P&P Refund Entitlement for Suspect On-Line Purchase?

coolaboola

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I purchased a pair of headphones on line (from Amazon.co.uk) recently that claimed to be Sennheiser CX300. I bought them to replace my current pair of Sennheiser CX300 which I've worn into the ground.

When I received the new headphones I was a bit suspcious of the build quality and when I plugged them in I became even more suspicious as the sound quality was not as good as my used and abused old pair of Sennheiser CX300. The differences are subtle but definitely there. They (and some swotting on the interweb) lead me to believe that the new Sennheiser CX300s are fake.

I've sought a refund from the seller. They've responded saying that they'll send an SAE for me to return the headphones. Pending assessment of the returned phones they'll refund the price of the phones but not post and package. Which would leave me out of pocket to the tune of GBP5 and no headphones. And if their assessment deem the headphones to be acceptable I could be short the full price paid.

Now, a bit more interweb research leads me to believe that under Irish, UK and EU law I'm entitled to a refund of the post and package. Is this true?

Another thing is, the reasons that I am returning the headphones (because I think they're fake, with poorer sound quality and build quality than genuine CX300) are difficult to prove or quantify. The new headphones work (but, I believe, not as well as genuine Sennheiser CX300s). How do I address this?

AAMers opinions and wisdom would be much appreciated here.
 
Why don't you advise the company you bought them from that if they don't offer you a complete refund you will send the headphones to the supposed manufacturer for them to evaluate and tell them where you obtained them from. If they are actually genuine but faulty, the original manufacturer would likely replace them, if they aren't then they would love to know where you obtained them...

This is just my opinion btw.
 
Good idea Sylvester3!

jhegarty, I bought them through Amazon (not Amazon Marketplace) but through a seller called Podjunkie. Its the first time I made a purchase through Amazon (as opposed to Amazon Marketplace) where there were separate sellers.
 

Even if I did get a complete refund, I'd still tell the manufacturer.
 
SAE from GB - Can I post it here?

The saga continues.

The seller has requested that I return the headphones and has sent me a SAE for that purpose. But the SAE has Royal Mail post paid (actually it says 'Royal Mail Postage Paid GB' and has a 'By Air Mail' sticker on it). My question is: can I post this here (Dublin)?

(If it turns out that I have to pay for postage anyway I've a good mind to take up AAMer's suggestion and offer to return it directly to the OEM).
 
Re: SAE from GB - Can I post it here?

(If it turns out that I have to pay for postage anyway I've a good mind to take up AAMer's suggestion and offer to return it directly to the OEM).

But if it's fake they will bin it , and you won't really have come back against anyone.
 
That's true, jhegarty. But I'm in a catch 22 situation. I have to give them the opportunity to investigate and rectify the problem. Having said that, if they're selling fakes they probably won't have an issue with binning my headphones as you suggest and dropping the subject, leaving me without a refund.

What would you do? Say I'm going to send them to Sennheiser instead of returning it to them? Where do I stand on getting a refund from them then?
 
Update: I suggested to the seller that, as I couldn't use their SAE, I would offer two options: I'll return the headphones directly to the OEM stating where purchased or, on receipt of a full refund, return the headphones to the seller.

I had a full refund from the seller within 24 hours of sending that email. I'm out of pocket the cost of returning the headphones to them (€1.65) but otherwise a happy camper.

Thanks for the suggestion Sylvester3!
 
I'd wouldnt bother returning the headphones at this spot, but for the sake of other consumers out there, contact the OEM regarding the matter. suspicious you got the refund so quickly.

S.