Q&A Your legal questions answered.

Send your questions to askdean@people.co.uk

Under UK consumer laws, the Consumer Contracts Regulations

QI ORDERED a table and chairs online in November. The table arrived on January 10 but the chairs haven’t yet arrived. When I chased the retailer they said they did not know when they will be in stock. I asked for a refund of everything but they said that I was now outside of the 14 day cooling off period. Are they right to do this James Freud.

THE retailer is wrong. The table and chairs are a set so the 14 day period under the Consumer Contract Regulations will not start until the chairs have been delivered. You are therefore entitled to a refund, as long as the table is still in pristine and an unused condition.

I PAY a gardener a yearly fee to cut my grass regularly and tidy the garden. However, he only

AQstate that you can cancel goods purchased online any time up to 14 days from the date of delivery.

But this does not apply to goods purchased from some nation’s jurisdictions, including China, so you will have to see what the trader’s terms and conditions say.

My guess is that they will be silent on the subject.

It is also worth noting that your parcel could get delayed as it comes through customs or is even rejected as the level of diligence comes for nine months of the year, should he be charging for the whole year? Grace Pepper DESPITE calling it a yearly fee, the gardener may have taken account of the fact that he will need to attend for only nine months. The fee is paid annually but the work is not done all year. But if he said that he will attend

Asurrounding the coronavirus increases with imports.

If this happens you will probably find that the trader will refuse to resend the goods unless you pay an additional delivery fee, and few will agree a refund.

Overall, I would advise that you err on the side of caution for now and avoid shopping with traders in China, or indeed any other country that has announced an outbreak of the virus.

See more advice from Dean on theconsumerlawyer.blog.

“every month” of the year, then you would be entitled to a pro rata refund.

I WILL get a new boiler with help from a government grant. If something goes wrong will I have the same rights as if I paid for it all? William Sheen

YES, the grant will have absolutely no effect on your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

I HIRED a skip several weeks ago for one week. I’ve now discovered that the company has gone bust so I’m left with the skip. What can I do? Tina Stewart

WRITE to their registered address or last known address saying you will dispose of the skip if it is not collected within seven days. If you get no response I’m sure another local skip company will take it away for you.

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