Know Your Rights
* The Articles that follow have not been prepared by S J Collections Ltd. and do not necessarily reflect the views of S J Collections Ltd. Neither S J Collections Ltd. nor any of its employees can be held liable for any of the views expressed in the articles, or any acts of omission arising from them.
Get to know your rights and you could save on legal bills. You can also cut down on the time your complaint takes by going to the right place straight away.
It is amazing how much impact you can make by stating that you know your rights, and then quoting a relevant Act or Code of Practice.
If you buy goods by mail order, you are protected under the Sale of Goods Act, and the Codes of Practice operating in the mail order business.
Other consumer protection to gen up on is in the Consumer Credit Act, under which you can claim against a credit card company, if the goods cost over £100; and if you buy goods on finance, your claim is against the finance company, not the retailer.
When writing a letter of complaint, write it quickly and keep to the point. Ask for the maximum compensation or redress you want, and set a date for a reply.
If you want to take things further, contact the local Trading Standards Office; they may help.
It may be possible to get away with simply asking a solicitor to write a letter. This often works, but it will cost you, and if you unable to obtain redress in some way, you are only left with complaining to an Ombudsman or litigation. It is always better to negotiate and not threaten, unless you intend carrying out your threat, but make sure you are 100% in the right before issuing any legal proceedings, and bare in mind that it may cost you more to enforce any Judgment that you may obtain.
It will also pay to do your own legal legwork.
Always get your costs in writing before you instruct a solicitor. And remember that even telephone conversations are logged and added to your bill.
If you are fighting a Class Action, one with others involved, and if one of the claimants is on legal aid, get them to fight your case.