Amazon And BOL To Pay Cost Of Returns
OFT wins deal on P&P charges from online booksellers
June 1 2002
The UK government has won a key concession of the cost of home shopping returns
Leading online retailers Amazon.co.uk and BOL.com have agreed that they will refund delivery charges as well as the cost of products to customers who return goods within the legal cooling off period.
The agreement comes after a series of negotiations between the Office of Fair Trading and the two e-tailers. The OFT is currently in talks with other home shopping companies which will be expected to follow suit.
The Distance Selling Regulations give consumers right to a cooling off period of seven working days after receipt on most goods.
The OFT view is that the normal postage and packing charges for the delivery, but not the return, of home shopping purchases must always be refunded in addition to the cost of the goods when orders are cancelled during the cooling off period.
