Business seller charging 25% restocking charge on refund

[nickjs100]

We bought some furniture to the value of a few thousand pounds from a business seller on Ebay in early May and prior to doing so agreed with the seller that delivery would be some time in June as we were having works done on the house. As a result of further delays, we agreed in mid-August to start pay a weekly storage charge. We have now contacted the seller to say on reflection that we wish to cancel the order as we are not going to be able to take delivery for some considerable tme now. The seller says 25% of the order value will be deducted from any refund. Although we requested a delay in delivery, which was agreed to, surely this does not negate our statuary rights and we can still cancel at this point, up until 14 + 1 days from delivery for a full refund. I believe the alternative would have been for the seller to set a deadline for our accepting delivery and then cancelling our order if we were unable to meet this deadline. Any thoughts on the way forward welcome!

[*knight-rider*]

If you bought the furniture back in may, given it is now september, unless i`m missing something the other guys know, i fail to see how consumer rights allows you to cancel an order some 4 months after you purchased them, 4 months is not 14 days.

restocking fees are perfectly legal and 25%, from what i can read online, is reasonable dependent on the item/s value and what the seller may have incurred in costs or loss to  the business. so if for arguements sake you spent £2000, the restocking fee is £500, which in my book is a bit ott, but if they allowed to charge that amount, then there`s not much you can do.

I`d see what other guys may advice, but for clarity, i`d perhaps seek advice from citizens advice 🙂

[tobiasd4]

Ebay sellers are not allowed to charge restocking fee,
BUT as original purchase & payment was in May, then you are too late to do anything through ebay.
So this is between you & seller, as said try CAB.

[tsmgmd]

The seller has been very accommodating towards you in all respects. 

The seller has now got to try and sell items that are 4 months old and may have been superceded by new models. 

Your cancellation is a change of mind return in one respect, but the major point here is that 4 months down the line you have broken your end of the contract, you cannot keep on extending delivery dates and then expect your seller to observe your intention to try and insist your last requested delivery date is the date that you are trying to use as a cancellation date for a change of mind return. 

I agree that his fee seems a bit high, I would try and negotiate him down to 10%