Name & Address for Returns

Benny24

Just want to clarify that I have the right information.....

Is it right that when I take an item back to a store for either a refund/faulty/overcharge etc. that I DO NOT have to give them my name and address if they request it, to obtain the refund?

I was under the impression that stores use this policy to combat staff theft ie. from making up returns and pocketing the proceeds. By the member of public giving their name and address it allows management to do random checks to ensure staff aren't cheating.

I object to giving my details and I have been refusing them now for some time, but a particulary nasty encounter with a shop assistant who refused to give me my money after an overcharge on their part, has left me wondering if I have the right advice from a legal perspective?

I stood my ground and told her to call a manager so he could see for himself that I was taking the money not her (i never suggested to her she was by the way!) The shops should be finding another way of combating staff theft, rather than insisting that customer give up personal details!

If i'm not in the mood to confront or am in a rush, I will sometimes just give them a made up postcode, and refuse anything else!

MOH once signed Mickey Mouse, Disneyland!!!!! :j

Any thoughts on this subject?

moneymah

You are correct in that the procedure is often employed to prevent theft, but this is as much to prevent customer abuse of the system as employee theft and it is a procedure recommended by the police and in publications by the Crime Prevention Publicity section of the Home Office issued to retailers.

There is no legal provision requiring the submission of name and address in order to obtain a refund but consider the following.

Any payment method other than cash will present your name regardless of your consent and it is printed by the cash register automatically by some retailers.

If you want to refuse this information for whatever reason they have no legal right to force you to provide it but you equally have no legal right to a refund at the POS. If a shop wants to insist on an address, they can do so by making the refund by cheque to your home address. There is nothing to prevent them doing this in law and it would comply with any anti theft policies they employ while avoiding your refusal to provide the requested information.

Giving false information is not something you should be doing. I recently had problems with TV licensing. Not because I don't have a licence, but because someone decided to provide my address when they purchased their TV equipment (which is actually a violation of licensing law but the principle remains the same). A "made up postcode" to you is often personal information to someone else so either refuse or provide real information since others might not want the fallout from your being in a rush.

Benny24

I don't provide a postcode that is someone elses. It is quite easy to make up a postcode with your area's starting initial and then put a longer number after it that just does not exist. I do not and have never put down a full made up address, just the post code.

lamb7994

Remember your setails are protected by the Data protection act so they can't be used in anyother way other than to monitor refunds.
It's been heard of before retailers monitoring refunds for customer making very regular refunds

lightisfading

It does amuse me (nothing personal at the OP, for all i know you shop only in cash) that people kick up a stink about giving their name and address, but shop using debit/credit cards, store cards, loyalty cards, shop online etc. Really, refusing to write your name and address on a returns form won't protect you from spam or whatever

Giving your name and address is usually used to monitor those who like to buy stuff, use it for a bit, and then return it (you know, the nice people who buy an outfit for one night out and then want the money back :rolleyes: ), shoplifters stealing stuff and then getting the money back, or the nice people i have to deal with who think '30 day exchange policy' means 'we are a public library for electronics'.

It can be helpful, by the way, to give your name and address when buying (especially expensive) items with a guarantee. Where i work, we can do a reprint if you lose your receipt if you've given your address - whereas if you've refused, and you lose your receipt, and need to send the item off to the manufacturer for repair.. tough luck.