Returning shop product for refund?

simone10

I've searched to try to find an answer to my query but can't find one. Sorry if answer is already on here.
I sent an email to HOME BARGAINS yesterday and said:

Date: 24 September 2009.

Whilst on holiday on 9th Sept 2009 I used your Kendal branch to make some purchases (I have receipt), it was 5.30pm at shop closure and I admit I didn't check my receipt after purchases. Upon checking my receipt yesterday (and having returned from a 2-week holiday) I noticed I'd been charged 2.99 per Sweetex 1200 of which I bought 3 of because the shelf price showed they were 1.49 each. I would not knowingly have paid 2.99 each and certainly not have bought 3 of them at the full price that's charged everywhere. I cannot prove what the Kendal price on shelf said
but I would like a refund of the difference between 3 x 2.99 and 1.49 (i.e.
4.50)or to return 3 at 2.99 for full refund but 1 of them is now open. The
branch I could return to this Saturday 26th Sept is One Stop Perry Barr. I would appreciate your response before then as to what you can authorise.

The reply today is:

Thank you for your email.

I have looked into this with our buying department. We have two Sweetex products that we sell:
Sweetex 600 for £1.49 and Sweetex 1200 for £2.99. I think the issue here is that you have seen the price ticket for Sweetex 600 and assumed this is the price for Sweetex 1200. This could be because the wrong ticket was infront of the product (because of staff error or customers have put product back on shelf in wrong location).
As well as the price the price ticket has a description of the product. This is what the "offer for sale" is. So we have offered Sweetex 600 for £1.49, not Sweetex 1200 (even if the wrong ticket was in front of the product). Consequently no refund is due to you.

I hope this is clear.

I will speak to the Area Manager for the store and ask them to ensure the daily ticket walk carried out by management is being implemented at the store.

FYI, we have checked the price of Sweetex 1200 on the Tesco web site and it is £3.50.

I'm sure legally they don't have to refund me.....but wouldn't it normally be good customer service to at least refund the two I have still in packaging with the receipt?
Would appreciate other people's thoughts on this and especially if there's anyone out there who works at Home Bargains.
Do they have a NO REFUNDS policy or something unless its a faulty item?

Ivory_Tinkler

Firstly I think that it is good of Home Bargains to respond so quickly to your complaint. But, by your own admission you did not check your receipt so I think you should take some of the blame for this. You could try taking the unopened packs back to your local store but is it really worth it, after all they are 51p each cheaper than Tesco?

McKneff

I think I would go with Ivory Tinkler on this one. After all you will eventually use them all and you havent been overcharged. Think of the time saved not having to shop for them on another two occasions. As he/she says they are still about 20% cheaper than Tesco.

Morrisons have a habit of doing this sort of thing with the wrong labels under the goods. I alwasy check my receipt now before leaving the store as i was fedup of having to go back in.

Last week i saw a bottle of wine on my receipt for £8.99:eek:
when I thought i was buying a special offer of £3.99.

simone10

Thanks for your thoughts both.

I suppose you are right. I was just mad because I believed them to be a great price at £1.49 and can usually buy them in Superdrug when they do their offer on the 1200 for £1.99 (when its been £2.99 with 1/3 off). Its a good job I didn't clear the shelf of stock.

Also I can't believe I didn't spot the price on the recipt before I left the shop.

I've probably been using my 'stock' for a while and not had to pay full price for ages so didn't know the standard price had increased to over £3.

I've just checked Amazon and they want £4.45!

McKneff

simone10 wrote: »

Thanks for your thoughts both.

I suppose you are right. I was just mad because I believed them to be a great price at £1.49 and can usually buy them in Superdrug when they do their offer on the 1200 for £1.99 (when its been £2.99 with 1/3 off). Its a good job I didn't clear the shelf of stock.

Also I can't believe I didn't spot the price on the recipt before I left the shop.

I've probably been using my 'stock' for a while and not had to pay full price for ages so didn't know the standard price had increased to over £3.

I've just checked Amazon and they want £4.45!

I know how you feel, you just feel as if youve been had.

One day in Morrisons the same thing had happened and the smaller things that the Price ticket referred to was sold out. So the wrong price was there for the bigger things..
I took the notice off and gave it to the gormless assistant packing shelves. I couldnt believe it when i walked down the aisle and back up again and he was putting the bliddy thing back. :eek:
I took it off again, in full view of him and took it down to customer services and told them i didnt think much of their staff training.

simone10

McKneff wrote: »

I know how you feel, you just feel as if youve been had.

One day in Morrisons the same thing had happened and the smaller things that the Price ticket referred to was sold out. So the wrong price was there for the bigger things..
I took the notice off and gave it to the gormless assistant packing shelves. I couldnt believe it when i walked down the aisle and back up again and he was putting the bliddy thing back. :eek:
I took it off again, in full view of him and took it down to customer services and told them i didnt think much of their staff training.

