Primark and returns/exchanges

Denise35

I was so insensed by this I had to register and tell everyone.

It was my sons first birthday and lots of people brought him clothes from Primarks some of them were too small so I was going to take them back and exchange them for the right size, when I got to the counter I was told I couldn't exchange the clothes without a reciept (their policy had changed 7 weeks ago) when I said them were a present she asked me if I could get the reciept from the person who brought them to which I replied that would be rude.

I told my sister about it and she said she'd try a different branch for me and she was told that as of june 12th 2006 they would no longer be exchanging or refunding without a reciept, my sister told them it wasn't June 12th yet so they could exchange them.

I didn't want my money back I wanted to exchange them for a different size and they are the only people that sell 'Early Days'` clothes so it wasn't as if I was trying to con them with other stores clothes.

I was nearly saddled with a bag full of clothes that were too small, so beware of buying from Primarks because even though they are cheap if you lose your reciept your stuffed.

Bossyboots

It would seem that the thing to beware of is mislaying your receipt, not the store itself. They only have to offer a refund or exchange on faulty goods, anything else is the goodwill of the store. It is not unreasonable of them to want proof of purchase but they are in fact wrong to demand a receipt. If you paid by bank or credit card then that is acceptable proof of purchase for the Sale of Goods Act.

melancholly

Bossyboots wrote:

It would seem that the thing to beware of is mislaying your receipt, not the store itself. They only have to offer a refund or exchange on faulty goods, anything else is the goodwill of the store. It is not unreasonable of them to want proof of purchase but they are in fact wrong to demand a receipt. If you paid by bank or credit card then that is acceptable proof of purchase for the Sale of Goods Act.

hmm..... that's very true - but do they do gift receipts for giving as presents? and i haven't noticed any signs up near me advertising the change of policy - it seems a bit unfair to shift the goal posts without telling anyone!

princessmoneysaver

I have swopped items within the last week with no problems & no questions asked, like the OP it has been a swop due to someone buying them as presents but they were too small so I got a size bigger.

hammy_the_hammer

Bossyboots wrote:

It would seem that the thing to beware of is mislaying your receipt, not the store itself. They only have to offer a refund or exchange on faulty goods, anything else is the goodwill of the store. It is not unreasonable of them to want proof of purchase but they are in fact wrong to demand a receipt. If you paid by bank or credit card then that is acceptable proof of purchase for the Sale of Goods Act.

but that's the point you make that these goods aren't being returned subject to the sale of goods act...so primark can ask for whatever proof they like as it's a goodwill gesture.
nb i'm never that sure about the credit card receipt being proof of purchase as all it proves is that you spent £x on whatever in a shop....not necessarily the goods that you are returning!!

Bossyboots

hammy_the_hammer wrote:

but that's the point you make that these goods aren't being returned subject to the sale of goods act...so primark can ask for whatever proof they like as it's a goodwill gesture.
nb i'm never that sure about the credit card receipt being proof of purchase as all it proves is that you spent £x on whatever in a shop....not necessarily the goods that you are returning!!

Thats a good point. Well spotted. I must admit I was looking at the policy globally as I assumed (maybe incorrectly) that the policy is going to apply to all returns, not just exchanges for unsuitability.

It is stated on the direct.gov website that credit card statements are sufficient proof although I agree with you entirely that it doesn't prove what you actually bought on that day. I know some stores can pull up your receipts by knowing the day you shopped and from the transaction code printed on the statement.

Minerva69

Hi Denise35, sorry to hear about your problems with Primark. I have been to the Leeds store and have found some of their staff to be rude and unhelpful, so your story doesn't surprise me.

I have a young daughter too and have bought her some clothes from the Early Days range at Primark. I have found that some of their clothes do tend to be a bit on the small side, so I usually get the next size up.

Some of their stuff is very poor quality and doesn't last long, I bought her one pair of trousers from there which actually fell to bits before they went in the washing machine, and she'd only worn them for 1 day. I also bought some socks from there which had holes in because of the stupid plastic tag they had put through them. I am very wary of what I buy there now, I inspect everything really carefully to see what the quality is like.

Also, if you can go to places like George (Asda) or Tesco they often have similar prices to Primark, but tend to be better quality. Even Next aren't much more expensive, if you get their multipacks. I bought my daugher a pack of 4 summer t-shirts from Next for £9.99. Primark has copied the design exactly, but they are selling them for £2 each, they weren't as good a quality as the Next ones even though they were a bit cheaper.

pippa_h

I have exchanged Primark clothing several times without a receipt.
It's never been a problem, so I'm confused that it was for you.

davsidipp

bought a blouse and lost reciept for it took it back tobexleyheath in kent to exchange it for next size up but there new policy is you have to have the reciept popped into the dartford branch and they are exchanging up to the 12th of june so will take it back there as for quality there goods are no different to a lot of stores everything is made abroad today and you pay for it in quality

lamnicholas

New refund/exchange policy is on display in the store window of the Kingston Upon Thames branch today. I think I'm the only person who noticed.

JoeyEmma

In Manchester they have refused to accept returns without a receipt for ages.

We have been spoilt by places like M&S giving refunds without receipts. Shops don't have to if they don't want to. Its not the law.

Primark is very cheap for a reason. They have to save money somewhere. If they gave everybody refunds without proof of purchase then wouldn't they have to recover the cost of that in the price of the items that they sell?