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Help. I'm being asked to pay for postage.

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Hi All,

I was wondering if you could help.

I won a competition last month that was £50 to spend on an online clothes store. They seem to be quite well known and bloggers have raved about their low prices, so it all seems legit.

However, when I came to ordering my £50 worth of clothes, the postage was obscene! I'm talking like £40+ for postage.

I queried them about it stating that my fifty pound voucher would really only be worth £25 as I would have to cover the postage costs (I wouldn't pay that out of my own pocket!)

So they replied saying they would make me a new code to cover the costs of postage! PERFECT!


However, they've just emailed me again and said they can't seem to override the postage costs and asked if I could use my voucher to pay for the clothes, then spend my own money to pay £40+ for the postage and they will refund me for £40...

Instantly I heard alarm bells. If it's too good to be true, it usually is...

Maybe they will do the right thing and refund me my postage, but should I take that risk and spend £40 on postage in hope I get the refund? My mind says no.

I asked them is there any other way and I have expressed my concerns.

Has this happened to anyone else? Does any one know of a way around this?!

Sorry for the long story...!
«1

Comments

  • hamsterfan1
    hamsterfan1 Posts: 8,281 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    £40 postage for £50 worth of clothes - what site is it? I wouln't hav expected to pay any more than £5
    proud gran to 4 lovely boys and one little girl
  • blessed.by
    blessed.by Posts: 96 Forumite
    That's what I thought. But it seems their postage is worked out per item. Buy one thing for £5 pound pay £5 for the postage then if you add another item for a fiver the postage will go up to a tenner...odd!

    Unless they're shipping it with lead I have no idea why the postage is that much.

    It's called Hidden Fashion.
  • magical
    magical Posts: 894 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Blimey,£40 postage, I think I would want it to be delivered by the queen x
    Comping for christmas x
    Thankyou to all posters:D
  • duchy
    duchy Posts: 19,511 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker Xmas Saver!
    Of course there is a way around it -if their system won't accept two stacked codes (which is understandable) they simply issue you a brand new code covering the whole cost now you know exactly what you are ordering. If their system can't do that then it needs to be done manually-I have the same problem at work sometimes over-riding p&p and it just gets passed for manual processing .
    As for a way around it - without knowing the company - no-one can give you a definative answer but basically if a firm wants to do something they will find a way around the restrictions of their own system.
    I Would Rather Climb A Mountain Than Crawl Into A Hole

    MSE Florida wedding .....no problem
  • blessed.by
    blessed.by Posts: 96 Forumite
    I was thinking couldn't they just order the items for me that I have chosen on their side and sort things out. Considering I'm not actually exchanging money with them anyway, they don't really need me to pay for postage!

    Thanks for help. I'm now more spurred on to say no to this!
  • kerrimouse
    kerrimouse Posts: 1,538 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture
    blessed.by wrote: »
    I was thinking couldn't they just order the items for me that I have chosen on their side and sort things out. Considering I'm not actually exchanging money with them anyway, they don't really need me to pay for postage!

    Thanks for help. I'm now more spurred on to say no to this!

    I won 5 items from a large on-line clothes shop and they told me to choose the items I wanted from the website and email the codes, sizes, colour etc. and then arranged for the delivery of the items and even when a mistake was made with the order sent a replacement.

    Surely this company would be best doing the same, have you suggested this to them?
    :wave:
  • Blulu
    Blulu Posts: 7,846 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I'm not suggesting it's iffy, as in a scam, but I don't think their suggestion is sensible. Why should you need to physically pay them money, just for them to refund it later? If their system is so rigid, then surely all they need to do is to type in that you have paid, and then later type in that they refunded it. Regardless, it should be an admin thing to solve, not involving you at all. I think if t'were me I would very politely tell them that, and say that I'm not comfortable with having to pay anything up front, in order to receive a prize that I won fairly.

    GL and let us know how it turns out huh?

    Blu X
    I am brave, I am bruised
    I am who I'm meant to be
    I'm not scared to be seen
    I make no apology
    THIS IS ME!


    When you talk down to others it says more about you than them.
  • mjm3346
    mjm3346 Posts: 47,269 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 4 April 2014 at 11:53AM
    They should not charge you more than their standard charge but even that seems rather high (£3.99 per item for most things)

    http://hiddenfashion.com/delivery-options

    maybe the item prices are low and they make it up on the postage charge like some of the TV shopping channels.
  • magical
    magical Posts: 894 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    I thought that to. Like someone on eBay selling for 99p, then having massive postage costs x
    Comping for christmas x
    Thankyou to all posters:D
  • blessed.by
    blessed.by Posts: 96 Forumite
    Yeh, it all seems a bit odd. I was so shocked when I saw the postage cost, I thought it was an error!

    I have emailed the company again and said I'm not happy to exchange my bank details and is it possible for me to send them the items I want and they just send it out to me?

    Realistically, as you've all said...I shouldn't have to give my details. I won this, they shouldn't need any payment off me.

    Grr. It's been going on for weeks now. :(
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