Debenhams - my GOD !!

liz_uk

My friend (it was actually a friend, I`m not just saying that!) .. took a handbag back to debenhams last weekend as some sequins were falling off and the stitching on the handles was coming apart.. theywouldn`t give her a refund, only an exchange as she didn`t have the reciept..

Then today, she went in, and found that it had been put back out on to the shop floor, even though it was faulty and marked up at full price of £60 !!

Can they do that ??

mrcow

Why does this not surprise me?

I've stopped buying anything from Debenhams after some of the horror stories I've read on this site.

Astaroth

What proof did she take in then of when she bought it? If she cannot prove when she bought it from them she cannot really complain that they didnt give her a choice of how it was dealt with unless the design of the item itself would mean that it has only been available for a short while.

As long as the item isnt dangerous then they certainly can attempt to sell it if they want. A small shop would mark it as a seconds or ex-display to prevent the next person who buys it (if anyone does) from being able to return it but a national store like debs will probably just sell it as new and the next person may or may not take it back depending on if it deteriorates more or not and if they themselves feel they have "bought as seen"

trisontana

A few years ago took back a faulty tin of hair spray (there was no gas in it and so it would'nt spray). They gave her a refund but she saw the assistant put the faulty tin back on the shelf.

ts_aly2000

Ahhh Debenhams....

Bought a pair of their 'expensive' Jasper Conran strappy heels. Got them home, one strap was longer than the other (I wasn't imagining things) and one strap was thicker than the other.

When I took them back I stood there with the girl comparing the straps in front of a queue of people. One was about 3cm longer than the other! Got a refund after a bit of grumbling and with the whole queue checking their items one by one.

Bloody places! Debenhams has REALLY gone downhill in the last 10-years or so, some of their staff clearly don't want to be there and are soooo awkward. Same in most shops really, there's even an evil till assistant in Bury St. Edmunds at M&S!! m&s!!

Some of the very best service comes from the small independant shops and it's worth paying extra to buy from them.

zappomatic

Sadly Debenhams have realised that they can get people to pay over the odds for things that should be inexpensive just by licensing a designer's name and slapping it on the tag. It will catch up with them in the end.

Astaroth

I thought that was the case with 90% of "designer" items

Bossyboots

The reason Debenhams is not the store is was, is because it was taken over a while ago. The attitude of the new owners is in contrast to how things were before not only to their customers, but also to their staff.

Before you blame the staff for being awkward, please remember that they are only doing what they have been told from on high. Staff morale is low and it isn't helped by customers demanding over and over again to see someone higher in authority when the supervisor dealing with a problem knows that to call the manager will result in her/him (the supervisor) getting a ear bashing later on for not dealing with it themselves and a minus in their appraisal for having done so.

hollydays

Unfortunately a few years ago more shops would take this back without a receipt.Stores now are much more wary,and rightly so ,of dishonest people who use the item then rip open a few stitches etc and take it back saying its faulty,or much more common place and very rife ,people who steal the item and damage to return.-I am not saying your friend has done this, but how are the store to know that its even been purchased.Unfortunately its the world we live in,re putting it back on the shopfloor-that is poor but cant say I am surprised.Many stores wouldnt even have given her an exchange as she had no proof of puurchase so they actually treated her quite well.

mrcow

Hollydays, I don't think that the "rant" was over the returns policy, but more the fact that they put returned faulty goods back on the shelf at full price for some unsuspecting customer to again pay £60 for!

Practices like this can ruin a reputation, and with a store the size of Debenhams, it's really not necessary!

hollydays

All it takes is a new sales assistant and a disorganised dept- i have a good friend who works for them and they are not the best at rewarding their staff for a job well done.It could have been deliberate-but am not shocked if it was-Managers are under a lot of pressure in some companies and good Managers end up leaving and going somewhere better