Marks and Spencer refused refund with receipt!!

BlondieE

I bought my daughter £40 school shoes, after six weeks the sole was splitting at the toe. Returned them with the receipt and told it was just wear and tear. i asked for head office number - they then exchanged them straight away. I thinks its a disgrace and they should at least offer you new pair!!

Nenen

wigginsmum wrote:

Thing is, M&S is no longer quality. 15 years ago it was different, but they're still successful based on people's memory of their past quality - their clothes and shoes are not what they once were and certainly not worth the prices they charge.

I couldn't agree more! I think people's memory of M&S legendary customer servive is distant history too! 10-15 years ago M&S were reknown for always giving the customer the benefit of the doubt regarding any refunds/exchanges, even to the point that you didn't need a receipt to exchange things and there was never any question of surly or ill mannered staff refusing to exchange anything. I often bought stuff in M&S for my (now grown up) children and myself knowing that, although I was paying a bit more, I was getting much better quality stuff that would wash really well and last for ages and I would get excellent after sales service too if I needed it (although hardly ever did). Nowdays you just pay more than in Tescos Asda, Sainsburys etc but get no better quality and disgraceful CS! :mad: :mad:

I bought my dh a plain coloured shirt in M&S last year for £25 (hardly 'cheap') and after him wearing it once and washing it for the first time I noticed a lighter spot on the front of the collar which I assumed was a dye fault. I took it back only to be told that I must have washed it incorrectly. When I insisted I had followed the instructions on the label and had also washed it with several other shirts, none of which had developed the same problem, the sales assistant rudely insisted that it was my fault, an excess of powder was to blame, etc etc etc. I asked to see the manager and got kept waiting ages until eventually a senior assistant came and refused my exchange when the first assistant told her (in front of a queue of people) she thought I had washed it more than once and not correctly (effectively calling me a liar). I pointed out that I had only bought the shirt 10 days previously (as could be seen on the receipt) hardly had time for my dh to wash and wear it the many times she was suggesting but they both stood their ground and looked at me as if I was something nasty on the bottom of their shoe, at which point I was so embarrassed and humiliated I gave up. I really felt like I was treated as a criminal but guilty until proven innocent! As I say, that certainly wouldn't have happened 15 years ago and I really think it explains why M&S' profits have fallen so drastically in recent years... people are gradually waking up to the fact that there stuff is no longer better quality than any other chain store and their CS is rubbish too!

Going back to the OP... I am a primary school teacher and I certainly don't think most of the children in my Year 3 (7-8 year olds) class have to have new shoes every half term, even the boys who stereotypically are very hard on their shoes playing football every playtime etc!!!!! I would say that 5-6 months is the average length of time shoes last at school... certainly not more than one pair per term. I think 8 weeks for what were sold as school shoes is outrageous and I would certainly try sending them back with a letter pointing out that they were sold as school shoes and therefore have not been fit for the purpose they were sold. I would imagine (although no legal expert) that you could ask that in the ' very unlikely event' of them disagreeing with you and rejecting your claim please could they send them back to you with your original receipt as you would like to contact trading standards and your local paper! I would assume that if they refuse your claim then the goods still belong to you and therefore they can't keep them! Just a thought... but maybe I'm being a bit too bolshy... it just makes my blood boil to hear of you being treated like this and think of them getting away with it!:mad: Do let us know how you get on.
Good luck!:beer:

Lady_E

I am with the OP on this .

I am absolutely gobsmacked that the excuse"no one else has bought them back" is a reasonable excuse for M&S to refuse an exchange/refund.

Find out name of manager and ring up the store and ask to make a complaint about the shoddy way you have been treated- this is not acceptable for any shop , let alone M&S.

If you get no joy , I would suggest, like other posters, to go to another store, maybe early morning weekday or early afternoon weekday and see CS when less busy .

black-saturn

All I can add also is that I bought my DD's shoes from the Shoe Express sale this september which cost £4 and £7. They have worn them every school day since september and DD1 is particularly hard on her shoes and neither of them look that worn as yet. So I think M&S must have gone downhill a bit recently.

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

head office is allways best if you have a unhelpfull manager letter to them along with the shoes

sarahg1969

I've always found M&S more than helpful when returning items I just don't like and are unworn. However, it's always been a different matter when returning faulty items.

I once returned a blouse that was not properly stitched on the elbow and frayed on the first wear. I was accused of splitting it because it was too tight!

Another time, I returned a two-part set, one part of which had faded oddly on its first wash (both items were washed together). I was accused of washing it in something other then M&S brand washing powder which is the only one they would recommend, apparently.

It seems to me that M&S have a problem with being criticised.

That said, one of my daughters is very heavy on her footwear, whereas the other is not. She scrapes the toes on one of her shoes terribly. I wouldn't return a pair of school shoes that were scuffed after two months. With a good polish every night, they don't look so bad. I just put it down to them having heavy wear.

furndire

No-one has mentioned trading standards. They are usually very helpful in these sort of situations. If you take them to trading standards, get an opinion from them, and then write to head office stating that you have logged complaint with TS.
I certainly wouldn't have been happy with that short time of wear.
M & S is still living on its reputation for quality from years ago, but the quality certainly isn't there any more.

uktim29

With the faulty theory surely they'd have broke way before 8 weeks?

Now that it's this long the issue then comes into it fo how were they used for the past 8 weeks? I know you'll say it's normal use but faults should become apparent before 8 weeks.

deanos

I think at one time 95% of goods were made in the UK, now 95% are made in the far east for M+S, probably a case of profits over quality

UKTigerlily

Well I read something today that says shoes are expected to last 9 months, a trading standards thing, can't remember how I came to read it, I think it was in works refunds book. Don't know if this helps but I don't see why stores don't give most customers the benefit of the doubt when it's a relatively inexpensive item & no reason to believe it's been deliberately damaged. I understand not all are as easy going as my own place of work, most aren't, which is a good thing, but end of the day the shoes are faulty & clearly weren't fit for purpose, so a refund/exchange is what you are entitled to!