Christmas Returns Warning (Especially WH Smith)

Avoriaz

If you buy something from a shop and then decide you don’t want it or don‘t like it, the shop has no liability to refund your money unless the item is faulty in some way,

Any refunds are by way of good will and at the discretion of the shop.

If you receive an item as a gift bought by someone else, you have no contract with the shop. The contract is between the shop and the purchaser. Again any refunds are a matter of good will and discretion.

Most stores are reasonable most of the time.

Ian, W H Smith Newcastle had no obligation to you over items purchased in W H Smith Wales, though I am surprised that they refused you. I have always found them flexible and obliging. Ditto M&S and most other high street stores.

Maybe you look suspicious or dishonest.:p

lyppy

I purchased a DVD from https://www.bensonsworld.co.uk in November. They emailed me saying the DVD was being recalled and could I send it back? As it wasnt being re-released until after xmas I requested my money back (this was on 13th December). I am STILL waiting - and I had a receipt. I have rang many times to be told it's "in their system". Not sure how I'm gonna get my money back!

virgo149

C_Ronaldo wrote:

but what are you to do at christmas if you get a present from someone(eg a secret santa) and you have it or you dont like it, what are you meant to do with it,

it would be easier if we gave cash as a present for xmas,

Sell it on E-bay or re-cycle (remembering of course, who gave it to you first!).

Cash as a present - practical but very boring - what no paper to rip open on christmas day. If I get a small amount of cash I usually end of spending it on rubbish before I remember it was a 'pressie'.

Really interested to hear everyone's views on this issue. I worked in Debenhams for 4 months last xmas (2005/06) and obviously saw all sorts of things going on when it came to returns. You would be gobsmacked by the tricks some people go to to get a return.

Basically you are not entitled to return unless it is faulty. But the goodwill of the shops give you the opportunity as long as you meet certain criteria. In Debenhams, no receipt, no refund. If no receipt, you will be offered an exchange at the current selling price. If you have the receipt but it was on someone elses card you will be offered an exchange at full price or a gift card at a push.

A small tip for those of you that paid by credit/debit card but have lost the receipt. Ask for a supervisor or manager, they can check on their own system and track your purchase to confirm what and when. You will usually get a refund then if you are within their 28 day policy. Basically if you stand there and make a real fuss, I would say they cave in in 75% of cases. The other 25% get escorted from the store by the store detectives!

hollydays

Other stores like BHS and m&s also have systems that can do this,but whether they will have the time to do it is a different matter.It is a lot to do with goodwill,as you say.And it may not be able to be done on the till.It often involves using the companies intranet,and these are constantly in demand so not always available when you need them.

ab7167

I'm having a problem at the moment, because I lost my credit card over Christmas. So although the credit card I have is the same ACCOUNT as the top my sister didn't want was billed to, the CARD NUMBER is different - which apparently means no refund!

They will not listen to me at all...

reehsetin

catkins wrote:

I don't understand this. I work for W.H. Smith and their policy is that without a receipt goods can be exchanged.

i believe thats wrong, i stopped working for them in 2005 and a little while before i left they changed their policy that it had to have a receipt.

we had discretion when i was there that said if it was an own brand good then its obvious that its from smiths no where else, so we were able to allow an exchange, but the rule was no exchanges without a receipt

its frustrating but is understandable from the companies point of view, buy something cheap from somewhere, return it back to e.g. smiths where it sells for a higher price. smiths looses out
dont get me wrong i hate smiths but i can still understand where they are coming from

reehsetin

ab7167 wrote:

I'm having a problem at the moment, because I lost my credit card over Christmas. So although the credit card I have is the same ACCOUNT as the top my sister didn't want was billed to, the CARD NUMBER is different - which apparently means no refund!

They will not listen to me at all...

but how are they ment to know its the same account?

hollydays

ab7167,could you just repeat that for everyones benefit-didnt understand-not sure i can help you but someone else might,and where did you buy from? I took some stuff back to tx maxx-we have a joint account,but they couldnt refund to my card ( as my partner paid) so I asked for and got gift vouchers (its a gift card there)

reehsetin

i took it to mean,
bought something on credit card
credit card lost
card replaced with different card number
wont allow return because its a different card number

hollydays

ah yes.tricky.Get a letter from your cc company?