B&Q reservation a joke !

more_money_for_me

I have recently also had a less than inspiring experience with B&Q which I think it is worth adding. Just prior to a recent house move I bought a new hedge trimmer, of course the old one packed up just before we moved! I bought their own brand one as it looked like good value. I cut the hedge once at the old property and once at the new property and the trimmer stopped working. It was obviously still almost new so I thought I would have no problem getting it exchanged. I drove to our nearest store which is 5 or 6 miles away, and was told that unless I had the original receipt or could provide bank statements then they couldn't do anything. Bear in mind this is their own brand and clearly hardly used. I have twice written to their customer services who sent me cut and paste replies pointing at their set in stone exchange policy. Now I completely understand that legally they are correct and they don't owe me anything, however I don't think this is a great level of service bearing in mind the ease of returning something to Amazon for example who keep tabs on your purchases. I haven't been through my bank statements yet as with a house move and young children its not got to the top of the pile yet but I have vowed not to buy from B&Q as we do up our new house. I am sorry to hijack a thread but I think this just builds a picture of the level of service you can expect from this company.
Thanks to the poster for the address of the MD, I will give that a go.

Helix

more_money_for_me wrote: »

I have recently also had a less than inspiring experience with B&Q which I think it is worth adding. Just prior to a recent house move I bought a new hedge trimmer, of course the old one packed up just before we moved! I bought their own brand one as it looked like good value. I cut the hedge once at the old property and once at the new property and the trimmer stopped working. It was obviously still almost new so I thought I would have no problem getting it exchanged. I drove to our nearest store which is 5 or 6 miles away, and was told that unless I had the original receipt or could provide bank statements then they couldn't do anything. Bear in mind this is their own brand and clearly hardly used. I have twice written to their customer services who sent me cut and paste replies pointing at their set in stone exchange policy. Now I completely understand that legally they are correct and they don't owe me anything, however I don't think this is a great level of service bearing in mind the ease of returning something to Amazon for example who keep tabs on your purchases. I haven't been through my bank statements yet as with a house move and young children its not got to the top of the pile yet but I have vowed not to buy from B&Q as we do up our new house. I am sorry to hijack a thread but I think this just builds a picture of the level of service you can expect from this company.
Thanks to the poster for the address of the MD, I will give that a go.

How do they know you didn't steal the hedge trimmer, it being their own brand doesn't mean you actually purchased it.

ukjoel

I remember during their last sale I went on at midnight and ordered a load of stuff that was at my local store.

I arrived when doors opened the next morning to be told initially that my order hadnt been processed.

I then showed them email proving it had been received and processed 8 hours earlier at which point they said they didnt have any stock.

I then pointed out 20 plus of the items in trolleys in the reserved area and they said they were all staff purchases and I couldnt have them.

Have not shopped their since. Its all wickes and homebase now.

more_money_for_me

Helix wrote: »

How do they know you didn't steal the hedge trimmer, it being their own brand doesn't mean you actually purchased it.

If I was any good at stealing hedge trimmers I would steal another set, rather than trying to get an exchange. Its fair to say though I wouldn't steal a carpy B&Q branded one. LOL

Techhead_2

more_money_for_me wrote: »

If I was any good at stealing hedge trimmers I would steal another set, rather than trying to get an exchange. Its fair to say though I wouldn't steal a carpy B&Q branded one. LOL

Its not just stolen. You may have bought them second hand, been given them as a gift, rescued then from a skip etc

Most retailers will ask for proof of purchase; I don't see any thing wrong with that.

System

more_money_for_me wrote: »

If I was any good at stealing hedge trimmers I would steal another set, rather than trying to get an exchange. Its fair to say though I wouldn't steal a carpy B&Q branded one. LOL

Instead of messing around with emailing the MD why don't you just dig out your bank statement and take that in with you? Surely that would be the quickest and easiest solution?

more_money_for_me

Techhead wrote: »

Its not just stolen. You may have bought them second hand, been given them as a gift, rescued then from a skip etc

Most retailers will ask for proof of purchase; I don't see any thing wrong with that.

Many retailers will use a bit of discretion where the product is obviously new, and their own brand. I am sure I am not the only person who loses receipts especially in the middle of a house move. As I said previously I know that they don't have a legal obligation to replace it. I can easily prove I bought it via my bank statements, it is however inconvenient to make two round trips to store. What B&Q sell is not unique, and in my opinion, and my opinion only their customer service was not all it could have been. If there are others out there who sometimes lose receipts they may want to use an alternative supplier.

System

more_money_for_me wrote: »

Many retailers will use a bit of discretion where the product is obviously new, and their own brand. I am sure I am not the only person who loses receipts especially in the middle of a house move. As I said previously I know that they don't have a legal obligation to replace it. I can easily prove I bought it via my bank statements, it is however inconvenient to make two round trips to store. What B&Q sell is not unique, and in my opinion, and my opinion only their customer service was not all it could have been. If there are others out there who sometimes lose receipts they may want to use an alternative supplier.

I don't believe that alot of business's will show discretion. Own brand stuff is often nicked as when they try and return it they do the "obviously I bought it from here" trick. It's a scam that is used alot in JD sports by scallies.

I saw some guy kicking off in halfords last week as he was trying to return a halfords battery without a receipt. The shop assistant was polite but was insisting on proof of purchase which is perfectly reasonable!