My boyfriend bought a new KHS track bike from Cycle Smithy, a local dealer here in Chicago. It was around $600-and the least expensive model. He paid in credit. He bought the bike on a Saturday, rode it for about an hour, and decided it didn't fit him right, the geometry made his knees hurt. When he tried to contact the owner of the store within two days after the sale, the owner said that a refund depends on the reason. When my boyfriend explained his reason for wanting to return it, the owner said he couldn't get a refund because the problem was his knees, not the bike. So I called the owner back myself, and asked if he had a refund policy, in writing.
He said no, but that he could write one up if I liked. So I made sure to clarify again that he had no written refund policy, and he agreed, so I said thank you, and hung up.
I'm not exactly sure if there are any laws, federal, or state, that require a merchant to have a refund policy at all, let alone in writing. Most states or cities seem to have a rule about refund policies being in writing, visible, and disclosed at some point during a sale, but I still don't know for certain. Most bike dealers give customers around a week to test the bikes, but still offer a refund, or opportunity to get one, especially if the bike is in perfect condition.
According to the Consumer Fraud Act, it is a violation of this act to misrepresent or leave out any important fact that might considerably affect the decision to purchase. Most people would think that a refund policy would have a considerable impact on a customer's decision to purchase. Also, I'm not sure if this is a city, or state violation, but along with his credit card receipt, he was given a written invoice of his purchase, but nowhere on either of his receipts is there a listing of sales tax percentage, or amount. To make things more complicated my boyfriend proceeded to file a complaint with state authorities, but contacted the owner anyway to try and resolve it before he filed the complaint. The owner then offered to take the bike back, minus a fifteen percent re-stocking fee. My boyfriend, being impatient, agreed to it, and now is $100 dollars poorer. My next question is, should/can my boyfriend still file a complaint? And if the merchant turns out to be in violation of any acts, would that void or breach their sales contract? If the dealer doesn't have a written refund policy, would his 15% re-stocking fee that is part of his so-called unwritten refund policy be valid either? And if not, can my boyfriend be entitled to the extra 15%/$100, even if he already returned the bike to the dealer and got the other $500 or so dollars back? It's March 02, and the bike was returned 5 hours ago. If anyone can answer or refer to my numerous questions, I would be SO grateful, and will pass the information on. Sincerely, M, in Chicago.
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