Early today we head to a store for Company A and ask for a refund. Company A employees call a manager and then regional manager, both who say that because the blister package is open they can't refund because they can't resell. They say I can't return the product through the avenues the CPA provides (couldn't properly inspect product without breaking package, product not fit for purpose) and prefer to lay blame with us rather than take the product, which otherwise is undamaged and probably works, and give me a refund. Credit notes don't work because Company A has stores far away from my home residence.
What do?
One of the more confusing aspects of the Consumer Protection Act is the inclusion of multiple provisions covering a consumer's right to return goods. The provisions that are most relevant to your situation are covered under Section 20, which is essentially a "general" right to return goods.
Per Section 20(2), there are several circumstances whereby consumers are entitled to return goods:
(2) Subject to subsections (3) to (6), the consumer may return goods to the supplier, and receive a full refund of any consideration paid for those goods, if the supplier has delivered—
(a) goods to the consumer in terms of an agreement arising out of direct marketing, and the consumer has rescinded that agreement during the cooling off period, in accordance with section 16;
(b) goods that the consumer did not have an opportunity to examine before delivery, and the consumer has rejected delivery of those goods for any of the reasons contemplated in section 19(5);
(c) a mixture of goods, and the consumer has refused delivery of any of those goods, as contemplated in section 19(8); or
(d) goods intended to satisfy a particular purpose communicated to the supplier as contemplated in section 55(3), and within 10 business days after delivery to the consumer, the goods have been found to be unsuitable for that particular purpose."
The last of those circumstances is probably most relevant here, which immediately raises two important questions:
1. Did you communicate your intended purpose for the headphones to Company A? (i.e. PC use)
2. Did you discover the PC incompatibility within 10 days of purchasing the headphones?
If the answer to both questions is yes, then the right to return set out in Section 20 would apply. In which case, per Section 20(5):
"(5) Upon return of any goods in terms of this section, the supplier must refund to the consumer the price paid for the goods, less any amount that may be charged in terms of subsection (6)."
So Company A, by law, CANNOT simply turn you away. They HAVE to refund you EVEN IF you opened the original packaging.
What amount may they charge you in terms of "subsection 6"? That depends on whether you opened the original packaging or not, whether the headphones can be repacked in their original packaging or not, and whether any consumption or depletion occurred (which, in your case, presumably does not apply).
Since you opened the original packaging and the headphones cannot be repackaged in the original packaging, Section 20(6c) will apply:
"(c) in any other case, the supplier may charge the consumer a reasonable amount—
(i) as contemplated in paragraph (b); and
(ii) for necessary restoration costs to render the goods fit for re-stocking, unless, having regard to the nature of the goods, and the manner in which they were packaged, it was necessary for the consumer to destroy the packaging in order to determine whether the goods—
(aa) conformed to the description or sample provided, in the case of goods that had not been examined by the consumer before delivery, as contemplated in subsection (2)(b); or
(bb) were fit for the intended purpose, in a case contemplated in subsection (2)(d)."
From what you described, you had to destroy the original packaging to determine whether the headphones were suitable for your intended purpose. Therefore, Section 20(6ciib) would apply and Company A would NOT be entitled to charge you for returning the goods.
Bottom line: if everything you have described is true and accurate, and if the circumstances that Section 20 of the Consumer Protection Act hinges on apply, then Company A has a legal duty to refund you for the headphones and may not charge you.
