b & q refund policy

lankytart

please can someone help me with some advice from my awful shopping experience today!
went to B&Q and bought 2 three metre lengths of worktop and a few bits total paid £165.00,and noticed one was damaged - i hadnt even left the store! the unhelpful sales person eventually got someone to get me a non damaged one........15 minutes later said salesperson comes back with worktop which is damaged but right on the very end and agrees to sell it at a discounted rate, instead of £65, they would do it for £35 -easy enough - a £30 refund on what i already spent??? No, apparently its their policy to do a refund back to my card for the full price, then start over again selling it back to me at £35.00. i now have to wait until some point this week for the £65.00 refund. taking the total spent today to £200 instead of £135. i could understand this if i had left the store, got home and gone back but i hadnt. would appreciate any feedback on this, i have sent them an email about the lack of service and the fact they have made me go overdrawn now and my other half has been back to the store this evening to be told basically tough!!
waaaaa - angry is an understatement:mad:

Myser

Sorry to sound brash but to be fair, you have been given a good deal for the damaged worktop (almost 50% off). Don't know how much it is damaged?

If it's their policy to refund the full amount first and charge you the discounted rate then, there's nothing they can do about it.

They could argue that it is up to you to manage your account/finances. Could you have not paid the £35 using a debit card or cash?

Angie_B

Surely the total is £170, not £200?

Although frustrating, I can't see that B&Q have done anything wrong. They have issued you a refund for the original damaged one and sold you a more acceptable but still damaged one for a discounted price.

It is not B&Q's fault that you have gone overdrawn as it is not as though they took any more money than you agreed to. If there was such a problem with cashflow, you should have taken the refund and waited for the money to clear before going back to re-purchase the worktop.

lankytart

ok, maybe i didnt explain this properly, they took the payment of £165.00, then refunded £65.00 then resold it at £35.00, two transactions out of £200 total then to wait for refund of £65.00.
it wasnt a case of wait for a refund then go back as i hadnt left the store. should it not be that they should have just refunded the difference?

Myser

So as you were leaving the store, you noticed the damage and asked them for another one?

They may have been able to just refund the £30 however, it might be policy to refund the full amount and apply a discount (damage) code for the same item.

Have you considered increasing your overdraft limit? I have been caught out a few times in the past before I did this.

southcoastrgi

even if they refunded your card straight away it wouldn't go straight back into your account it normally takes 3 or 4 days to appear

bugbyte_2

WARNING - Rambling long story that appears to be going nowhere:

About four years ago I brought a roof window from these good people. It was the last one in the shop and had a damaged box. Thinking I was being cleaver, I got the cashier to sign the receipt as a damaged box. In hind sight it was obviously a return, but I did not think of that at the time. I got home, opened the box and checked the components. It seemed to be OK. It then rained every weekend for 60 days. On the 61st day, I went to put the window in and low and behold the closing handle was missing - I had overlooked it. Went back to B&Q and the manager was so rude it was unbelievable. She refused to even talk to me because of their very illegal 60 day rule. She sent a minion to tell be to **** off. I smiled sweetly, brought another one, swapped the boxes over, took the faulty one back the next day and got a refund. I have not been back to B&Q and have spent over £10,000 in Homebase, Wickes, etc. since.

Moral? B&Q have in recent years gained quite a reputation for rubbish customer service and I am sure that like me there are lots of people who give this company a wide birth.

phill99

This is standard policy at B & Q (and other parts of the Kingfisher Group). The over-draught issue is yours, not theirs.

paddedjohn

bugbyte wrote: »

WARNING - Rambling long story that appears to be going nowhere:

About four years ago I brought a roof window from these good people. It was the last one in the shop and had a damaged box. Thinking I was being cleaver, I got the cashier to sign the receipt as a damaged box. In hind sight it was obviously a return, but I did not think of that at the time. I got home, opened the box and checked the components. It seemed to be OK. It then rained every weekend for 60 days. On the 61st day, I went to put the window in and low and behold the closing handle was missing - I had overlooked it. Went back to B&Q and the manager was so rude it was unbelievable. She refused to even talk to me because of their very illegal 60 day rule. She sent a minion to tell be to **** off. I smiled sweetly, brought another one, swapped the boxes over, took the faulty one back the next day and got a refund. I have not been back to B&Q and have spent over £10,000 in Homebase, Wickes, etc. since.

Moral? B&Q have in recent years gained quite a reputation for rubbish customer service and I am sure that like me there are lots of people who give this company a wide birth.

Their 60 day rule is for the return of unwanted goods, far from being illegal it comes in handy when purchasing paint and wallpaper etc as you can return any unopened rolls/tins.

You say yourself that you checked the contents on purchase so you can hardly blame B&Q for the lack of a handle. Ive had similar problems here and at Wicks and rather than kick up a fuss I did exactly what you did and re bought the same item and repacked the other for a refund.

ed110220

That's a fairly standard refund policy in my experience. Whether you actually left the shop or not is surely immaterial once the transaction has actually taken place.

Annoying for you, but B&Q haven't really done anything wrong.

goodmorningsunshine

Understand completely where you are coming from, so can you;

Get in touch with your card/bank supplier and explain this to them,
if its a one off they sometimes waive the fee/overcharge. OR

Calculate how much your overdraft charges will be, add this to the worktop discount price and THAT'S what you have paid for the damaged worktop.

Not the answer you were looking for but B & Q would probably not budge on this.