I've noticed Morrisons are constantly overcharging and as I go in after work on an evening I can only assume they've been over charging for the product they overcharge me on all day!
I think I wrote to them about their bad signage against till prices once and they didn't both to respond.
The reason I'm usually very thorough at checking my receipts is because every time I went into Morrisons I always found at least one error on their receipt and find it very annoying to then have to queue again at customer services to get a refund when it has been there mistake.
I would also have taken a price down like you, once I knew it to be incorrect and would probably have called the manager if I saw an assistant put it back up. Especially as if you get Trading Standards invloved rather than telling the store that could result in a fine for them

simone10

simone10 wrote: »

I've searched to try to find an answer to my query but can't find one. Sorry if answer is already on here.
I sent an email to HOME BARGAINS yesterday and said:

Date: 24 September 2009.

Whilst on holiday on 9th Sept 2009 I used your Kendal branch to make some purchases (I have receipt), it was 5.30pm at shop closure and I admit I didn't check my receipt after purchases. Upon checking my receipt yesterday (and having returned from a 2-week holiday) I noticed I'd been charged 2.99 per Sweetex 1200 of which I bought 3 of because the shelf price showed they were 1.49 each. I would not knowingly have paid 2.99 each and certainly not have bought 3 of them at the full price that's charged everywhere. I cannot prove what the Kendal price on shelf said
but I would like a refund of the difference between 3 x 2.99 and 1.49 (i.e.
4.50)or to return 3 at 2.99 for full refund but 1 of them is now open. The
branch I could return to this Saturday 26th Sept is One Stop Perry Barr. I would appreciate your response before then as to what you can authorise.

The reply today is:

Thank you for your email.

I have looked into this with our buying department. We have two Sweetex products that we sell:
Sweetex 600 for £1.49 and Sweetex 1200 for £2.99. I think the issue here is that you have seen the price ticket for Sweetex 600 and assumed this is the price for Sweetex 1200. This could be because the wrong ticket was infront of the product (because of staff error or customers have put product back on shelf in wrong location).
As well as the price the price ticket has a description of the product. This is what the "offer for sale" is. So we have offered Sweetex 600 for £1.49, not Sweetex 1200 (even if the wrong ticket was in front of the product). Consequently no refund is due to you.

I hope this is clear.

I will speak to the Area Manager for the store and ask them to ensure the daily ticket walk carried out by management is being implemented at the store.

FYI, we have checked the price of Sweetex 1200 on the Tesco web site and it is £3.50.

I'm sure legally they don't have to refund me.....but wouldn't it normally be good customer service to at least refund the two I have still in packaging with the receipt?
Would appreciate other people's thoughts on this and especially if there's anyone out there who works at Home Bargains.
Do they have a NO REFUNDS policy or something unless its a faulty item?

Got home and decided to respond to HOME BARGAINS response. Got a super super fast response to this next email I directed to the Director who had responded to me originally.

Thanks for your quick response
A little harsh I feel that I can't even return for a refund the 2 sweeetex
1200 purchased at £2.99 each which are still in original packaging AND I
HAVE RECEIPT showing purchase very recently.
It will teach me to check my receipt very carefully before leaving the shop.
As I assume they would have refunded if I'd realised the mistake at the time (even if it was my error at not being able to read your top shelf item
descriptions in smaller print than the price itself, me being 5ft 2")and
relying on products being in the correct place.
In fact if would make sense that the 600 sweetex for £1.49 was out of stock as it would be 1p cheaper to purchase 2 of the 600 than 1 of the 1200.
You are however correct that £2.99 isn't such a bad price - its just that I
have been used to paying £1.99 for 1200 from Superdrug when they ran their 1/3 off promotions at the time when they charged £2.99. Admittedly I have probably been using my stock pile from them for some time and I haven't checked the latest RRP on the product for a while. Due to paying £1.99 it wasn't such a jump to believe your price was £1.49 as I've come to seek out Home Bargain shops where ever I go away from my home town of Redditch (B98) as they do have some really good prices. Incidentally its high time REDDIITCH had a Home Bargains store (our old Woolworths is vacant in a fabulous position in Kingfisher Centre!)

I understand your decision has been made, hence case closed and there is no need for you to respond back.

I hope my 'complaint' hasn't put you off opening up in Redditch (or
Bromsgrove?) - as I think its time we didn't give all our money to Poundland and Wilkinsons.
Regards

Sorry for the confusion.
There is no problem you returning the Sweetex for a full refund. I am sorry I did not make this clear. We have 28-day money back guarantee, if you want to bring the product back, for whatever reason, as long as we can re-sell it, you can return it to the store, just take your receipt with you.
If you want to return it to Perry Barr, or any other store, no problem. (You may want to take this email with you just in case).
Thnaks for your feedback on redditch, it is on our target list.
Regards,
Operations Director
TJ Morris Ltd

Ivory_Tinkler

I think you have just received very good customer service - the responses were quick, addressed your problems and were friendly and polite. Home Bargains could perhaps teach some of the major stores who charge top prices a lesson or two in the art of keeping the customer happy!