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Post Christmas sales Rant
austin man - 27/12/10 at 05:02 PM

Took a present back to WH Smiths as it was not what the wife wanted, they did take the book back but only paid her out the sale price of the book so have effectively Pocketed £5.00 what a way to make money, Im absolutely disgusted

DanP - 27/12/10 at 05:07 PM

If you have a receipt then they have to refund the price you paid for it. Thats a real con that they are trying that on with people!

JoelP - 27/12/10 at 05:07 PM

sorry, i think you have been blagged there. Fire a letter off if you can be bothered.

steve m - 27/12/10 at 05:17 PM

"If you have a receipt then they have to refund the price you paid for it "

Its the law

carpmart - 27/12/10 at 05:18 PM

They have stuffed you like a Turkey there!

If they will refund you based on their refund policy, they have to refund you what you paid, not some arbitrary lower figure!

However, its a fiver so get a mince pie and a glass of malt and chalk it up to experience!

cliftyhanger - 27/12/10 at 05:19 PM

quote:
Originally posted by DanP
If you have a receipt then they have to refund the price you paid for it. Thats a real con that they are trying that on with people!

They don't have to refund at all
It is an extra, they are only obliged if the goods are faulty. BUT there isn't usually a problem with good retailers, unless you don't have the receipt (which is reasonable, after all you could have just bought it in the sale...)

HJad a result a few years ago with wickes. Massively overbought on floor tiles, and a couple of months returned the unused boxes. But had lost the receipt. I bought in the sale, and they had gone up since. I made over £100, which had to be in other stuff. Still a good result.

Back to the smiths episode, probably too late now to do a lot, but deffo worth a letter methinks.

steve m - 27/12/10 at 05:33 PM

Sorry, you are incorrect

If you take an item back o the original seller with the receipt, by law they have to give you a full refund
for what ever the reason

If no receipt, then the retailer has the choice of replacement/ refund or more commonly a credit note

Steve

scootz - 27/12/10 at 05:39 PM

quote:
Originally posted by steve m
Sorry, you are incorrect

If you take an item back o the original seller with the receipt, by law they have to give you a full refund
for what ever the reason

If no receipt, then the retailer has the choice of replacement/ refund or more commonly a credit note

Steve



Nope... they are only obligated to refund you if the item was not as described, not of satisfactory quality, not safe and durable, and / or not fit for the purposes specified.

austin man - 27/12/10 at 05:40 PM

took the receipt and the book in

scootz - 27/12/10 at 05:51 PM

Not sure why it warrants a rant as they've gone further than they had to! They could legally have refused to accept any return / offer any refund in the circumstances described!

austin man - 27/12/10 at 05:53 PM

the rant is that It was my son who bought the wrong book for his Mother, there were two Cheryl Cole books for sale , due to the lower refund he could not get her the book she wanted. Most retailers appreciate this at Christmas as 85% of there sales are as presents therefore the chance of the present being correct or of any use is significantly higher than when buying for ones self.

He now has a Tenner to purchase a £15.00 book

cliftyhanger - 27/12/10 at 06:13 PM

Apart from the worrying fact it is all about a cheryl cole book (on which matter I will say no more)
I think Smiths are acting illegally. Check with their returns policy, but if the affer refunds, they must surely refund th eamount paid if supported with a receipt?? it sounds immoral, if not illegal.

BTW I think a an earlier poster may have assumed it was mail order, where retails have to offer refund/replacement via distance selling regs. Same doesn't apply to physically buying in a shop. Which leads me on to Argos, who are not helpful about letting you play with the goods before buying, but don't offer their 16 day returns policy with cameras/mp3 etc. PITA.

JoelP - 27/12/10 at 06:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scootz
Not sure why it warrants a rant as they've gone further than they had to! They could legally have refused to accept any return / offer any refund in the circumstances described!


their returns policy doesnt say anything about refunding less than you paid, or about a restocking fee like some places charge.

It is disappointing that a major retailer would perform so poorly, and im quite sure that their management wouldnt want to appear so tight fisted, esp over a fiver. Hence i suggested a letter, since the instore staff are clearly not seeing the bigger 'customer satisfaction' picture.

ps, you REALLY should have spoken to a manager in store, and kicked up a stink.

[Edited on 27/12/10 by JoelP]

scootz - 27/12/10 at 06:35 PM

All their website says in relation to Store Returns is:

WHSmith Store Refunds
Bought something in store and need to return it? Send it in the post or bring it into any WHSmith store - within 30 days of receipt. Refunds are made onto your card, not in cash. This is in addition to your statutory rights.

The key word in that statement is 'NEED'. Without a definition as to what 'NEED' covers, then it's impossible to say without speaking directly to their Customer Service department.

Just to repeat - they are under NO legal obligation (Statutory Rights) to refund for an item bought in error (no one is). The only time that this is obligated is if you have made the purchase online, or via another means that's covered by the Distance Selling Regs. The retailers own policy is the only hope you may have... but again, it comes down to what 'NEED' means.

I do agree that it's a bit mean of the store though, and like Joel, I suspect that if you kick-up a fuss, then someone in customer services will probably send-out a £5 voucher.

Puzzled - 27/12/10 at 07:08 PM

IMHO -------------- anyone wot buys a Cheryl Cole book does"nt deserve a refund!!!!!!!!
What a total and utter waste of money, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stott - 27/12/10 at 07:15 PM

Scootz is correct, in law they do not have to refund unless it's faulty etc.

However I belive they cannot return to you less than you paid for it even by means of a credit note. If their returns policy stated that you could only recieve a replacement or a credit note (which incidentally it doesn't as Scootz pointed out above) they shoud have given you £15 on a gift card or the like.

You need to get back down there tomorrow and whinge, pound to a pinch you'll end up with it back

ATB
Stott

AndyW - 27/12/10 at 07:24 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Puzzled
IMHO -------------- anyonewot buys a Cheryl Cole book does"nt deserve a refund!!!!!!!!
What a total and utter waste of money, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Bet her book was proof read first, unlike some posts..............

Puzzled - 27/12/10 at 07:59 PM

Hey Andy

Did u read it ??, hope U got SATISFACTION at-------- least from the photos.
as I say ----- "wot a waste of money"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

austin man - 27/12/10 at 08:13 PM

she never even wanted the Cheryl cole book, she wanted Danni Minogues book and got it from the daughter, Cheryls book was just full of pictures which have already been in the papers money for old rope

Paul TigerB6 - 28/12/10 at 10:07 AM

What a con!! As Scootz and others have said - they are under no legal obligation to refund you but they should have refunded the price paid if their policy is to allow refunds!!

Do you still have the receipt and also the receipt from the return?? Alternatively - was the transaction done by card?? Don't forget - by law you only have to provide proof of purchase - and that can be a bank statement showing the card transactions - not just a till receipt so you may have options!!

I'd take the matter to the store manager as a matter of principle. Good luck anyway