BHS won't refund

BoGoF

Another headline that isn't actually true......this site is like tabloid journalism.

They will refund once the tragic souls that hit the sales are finished.

visidigi

ma_larkin wrote: »

the item was bought on the 24th

In that case its almost 100% guaranteed there would have been a sign on the tills advising of no refunds till XX date due to the sales...

lateandlive

We used to have the same problem when I worked in retail, and it was literally because of the volume of customers on Boxing Day - especially as our store was in a large, out of town shopping centre.

Problem with when you start opening specific tills and being 'lenient' with people in quiet periods is it affects consistency, especially in a chain. If one store IS refunding on a customer services desk then most customers will see it as 'that store's refunding then so should all of them'. Same with being lenient - if one person gets their refund and other customers find out then it opens up huge avenues for complaint.

The theory is simple - if the top doesn't fit then you'll HAVE to come back (generally speaking) to exchange or refund it, and their priority as a business is to get stock out and money in, not the other way round!

Flyboy152

unholyangel wrote: »

But they can attach stipulations to it because it is their own policy and not law.

They cannot vary the terms of the contract, without the agreement of the other party though. In this case, British Home Stores entered into a contract, agreeing that they will refund the item within one month and made no allusion to there being a minimum waiting period.

Flyboy152

one_hot_minute wrote: »

This is standard as the stores expect a lot of footfall on 26th so do this to limit queues etc. Putting purchasing customer first as it were to guarantee cash in the till. However staff really should use their common sense and treated your case individually (ie, store was quiet and you'd made a special journey)

In which case they have a contractual duty to agree this with the customer before purchase.

That said, I don't think it really is "standard" practice.

Flyboy152

visidigi wrote: »

In that case its almost 100% guaranteed there would have been a sign on the tills advising of no refunds till XX date due to the sales...

Really? Were you there?

Flyboy152

lateandlive wrote: »

We used to have the same problem when I worked in retail, and it was literally because of the volume of customers on Boxing Day - especially as our store was in a large, out of town shopping centre.

Problem with when you start opening specific tills and being 'lenient' with people in quiet periods is it affects consistency, especially in a chain. If one store IS refunding on a customer services desk then most customers will see it as 'that store's refunding then so should all of them'. Same with being lenient - if one person gets their refund and other customers find out then it opens up huge avenues for complaint.

The theory is simple - if the top doesn't fit then you'll HAVE to come back (generally speaking) to exchange or refund it, and their priority as a business is to get stock out and money in, not the other way round!

How is it being "lenient" when it is a contractual liability?

I really don't think there would many people roaming from town to town, checking on which stores are refunding.

lateandlive

Flyboy152 wrote: »

How is it being "lenient" when it is a contractual liability?

I really don't think there would many people roaming from town to town, checking on which stores are refunding.

No, probably not, but BHS isn't exactly a small chain; there's a perfectly sensible chance that someone else you know could visit a store that is refunding when yours isn't.

The leniency occurs when the store alters from it's policy. If the policy for that day says they won't refund until after the 29th and they choose to deviate from that policy - they're being lenient.

The OP might not have been specifically told about the policy, but my local store has signs on display from Head Office explaining the situation, which I should think were sent to all the stores.

Flyboy152

lateandlive wrote: »

No, probably not, but BHS isn't exactly a small chain; there's a perfectly sensible chance that someone else you know could visit a store that is refunding when yours isn't.

The leniency occurs when the store alters from it's policy. If the policy for that day says they won't refund until after the 29th and they choose to deviate from that policy - they're being lenient.

The OP might not have been specifically told about the policy, but my local store has signs on display from Head Office explaining the situation, which I should think were sent to all the stores.

Again with the "leniency" thing. It is not being "lenient" when fulfilling a contractual liability.

one_hot_minute

Flyboy152 wrote: »

In which case they have a contractual duty to agree this with the customer before purchase.

That said, I don't think it really is "standard" practice.

For as long as I can remember as a customer and working in retail whilst studying, many large retailers have displayed signage at tillpoints from mid Dec specifying that for operational reasons no refunds will be given on boxing day.

It's not reasonable for them to agree this in writing / verbally with every customer so legally these signs fulfil their obligation in making a temporary minor amendment to purchasing t&cs.