Flagrant Disregard For Consumer Rights Well, sometimes the "customer service" in certain companies, i.e. this one, hits new lows. Like you, the relatively low price drew me in, and if the parts arrive and they're not broken then you probably got a good deal. I have just ordered some more car parts from Autodoc, to be delivered to the UK. This was for a total of £109.98. The following email has just been received : ------------------------------- Dear Mr. XXXXXXXX, Thank you for choosing our company. We are writing you regarding the order 37330684. We would like to inform you that the payment for this order is frozen as you have a debt to the store. We kindly ask you pay off the debt. In case you have any other questions feel free to contact us. Have a nice day. ------------------------------------ So, it would appear they are (a) not going to fulfil the order I have paid for and (b) keep the money until I pay an alleged debt I am not aware of, and that has not been communicated to me previously. Interestingly, I ordered some car parts from another website called buycarparts.co.uk, way back in May 2019. Part of that order was an auxiliary belt kit, including tensioner. On arrival, the plastic pulley on the tensioner had a section missing, and was clearly broken. You would, of course, expect to find the broken piece inside the package. Alas no, it was not there. Which means it left their warehouse in that condition, and was left completely unsecured to bounce around inside the package with all the other components on the order all the way across Europe. Naturally, I reasonably expected that they would pick up the faulty goods and arrange a replacement. However, these expectations were dashed, as your consumer rights apparently don't apply to this company. Here's an extract of a reply to my faulty claim on the aux belt kit. --------------------------- May 29, 22:08 EEST Dear XXXXXX Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, we cannot cover the postage or collect the goods. Please follow the link below to see our cancellation policy: /return-of-goods In case you will have any questions or will need any spare parts, feel free to contact us and we will do our best to assist you. May 29, 21:26 EEST Hi These are faulty goods, I will not be paying for any postage. They are, however, available for collection. Thanks. Regards XXXXXX On Wed, 29 May 2019 at 18:53, Buycarparts.co.uk wrote: K017PK1973 / V-Ribbed Belt Set / GATES / 1 Dear XXXXXX, we confirm that your item is eligible for a return. Please send the item with its original packaging back to us at your own expense. If the goods have not been reduced in value, you will receive a full refund. ------------------------------ You see the problem right? Problem 1 : They want me to pay for the shipping... Under EU law, defective products must be repaired or replaced without any cost to the consumer. This includes any shipping costs. Apparently they think their company policy overrides these statutory protections. Problem 2 : Their refund is conditional upon the item not having been reduced in value. Well, I don't know about you, but faulty goods tend to be next to worthless. It would seem buycarparts.co.uk and other websites like that, are one and the same company behind the scenes, Autodoc. That particular order was subject to a Section 75 claim by me due to the refusal of the company to honour my consumer rights. They refused to pick up the items, or to refund any postage I might incur in sending back the faulty products they sent me. Long story short, the credit card company found in my favour in January 2020. I can only imagine that what's actually happened is some kind of chargeback initiated by the CC company, as opposed to they themselves covering the amount. This, presumably, has left a negative balance that nobody bothered to tell me about. This has all been duly reported to the European Consumer Centre which you can find here ukecc.net. In addition, I'm now contemplating pursuing a small claims action and having it enforced by the relevant authorities in Berlin. If I do, the results of that action including all the steps required to make it succeed will be published here, and everywhere else there's a review for this shower. If you find yourself with broken components and no redress from this muppet show, go through your credit card company and make a Section 75 claim. Oh, and btw, you can perform the small claims action in your local court, as this company touts business in the UK. I can tell you that they won't have my money for long, and that the items from that original order are still awaiting collection...