Why do I have to give B&Q my postcode just to get an overcharge refunded??

UKTigerlily

When I worked in Asda there were several cases of refunds being done fraudulently (sp?) & they included a Manager who'd been getting away with it for years until she moved to our store. It probably asks the postcode & then brings up the street name at which point they'd ask for the house number which is just to save time & asking for spellings of the whole address, it then would probably just print out the refund slip to be signed.
The CSO may not have known why it asks for the postcode if like us they were never told the reason, all we knew was it was part of the refund process & the system was asking for it.
However, when staff are investigated for fraud & their refunds checked, the company can contact the customers to check they did get a refund & if a fake address is there or the customer knows nothing about it it's how they can prove the colleague was being iffy.
This is just how it was for us but i'm sure it's the same for other companies & it doesn't hurt to just give the info

londonTiger

IME it's standard procedure to have to give your full address during refunds, and refunds are ususally only issued by supervisors and above.

It sux that it's only for a couple of quid, but procedure is procedure and they have to do the same whether it's for £2 or £200

jamespir

whats the fuss about giving a postcode its not unique to you everybody in you street has the same

and the stores do it to a protect themselves from fraud and so they know your sincere

System

the obvious answer op is to watch the goods as they go through the till too many people are on the phone or chatting to to others instead of paying attention .

solodanceparty

Catherine_Johnson wrote: »

I can't see the point of making a fuss over not giving a postcode. It's not as if it's 'personal' information. It actually belongs to the Royal Mail, they own the copyright on postcodes.

Because if they didn't make a fuss, they wouldn't be able to cry about it on this forum. Or they're paranoid.

golddustmedia

jamespir wrote: »

whats the fuss about giving a postcode its not unique to you everybody in you street has the same

That's not strictly true.

Typically a postcode applies to about 15-30 properties in an urban area, however if like me you live more rurally then it can in fact be a single property or one of only a very small number of properties, so could in fact be a direct identifier.

Also of course the combination of postcode and house number builds up a mailing list which may either be mailed to or even sold on.

I agree with the OP that there should be no obligation to supply his postcode or other ID in this case. Perhaps the OP should have pointed out that having overcharged at the till the store could be fined £2000 by trading standards for their oversight.

lemster1987

The_Pedant wrote: »

I was unfortunate today to have simply been overcharged. Display sticker had one price, but on checking the receipt I discovered I was charged a pound or two more.

Simple says I, I'll query it and get it refunded. Then the fun starts ... it can't be dealt with at the tills, "you'll have to take it to the returns desk"

After a 10 minute wait for the 2 people in front to get seen to, I was getting a little frustrated. After the difference was confirmed, it's a simple matter of refunding the charged price and then charging the new price.

"Can I have your postcode sir?" he says.
As is common for such situations, I decline the invitation, as I could see no reason for it and when asked no further explanation could be given except "the system needs it". My reasoning for declining being that if it was a cash transaction they would simply play with the till, give me the difference and I'll be on my way. They then said that if I would not give my postcode then they would need to see some form of ID!

Now, due to money laundering regulations I can understand the need for some tracking in some situations where a cash refund is given, or a refund is given to a different account. but not in their scenario!

As it is, you could quite happily give any old postcode and be on your way. This of course achieves absolutely nothing! With cash, there is no such requirement. In my situation, I am clearly overcharged & the credit is going back to the same card they took the money from moments earlier!!

So, is there any legal requirement for this request?

As it was, they broke the law so I wasn't in the mood to do more than was required.

i work in b&q on the refunds desk our returns policy is changing on the 15th febuary so that anyone who is returning a non-faulty product without a receipt will be refused a refund as for the postcode needing to be given that has only been in force the last couple of months it is to prevent refund fraud when a postcode is given it is entered into the till and then looks up a list of addresses to which the customer is asked to confirm there address if they are unable to do so or the wrong address is given ID may be asked to be shown we can't process any refund through the till doesn't matter if its a cash or card sale a postcode has to be entered before we can get onto the refund screen to process the refund we can't just open the till and give you money out of it as the till would be reading wrong at the end of a working day but in special circumstances like yourself the head office post code can be entered by a supervisor who can then select the head office address to process the refund:)

Lokolo_2

We have a similar process for refunds at Wilkinson, after processing the transaction the customer will need to put their name and postcode on a slip and also sign it if it's for a refund. For exchanges only signature is required. This is the same regardless if it's a Cash or Card refund transaction, like someone said before it's all recorded, can't just give money out the till and not have it accounted for!
I somewhat agree though that customers/staff could easily falsify the information though, as it's not run through the computer, just written on the slip, but then thats not for me to worry about :rotfl:

hollydays

Staff are just paid to follow rules,not think about them too much.I agree it is not needed in your case.But its not likely that every member of staff will be told always ask for the postcode-except when we have overcharged the customer,so do what I do -give your own postcode but a different house number (let my neighbours get the junk mail).

Most times I couldn't be bothered to argue,so just act cute,and smile while lieing.

lindos90

I guess I understand that shops have to cover themselves for 'fraud' etc for returns under thier shop policy, but I do not know of anything in the SOGA that says the customer has to provide personal information when returning goods? I thought they only needed to provide proof of purchase.

Say someone was returning a fautly item under SOGA, could they legally be refused a refund on the basis that they did not adhere to company policy?

Its an interesting thought.

I am reluctant to give my details because once I returned something to next (didnt fit though, not faulty) gave my details, then im sent a next catalogue, they had obviously used my details to add me to their mailing list!!

If 'next' are prepaired to do this, I wouldnt put it past any shop on the highstreet! I wonder what other marketing calls and mail I recieve originates from the odd shop return? (I am with T and MPS)