Hollister refusing to exchange goods

cardi

I purchased a shirt from Hollister during a one-day special 25% off event, paying £30 (instead of the full price of £40).

I didn't try it on for size, but bought one in my usual size, in order to get the saving.

Sadly, the shirt was too small. I returned it today, hoping to exchange it for a larger size.

I was given two options:
1. A full refund for the £30 paid;
2. An exchange where I would have to pay the difference between the price I paid and the selling price today (i.e. an additional £10).

This is the first time this has happened to me - what is the experience of other forum users?

In the end I opted for a refund, partly as there were no larger sizes available and partly as I wanted to protest against Hollister's stance on this.

Looking forward to hearing your advice/experiences.

wealdroam

I think you were treated fairly.

pulliptears

cardi wrote: »

I purchased a shirt from Hollister during a one-day special 25% off event, paying £30 (instead of the full price of £40).

I didn't try it on for size, but bought one in my usual size, in order to get the saving.

Sadly, the shirt was too small. I returned it today, hoping to exchange it for a larger size.

I was given two options:
1. A full refund for the £30 paid;
2. An exchange where I would have to pay the difference between the price I paid and the selling price today (i.e. an additional £10).

This is the first time this has happened to me - what is the experience of other forum users?

In the end I opted for a refund, partly as there were no larger sizes available and partly as I wanted to protest against Hollister's stance on this.

Looking forward to hearing your advice/experiences.

Unless the item was faulty they were under no obligation to refund /exchange at all so getting a refund was more than they needed to do.
You were treated more than fairly.

bris

I don't get your stance, they performed well on this and if there were no bigger sizes anyway were you hoping someone could nip through the back and make one for you?

Apart from the fact they were right, what exactly were you looking for, an extra tenner?

Robin_TBW

wealdroam wrote: »

I think you were treated fairly.

Same. Should've tried it on especially as it was a one day thing.

InsideInsurance

What does the instore returns policy state? Never been into a Hollister to have any ideas myself.

Assuming they dont have one etc then what you have been offered goes beyond what they legally have to do - if that makes it "fair" is another debate.

zzzLazyDaisy

Assuming there were fitting rooms available so that you could try the shirt on, the shop has no obligation to refund or replace - it is up to you to make sure it fits you. So in my view the shop treated you very fairly.

cardi

Thanks for the replies.

I've always been able to exchange like for like items (at various retailers), regardless of the price I paid for the item and the selling price of that item on the day.

I was returning an item for which I paid £30, and hoping to swap it for the exact same shirt in a larger size. I'd walk in with a Small size and walk out with a Medium size, for which I would have paid £30. Holllister would have one fewer Medium shirts and one more in a Small size that they could sell for £40. It was only at the counter that I found out they didn't have a larger size. I wasn't asking to exchange for a more expensive shirt, nor was I asking for the full value of £40 back.

I've never experienced this before when exchanging goods especially when I'd end up with the same item! Hollister's policy is flexible (been told there's no fixed return period), so surprised they were so stringent on this issue, especially while other retailers are more compromising.

robatwork

You were really asking for betterment, so they dealt with you fairly.

You did pretty well actually being able to read the size labels in there. Did you take a torch?

timbstoke

The difference is, what if they had no medium shirts left on the day of the sale? You're asking them to exchange sale stock for non-sale stock, so you will be expected to pay the difference. This is normal and exactly what I would expect to happen.

arcon5

cardi wrote: »

I've always been able to exchange like for like items (at various retailers), regardless of the price I paid for the item and the selling price of that item on the day.

That's irrelevant. You need to check returns policies BEFORE buying. Not just assume because some stores allow you to, all stores will.