A garden shed to send back

A garden shed to send back

"I bought a garden shed by mail order and when I'd put it up I realised it was faulty. I contacted the seller to ask him to replace at least the spare parts, but he asked me to return the item. Such a request seems absurd to me, as it means that I have to completely dismantle the hut and send it back by post at great expense.

Sales contracts are governed by the Swiss Code of Obligations, subject to any contractual clauses to the contrary, which are generally contained in general terms and conditions incorporated into the contract. The law stipulates that the seller is obliged to guarantee the buyer both for the qualities promised and for defects which, materially or legally, deprive the item of its value or its intended use, or which diminish them to a significant extent.

According to the legal system, as soon as the buyer has notified the seller of the existence of a defect, he has the option of having the sale rescinded by exercising the redhibitory action, or of claiming compensation for the loss in value by bringing an action to reduce the price. In addition, where the sale relates to a thing which can be replaced by another of the same kind, the buyer has the choice either to ask for the contract to be rescinded or for the price to be reduced, or to demand other acceptable things of the same kind. By law, however, there is no right to repair the item.

Beware, however, of general terms and conditions which may depart from this systematic approach by providing for different procedures for exercising warranty claims. Where these procedures are provided for in pre-formulated clauses, they must be respected by the parties unless they are considered to be unusual. The doctrine considers that a clause is unusual when the other party could not, in good faith, have expected it.

In this case, check the terms and conditions governing your right to request the replacement of your garden shed in the mail order seller's general terms and conditions. You will be obliged to comply with them and in particular to return the garden shed if this is provided for. If the clause stipulates that you must return the item purchased at your own expense, you could try to argue that it is an unusual feature to which the seller was obliged to draw your attention, failing which such a clause might not be enforceable against you, meaning that you could ask for your postage costs to be refunded.