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M&S returns with missing receipt but card or bank statement

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  • bylromarha
    bylromarha Posts: 10,085 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    M+S have refunded me using my CC statement.

    Only needed to use it once and it was the sole item I bought that day. Was about a year ago though...

    Remember a smile and a polite manner can work wonders in these sorts of situations!
    Who made hogs and dogs and frogs?
  • sahra
    sahra Posts: 707 Forumite
    If you were to go in politely and ask a member of staff if it was possible to have a refund with the statement as proof, they can just say no or they can query with a manager. A Sa doesn't have authorisation to just give a refund without a proper receipt as they need to scan your receipt as proof. Please don't go in demanding, be nice and maybe they'll honour it as goodwill, but they definitely don't have to do anything.
  • kmeast
    kmeast Posts: 223 Forumite
    I have been refused a full refund when I returned something I ordered online - I lost the delivery note, but did take a print out of my order detailing the items I ordered & the price I paid. I only got 1/2 the price back that I paid as the item had been reduced even though I was within the return period.

    I'm afraid they do not have to refund the full amount without a receipt unless the item is faulty, regardless of what proof you have. Only a receipt is acceptable as this has a barcode that has to be scanned.

    You will get the current selling price of the item back on a credit note - so if the item has been reduced you will only get the new value refunded.

  • The above takes things to extremes but the situation is exactly the same. I am not sure M&S can just decide to give you back any amount they choose and I think they have to honour the entry on your statement as a receipt for refund purposes. Not to do so flies in the face of the position taken by all the other major retailers who M&S states they are ahead of in customer service and particularly refunds.

    Yes they can, you can't prove what the item is or what you bought.

    My company does exactly the same. The position is you must have an itemised reciept. During the development of the new P.O.S system some credit or debit card statements showed up simply 'Next' as opposed to the store and number which would then allow it to be tracked.

    The onus should not have to be on the retailer to run around after you if you've lost the reciept. Some high street chains only have transaction records available instore for up to 3 months back on their system with the rest on the Head Office systems. Even if they do have it, it's never on the actual till, it involves going off the floor and searching through the mainframe.

    The credit card statement doesn't prove you bought a mens blue top or a ladies blue top. You may well have spent £40 in M&S but how do they know it wasn't on food?

    People are expecting far far too much from our retailers at times and expect them just to dole out money at their beck and call.

    The last selling price without receipt system is a fair and just one

    and this is certainly the case for M&S who have quite frankly had the !!!! taken out of their refund 'policy' for the last 20 years by customers. The furore over 35 days was obscene, 14 days is overly generous in my opinion.
  • I managed to get a refund from Morrisons for a faulty DS today, with only a AMEX CC statement.

    The would not accept it at first, as they said I could have bought anything.

    After a chat with the Manager a week a go and me saying "Look, I bought it on the day they were on offer for £65 and they were literlally flying out of the shop" he agreed to speak to Head Office.

    After speaking to Head Office, he checked back at the prices and the DS was £65 on the day the statement said I had purchased it, so they agreed a refund.

    Mental note to self... look after the receipts next time :)

    As a previous poster said 'a smile can work, be nice, polite and sometimes you can get what you want'

    Well done Morrisons, top marks for Customer Service :) And they got it all back again as I did my shopping while I was there (normally go to Sainsburys)

    Now I need to find another cheap DS somewhere........
    I want to be credit card and loan free by Christmas 2010
  • M&S don't accept bank statements as proof of purchase, as the above poster said, as it is not an itemised bill. The receipt is your proof of purchase. You'll get a refund in credit vouchers at the current selling price.

    If the goods have gone down in the recent sale, then if you are friendly and polite, you may get a goodwill refund - which would likely still be in credit vouchers, but for a higher amount. This is at the discretion of the store / manager and they have a limited budget for such goodwill.

    If you approach it in the right way - pleasantly, calmly, you're much more likely to get the refund.

    (Or, of course, you can try the tactics of today's favourite customer, who screamed at three separate people because she'd lost the receipt for a sale item and thus that made somehow made us collectively stupid, incompetent and disgusting...I'm sure you can guess what the outcome was.)
  • It is a pity then that M&S have on their website the following:
    For a “goodwill” refund or exchange (i.e where there is no legal right to a refund or exchange under the Distance Selling Regulations or otherwise), after you have received your goods, you can return any clothing or home furnishing (including electronic items) but excluding furniture to us for a refund, provided you have the ‘Parcel Summary’ document or other proof of purchase. Items must be unused and returned in the original packaging and in a re-saleable condition within 35 days of receipt of your goods.

    http://www.marksandspencer.com/Returns-policy-Returns-Refunds-Help/b/43698031

    The poignant phrase being "other proof of purchase".

    As they state they will accept a different form of proof, I argue that the best alternative proof is your statement showing that you did indeed buy something for that price on that day.

    I think I'd be prepared to hit them up for a decent argument on this one and waddle down to small claims if they refused to back their stated company policy.
  • bylromarha
    bylromarha Posts: 10,085 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    I think I'd be prepared to hit them up for a decent argument on this one and waddle down to small claims if they refused to back their stated company policy.

    You sound like you really want to deal with this in a polite fashion :rolleyes:

    Just want to repeat, a smile and a polite manner go A LOT further than going in shouting about your rights, store policy and small claims court.

    If I were in store and you were being hard work, then starting producing store policy at me, I would fire back at you to explain how you can prove an item you are trying to return for £14.99, with a credit card statement showing £14.99 was the exact same item. It's not proof (as per policy), just evidence you purchased something that day. An itemised receipt is proof of exact item.

    If you were polite and friendly about it, I'd give you the benefit of the doubt.

    Their policy term is "goodwill" remember. ;)

    I'd also remember to keep hold of your receipts in future too...
    :rotfl:
    Who made hogs and dogs and frogs?
  • beth464
    beth464 Posts: 81 Forumite
    It is a pity then that M&S have on their website the following:



    http://www.marksandspencer.com/Returns-policy-Returns-Refunds-Help/b/43698031

    The poignant phrase being "other proof of purchase".

    As they state they will accept a different form of proof, I argue that the best alternative proof is your statement showing that you did indeed buy something for that price on that day.

    I think I'd be prepared to hit them up for a decent argument on this one and waddle down to small claims if they refused to back their stated company policy.
    What you have quoted is the returns policy for items bought from the website. "Other proof of purchase" from the website could mean a print out of your online account showing the items you ordered. It's not even talking about shop-bought items.

    I think you just need to accept that if you lose the receipt, you lose your right to a refund. They'd be doing you a favour by giving you a credit note, let alone running around after you to find out whether or not you did purchase something. They simply do not have to.
    Have you tried returning the item? It may still be the same price in which case you'll get the same amount back on a credit note anyway.
  • KarenBB
    KarenBB Posts: 1,115 Forumite
    Out of curiosity, OP do you have something you want to return and only have a statement as proof you spent money in M&S on a set day or is this thread just a random question?
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