Dear Which?,
I recently ordered 50 roses from Home Bargains for my wife as a Valentine’s Day gift.
But when the flowers were delivered, I was disappointed to find that the bouquet didn’t match the online description at all - there were 47 roses missing from what was a tiny, meagre bunch of flowers.
I immediately contacted Home Bargains’ customer service department, sending photos of the bouquet and asking for a refund. However, I received two auto-generated responses to my emails but nothing else.
This should have been a quick issue for Home Bargains to resolve before Valentine’s Day. Why is it ignoring legitimate complaints and failing to respond in a fair timescale?
Alistair Parkes, Surrey
Put to Rights
Hannah Downes, consumer rights expert at Which?, says:Under the Consumer Rights Act, you have rights to a refund if you receive or send flowers that arrive in a sorrowful state.
The retailer you ordered from is responsible for the condition of the flowers until you take delivery of them: for example, if they arrive wilted or with brown petals, you can complain and ask for a refund.
Likewise, if your flowers don’t match the description or the picture shown online, you can reject them and ask to be reimbursed for your order.
You’re entitled to a partial refund if you order a specific number of flowers but are sent fewer than expected.
The retailer may offer to send you a replacement bunch of flowers instead of giving you a refund. If you aren’t happy to accept a replacement because they were for an occasion that’s now passed, you’re entitled to ask for your money back.
Which? contacted Home Bargains on your behalf, urging it to reimburse you. It apologised for its lack of response to your initial complaint.
It said all of its flowers are subject to substitution due to seasonal availability, but agreed that in this instance the flowers sent out were not an adequate substitution.
Home Bargains has now refunded you in full and arranged for a new bouquet of your choice to be sent out.
Get in touch.Please be aware that we cannot help with, or respond to every email that we receive. The inbox is monitored periodically during office hours, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/i-was-sent-three-lonely-roses-instead-of-a-bouquet-your-flower-delivery-rights-aPLCQ0N5t0Bg