White goods from abroad delayed or not delivered? No refund from vendor after cancellation? Here's what to do
Foreign webshops often have competitive offers for white goods such as washing machines, dryers, ovens and refrigerators. That makes it appealing to order these appliances from abroad. But unfortunately, the delivery does not always go smoothly. For example, consumers do not receive the appliance within the promised delivery time. Or the vendor does not provide a refund following cancellation. You can read more about what you can do in this article.
Delayed delivery
You see a good offer for a washing machine on the vendor's website. The order page that states the washing machine will be delivered immediately. But two weeks later, you have still received nothing. You email the webshop and hear there is a problem with delivery. The product is not in stock and it will take another two weeks. But you do not want to wait. Can you still cancel the order?
If the vendor does not adhere to the agreed delivery time, you have two options:
- You can give the vendor a last chance to deliver de product
- You can cancel the purchase. We also refer to the cancellation of a purchase contract as the termination of the purchase.
You can use our template letter to let the vendor know what you want to do. Also ask the vendor to confirm receipt of your message.
Non-delivery
Perhaps the product has been shipped, but an issue has occurred during delivery. The vendor must then contact the delivery service and ensure you get what you ordered. You can give the vendor one last chance to deliver the product. But do give the vendor enough time to do this. For example, you can give the vendor another two weeks to deliver the product. You can do this with our template letter. Select option 1 in this letter.
Refund after cancellation
Are you cancelling the order because the vendor has not adhered to the agreement? The vendor is then obligated to refund the purchase amount in full. This also applies to products you have purchased in a sale. The vendor must refund you as soon as possible, but always within 14 days. Have you returned the appliance? Then this 14-day period starts as soon as the webshop has received the appliance. Have you received no response, or is the vendor refusing to refund you? Then you can contact the European Consumer Centre for free advice and help with resolving the problem.
Role of the European Consumer Centre
We can help find a solution if you and the vendor from another EU country cannot resolve the matter. We sometimes receive many complaints about a vendor or about a single subject, such as refunds. If that happens, we inform the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM). The ACM can then investigate wat is going wrong with the company.
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