Marks And Spencers...and Refunds!

BigKisses

Hi everybody,
I don't think I've ever felt mad enough to come over here on the vent board before,but having spent the most humiliating half an hour of my life in Marks and Spencers today I feel compelled to post.:mad:

Now I have always had respect for Marks and Spencers,their customer service and their refund policy.I felt secure buying there, knowing that if there were any problems with my purchases I would receive a no hassle refund...untill today.

I was one of the many who flocked to their sales over Xmas and the New year.As everybody knows the place was packed and the queues were long and I was a little annoyed to find out that the fitting rooms were shut so you weren't able to try anything on before buying.As I couldn't try anything on for size I asked one of their sales advisors if there was a time limit on when you could bring goods back for a refund if the clothes weren't suitable as I may not be able to get back to the store for a long time.I was told there was no time limit for refunds.As their sizes seem to vary between styles I ended up buying several items in 2 different sizes so that I could see which size fitted best and return the others at some point for a refund.

When I got home I found that a silk slip I had bought had little v shaped cuts and black marks on it.As this had been hanging on one of those rails on wheels in the shop I thought maybe it had got caught it the wheels or something and been hung back on the rail without anybody realising it was damaged.No problem I thought,the tag's still on,I'll keep the bigger size (I'd bought two different sizes to chose which fitted better)and take that one back for a refund...

Fast forward to today.I finally had the opportunity to take the stuff back that hadn't fitted.I explained to the lady at M&S that I'd bought them at new year but I had been advised there was no time limit for getting a refund.She confirmed that that was correct.I also pointed out that one of the items I was returning was faulty and showed her the fault(so that they didn't just put it back on the rail for some poor unsuspecting customer to buy).She needed to get the faulty item refund authorised so she took the slip to a manager and returned saying that the manager said I coudln't have a refund for that item as there was no way it had left their shop faulty.I explained that it most definitely had and that it had been during the sales when the shop was packed so maybe that was the reason it hadn't been noticed? I asked to speak to the manager.

The manager arrived and said that they check all of their lingerie items and there is no way it was sold to me like that.I explained that it HAD been sold to me like that,and told her about it being being at the sales,she asked when I noticed the fault,I said "when I got home" so she asked if I'd tried to contact them to tell them about the fault then.I explained that No I hadn't because I'd asked about how long I had to get a refund when I bought everything and that I was told there was no time limit,also explained that today had been the first opportunity I had had to return the items.She wouldn't accept any of my explanations and just kept repeating(in a "headmistress type" tone in front of everybody) that they would NEVER have sold an item in that condition and that I would NOT be getting a refund,then ...she turned her back on me and walked off.At this point I called to ask her name and asked if she could write it down on a piece of paper for me as I would be making a complaint.I also told her I did not appreciate being called a liar.She said nobody was calling me a liar,that she was just saying that the item did not leave the store like that.I replied that that implied that I must be lying when I said it did.Now at this point,my cheeks were burning,my vocie and hands were shaking and I included the word "bloody" in one of my replies (eg In the context of "I'm not bloody lying") at which point she played the "there's no need to swear at me" card.I explained I wasn't swearing AT her I was trying to convey my frustration.She said I could stand there all day but I still wouldn't get a refund because she knew the item hadn't left the store in that condition and at that..she walked off !

I have never felt so humiliated and frustrated in my life.That particular item was the cheapest I was returning at £5,and I might be a money saver but I wouldn't have voluntarily put myself through such public humiliation for the sake of a fiver! Not for any amount in fact! I don't think I have ever had this kind of reaction from a store when taking items back for a refund,let alone from Marks and Spencers.I honestly expected one of the straight forward,no hassle refunds I thought Marks and Spencers were renowned for.Instead I got a manager who basically publically accused me of lying.I'm not sure what step to take next,a personal apology from the manager concerned would be a good start,but one thing's for sure..I won't be shopping at Marks and Spencers again.

Turning_into_scrooge

I should imagine you will find this web site useful to use [url][/url]http://www.howtocomplain.co.uk/

If it was me i would write a really snotty mail or letter requesting a refund and a letter of appology. Good luck i hope you get some good results

Poppy9

I know they said there was no time limit on returning an item but leaving it almost 3 months is pushing it abit. You could try another store or head office who might offer a goodwill refund. I have to say I wouldn't hold my breath though.

BigKisses

Thanks for the replies;)

There are personal reasons why I couldn't return them before now that I don't want to get into,but that is why I specifically asked if there was a time limit because I knew there it may be a long time before I was able to return them .To be honest,the length of time didn't seem to be the problem.It was the fact that the one item was faulty when I bought it that the manager seemed to have a problem with.Nothing I said would convince her that it had been like that when I bought it and that I hadn't noticed because I hadn't been able to try it because all the fitting rooms were closed.

