# Buyers rights?



## LondonDragon (21 Jan 2009)

Maybe someone knows or has gone through the process of one of this cases.

Someone I know in portugal has purchased Â£800 worth of goods from a UK supplier, but a month later nothing.
Suppliers hardly replies to emails and when they reply they either say its been shipped or its waiting to be shipped and its something to do with the warehouse and keep changing the story.

They also have refused to return the money to the buyer.

What can be done in such cases, my understanding of the law is not great and also he brought the item from a different country.

Thanks


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## Egmel (21 Jan 2009)

Get a phone number and have an actual conversation.  If they claim to have posted it then ask for the couriers details and  the tracking number and follow it up from there.  If they claim it's still in their warehouse then they should be able to cancel and refund the order if that's what your friend wants to do.

If it's not resolved this way then it depends how he bought it (ebay or sellers site) as to what the next step is.  Ebay is obvious since you can use their conflict resolution.  If it was through a sellers site then I'm not sure but I'm fairly certain if he called them up and suggested bringing a lawyer in then they might suddenly 'find' the lost items.


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## LondonDragon (21 Jan 2009)

Apparently is from thelivingseas


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## aaronnorth (21 Jan 2009)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> Apparently is from thelivingseas



I have heard lots of bad reviews about them


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## GreenNeedle (21 Jan 2009)

livingseas is one of the many websites for a single company.  I got my Koralia from them which apparently wasn't in stock when I ordered it.  (They emailed me to tell me and refunded the next day delivery charge I paid.)

Then I emailed them to ask where it was and they gave me a tracking number that said it had been delivered the day before so I emailed them again saying it hadn't arrive and noone could have taken delivery as the house was empty the day before.

They gave me a new tracking number and the item arrived 2-3 weeks after paying for it.

If your friend paid by Credit Card then they should go to their credit card supplier and they will sort it out.  If it was by debit card there isn't the same protection!!!  At the end of the day it is for the supplier to prove receipt and not the customer to prove non receipt!!!

This is the thing with suppliers who use Royal Mail standard deliveries where there is no proof of delivery.  By law if the customer says they didn't receive the item and the supplier has no proof of delivery they have to eventually bite the bullit.  

This is why so many charge a delivery charge as they cannot afford to soak up the ones where someone blags non delivery.

Register on this site and they will lead you through the process.  Best to go on these from the start so they can lead you through each process if there are problems.

I am going through this site to make sure I get all the cash back from bmi baby for leaving me in Portugal earlier this year and so far I have about a third of my claim in my bank already   The people on this site are leading me through the processes of getting the rest without having to go to court:
http://consumercreditsupport.co.uk/index.php

AC


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## LondonDragon (21 Jan 2009)

Many thanks for the advice, much appreciated


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## Superman (21 Jan 2009)

I heard loads of bad stories about thelivingseas and when you search for similar products you can tell they are all the same company due to the look of the website.

I nearly bought from them but decided against it after all of the bad reviews I got. 
Some of them pretty awful tbh.


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## Egmel (22 Jan 2009)

I've had mixed experiences with the living seas, partly down to my own tardiness.

Generally they are a good source of cheap hardware, I got my light units, filter and heater from them without any issues.  However when my heater started to stick on getting a replacement one was a nightmare, though as I say this was mainly down to my own tardiness in chasing them up - if I were in the same situation again I would just get on the phone to them and sort it out rather than messing about with emails.

I think it's a case of you pay your money you take your chance.


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## LondonDragon (22 Jan 2009)

Yeah spoke to them this morning and they garantee it will be shipped next week, we will see.
If not I will call again and ask for the money back.


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## John Starkey (22 Jan 2009)

Hi All,i have bought three eheim 2028s from thelivingseas in the past 18months and they were as good as gold with me,if your friend has paid by credit card then he should be able to get his money back,rgards john


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## chris1004 (22 Jan 2009)

I have used 1st4aquatics several times and I believe they are trading alongside thelivingseas as the websites are so similar and link to each other. 

First of all it has to be said that they are by far the cheapest that I have come accross on the web (and believe me I have looked) free delivery over Â£65 as well. But IME you don't always get what you order as they can 'substitute' an item if it is out of stock for somthing similar (usually of a higher rrp value (which doesn't neccessarily mean its better)) or there may be a cosiderable delay until they actually have stock of the item that you have already paid for, which can be very frustrating. 

Still going back to my first point they are considerably cheaper than most and I have had trouble with other websites charging premium prices as well. 

Fact of the matter is you just can't beat your LFS if its a good face to face service that you need, a product in your hand when you part with your hard earned, and help when things don't go as planned.

Having said that as an example a tetra tech ex1200 will set you back Â£100 or so in most LFS but Â£65 or so deliverd to your door online. Thats a huge saving and is the sole reason why despite their drawbacks I would buy from them again.


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