Marketplaces are introducing new rules for returning goods. Analysis

Since October 15, requests for the return of goods to Ozon are considered directly by sellers: if they do not give a reasoned refusal within 24 hours, the refund will be automatically approved. A similar practice exists at Yandex. Market" in relation to a specific product group. How the procedure for returning goods on aggregators for consumers will change and who benefits from these changes is in the Izvestia article.

Which items can be returned

• The main change was the possibility of direct communication between the buyer and seller. When returning the product to Ozon, you must fill out a special application form and wait for the seller's response — he can either accept the application or refuse, necessarily indicating the reason.

• If approved, the product must be shipped within four calendar days, otherwise the application will be canceled. If the product was of good quality and had no significant defects, then the cost of return shipping may be at the expense of the buyer. Marketplaces usually do not use this right, but now every seller will have this decision. Probably, most will deduct the cost of the return delivery of the product upon refund.

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• Remote purchases are subject to the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, which reserves the buyer's right to return the product of proper quality at any time before its transfer and within seven days after. And if a memo on the order and timing of the return was not provided at the time of delivery, then you can return such an item within those months from the date of receipt.

• There are limitations. You can return a purchase only if it was not made according to individual parameters (for example, a print or engraving ordered by the buyer), but retained its presentation and consumer properties. Therefore, it is better to fix visible defects and traces of use right at the pick-up point upon receipt of the purchase: then it will be more difficult to prove that it was not you who violated the packaging or left obvious traces of socks on clothes and shoes. When returning the product, the seller may need documents confirming the purchase: a receipt or information about the movement of the order and the date of its delivery from his personal account.

• The consumer has 15 days to return technically complex goods with significant defects. You can also cancel the purchase and refund the money if the elimination of defects in the product took more than 45 days or the buyer cannot use his purchase for more than Z0 days during each year of the warranty period.

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The Service has been instructed to prepare relevant draft laws.

• On Yandex. Since May, sellers have been making the decision to approve refunds themselves, but only for technically complex products or in cases where it is not possible to determine the cause of the malfunction. The aggregator believes that sellers of such products have much more complete information than employees of the marketplace. Within 48 hours, they can approve or reject the refund of the purchase, as well as decide on a refund.

If the product was not accepted

• If the seller refuses to accept the refund, the buyer may open a dispute. And if the refund delivery is delayed, some marketplaces open it automatically. The aggregator acts as the arbitrator in this case. It is best to solve all issues with the seller on the trading platform and not go to other messengers, because otherwise the consumer risks becoming a victim of fraud and losing his money.

• To obtain compensation for low-quality goods, the buyer can contact Rospotrebnadzor or the court. But in any case, it is necessary to try to resolve the issue with the seller in a pre-trial manner by sending a claim to the seller or contacting the technical support of the marketplace. If there is no information about the seller on the aggregator's website, then you can claim a refund directly from the marketplace, in accordance with clause 2.1, Article 12 of the Law "On Consumer Rights Protection".

A step in support of entrepreneurs

• Lawmakers turned to regulating the field of distance trading after complaints from entrepreneurs due to stricter conditions on marketplaces. The Ozon initiative will give sellers the opportunity to independently negotiate with the consumer and reduce the number of refunds. It will be possible to evaluate the effectiveness of such a measure only after these rules apply to other marketplaces.

• Restrictions on the return of goods are designed to eliminate the situation when, on the eve of the holidays, users order a large number of goods that are not eventually redeemed. In this case, sellers include shipping costs in the price. The Ministry of Economic Development also proposed to introduce non-refundable tariffs for certain groups of goods: so far, with remote trading, buyers can refuse even personal hygiene items and pharmacy products if the packaging has not been opened. It is expected that such non-refundable tariffs will also reduce the cost of goods.