I would quite happily send the slip to head office to see if they can figure out what the little v shaped cuts are.For all I know they might even be from a machine used in the manufacturing process or from security tags or something.All I know is that I didn't cause them,the cuts and marks were there when I took the slip out of the bag,nothing else in the bag was damaged,the bag itself wasn't damaged so the damage must have occured before I bought it and it was really upsetting and humiliating to be publically accused of lying about it.I went there expecting a straight forward refund I wasn't expecting the nasty response I got at all

To be honest the £5 refund is less important to me than an apology for the totally unfounded accusations and downright nasty attitude I experienced.

p.s for got to add..I did have my receipt with me and the manager could see that my purchase was made when the changing rooms were shut and that I'd had to buy items in 2 different sizes and that I'd kept the other slip in the bigger size

Turning_into_scrooge

Poppy9 wrote:

I know they said there was no time limit on returning an item but leaving it almost 3 months is pushing it abit. You could try another store or head office who might offer a goodwill refund. I have to say I wouldn't hold my breath though.

three months does seem a long time to return goods but i know someone wo actually took a garmet back to M&S nearly 11 months after she bought it, she hadn't worn it and it still had all the labels on, couldn't make her mind up as to whether or not she wanted it :eek: They took it back no problem and re funded her money in cash too, she still had the original receipt, I suppose she was lucky

You can always have the item indepentantly examind by a clothing technologist who would be able to tell you what caused the marks in the back but it would cost you money but you could always claim it as compensation, just a thought

Sofa_Sogood

Turning_into_scrooge wrote:

three months does seem a long time to return goods but i know someone wo actually took a garmet back to M&S nearly 11 months after she bought it, she hadn't worn it and it still had all the labels on, couldn't make her mind up as to whether or not she wanted it :eek: They took it back no problem and re funded her money in cash too, she still had the original receipt, I suppose she was lucky

Three months doesn't seem that long to me to be honest.

I bought some trousers online and full price. I didn't realise how easy it was to return them so asked my husband to take them into the nearest store for a refund/replacement.

They told him that because they didn't sell Per Una, or Limited Colection (I forget now), to try another store ..... about 30 miles away lol.

I put them in the wardrobe and hoped they'd come back into fashion (or I'd slim off and they'd fit lol), but I found this site. Someone who worked there said there was an 'indefinite' returns policy etc, and I sent them back. The full amount appeared in our bank statement. Five months after I'd bought them!

But if I'd been through what the OP had - I'd go nuts. M&S are the flagship regarding returns, and for that to happen is unacceptable imo.

Stand your ground BigK and keep posting about it. I'm sure they read this forum;)

Complain again and again.

P.S. I'm not anti-M&S - check my posts about how good they are.

Sofa_Sogood

Ooops, sorry Turning-into_scrooge.

I only picked your quote because it related to returns and time lengths

Chris25

I thought that M&S changed their returns policy last year and that you only now have 3 months to take items back.

aliasojo

M&S HAVE changed their policy recently with regard to time limits and returns. As BK says though, the length of time didn't seem to be too much of an issue.

What I think you probably should have done was to have phoned them the minute you saw the damage and confirm that as you couldn't manage into the store anytime soon, that it would still be ok to refund at a later date. Taking the person's name you would have spoken to would have possibly avoided all this hassle as they would have had a record of the complaint.

However there's no use shutting the door after the horse has bolted, the best thing to do now is to write to Head Office as Weyres advises above, detailing everything that has happened.

A company once told me that they will take a complaint in a written letter much more seriously as it is obvious that the customer has a genuine grievance if they have taken the time to write (as opposed to emailing or telephoning). M&S hierarchy do take customer satisfaction seriously, or at least more seriously than some jumped up jobsworth on the shop floor does.

Good luck.

Allexie

Hiya BigKisses

Really shocked to hear of your experiences with M & S!

Personally I wouldn't bother with the 'underlings' in the stores anymore...I'd be aiming at a 'big wig' at head office. Try and find a name if you can. (Anyone know who has overall responsibility for customer service?) Attach a copy of your first post on here or even the whole thread and don't forget to mention the site!

You did not deserve to be treated like that and it is not in M & S's interests for this to go unresolved. You should, at the very least, get an apology from the company - never mind from the store staff.

Do let us know how you get on...good luck!

divadee

Stuart Rose
Chief Executive
Marks and Spencer Group plc
Waterside House
35 North Wharf Road
London
W2 1NW

Thats who you need to write to. Go staight to the top, and outline what happened, and tell him no wonder M&S are losing sales when their customer service has plummeted downhill so fast.