the store yourself. And the seller will be obliged to return your money within 10-30 days after canceling the order.
If the product is defective
Having received a parcel from an online store by mail, check it directly at the branch. If you were sent something other than what you ordered, or the same thing but defective, the postal employee will make an inventory of the parcel. This document will help you return your order to the online store.
The best way to do this is as follows:
- inform the seller about the return and receive confirmation from him that he agrees to accept the goods;
— take a photo of the defective product (you can order a defect assessment from a specialized company);
— send the parcel back to the store;
— wait until the seller receives the goods and then transfers the money to you.
If the seller does not return the money
If you have fulfilled all the return conditions, but the online store has not transferred your funds back, we recommend contacting your bank. You will need to provide the following documents:
— correspondence with the seller, from which it will become clear that he agrees to return the money, but for some reason has not yet done so;
- a document confirming that the seller received the goods back - for this, for example, a printed screenshot from a website that allows you to track mail items by tracking number may be suitable;
- a description of the purchased product, and if it turns out to be defective, then a photo of it indicating what exactly is defective;
This almost always helps to get funds back if the buyer paid for the order with a bank card.
You can also get your money back if, for example, the seller mistakenly charged your account twice for one purchase. In this case, you need to contact the seller to try to find out the reason for the double charge. If the seller has not responded to the request, you need to contact the bank.
Foreign online stores
When making purchases in foreign online stores, it is worth remembering that they operate according to the laws of their countries. As a rule, each site has a “Terms & Conditions” section, in which, among other things, you can find the conditions for canceling an order and getting your money back. So, if you decide to return an item to a foreign online store, you will have to comply with all its rules, even if there are no such rules in Russia. For example, if the site says that the user must bring the product back himself or that it can only be returned by Russian Post, this can only be done in these ways and in no other way.
In general, the procedure for canceling an order in online stores abroad is the same as in Russia: you need to contact the online store, agree on a return and send the goods. If the seller has received the goods, all the documents are in your hands, but the money still has not arrived to you, we recommend contacting the bank.
What to do if you encounter a fraudulent store
If you encounter fraud, for example, you paid for a product but never received it, and the store does not respond to your requests in any way, you should resort to more stringent measures.
If the payment was made from a wallet and the funds could not be “slowed down” and returned from the fraudster’s wallet, then you need to follow the steps below:
— If there is no legal address on the store’s website, file a complaint with your local police department, Rospotrebnadzor or the prosecutor’s office. You can also contact the consumer protection society. There they will tell you in detail what to do in such situations and help you draw up a statement with which you can go to court.
— If the legal address of the store is known, send a pre-trial claim to it. In it, describe your situation and indicate that if the store does not return your money within 10 days, you will contact the consumer protection society, the prosecutor's office and the court. Don't forget to keep your payment receipt - it will come in handy when you file a complaint with these organizations.
If the payment was made by credit card, contact the bank immediately.
Ekaterina Perfilova, expert at Yandex.Money
Fraud
If you encounter a fraudulent store, for example, you paid for a product, but it was not delivered to you, and the store does not respond to your requests in any way, then you should not hesitate, but must take radical measures.
If the payment was made from a wallet, but the money could not be “slowed down” and returned from the fraudster’s wallet, then follow the steps below:
- If there is no legal address on the online store's website, file a complaint with your local police department, prosecutor's office or Rospotrebnadzor.
- If the legal address is known, you must send a pre-trial claim to it. This will help solve most problems that arise, for example, if the owner of an online store turns out to be an unscrupulous entrepreneur. At the same time, buyers should know that online establishments are governed by the same laws as regular stores.
If you still decide to purchase a product in an online store, pay attention to the following information:
- Seller's actual address;
- Place of manufacture of products;
- Manufacturer's brand name;
- Cost and terms of purchase of goods;
- Possible delivery methods;
- Service life, warranty period and total shelf life of the product;
- Payment order;
- The duration of the offer to enter into an agreement.
