GREAT 'WHAT SHOPS DON'T WANT US TO KNOW" HUNT

raeble

I would dispute the payment with your CC company and investigate if Barclaycard could do a chargeback , I wouldn't let Mecca get away with that.

KleptisV

Hi,

I worked at Jessops until recently, and we always asked for an address for any purchase over £50. This could be used for marketing information for Jessops (no other companies) but most staff just get into the habit of pressing 'No' to this request on the till, without asking. The MAIN use for it, however is if you loose your reciept and you have a problem with your purchase, it can be traced on the computer system from the date and your postcode/surname etc. Hugely problematic to trace purchases without this information, and requests are often refused, except in extreme circumstances (angry, persistant customers or very bad problems) because of the amount of time this takes.

bigandy_3

> as they are so desparate to get the 10% sales value on warranties, managers > will often discount the goods heavily just to get you to sign for the overpriced > warranty.

You can take out the warranty in-store as a bargaining position as described above, and then cancel the warranty within the statutory cooling-off period. Result !

AnnieP_3

Seven years ago I bought new carpet throughout my home. I went to a shop stating that you get up to 60% discount depending how much you spent. They came and measured up and I was entitle to 50% off! I was quite happy with that, but the fitter phoned me when he got back to the shop and said if I had the 5yr guarrentee, it would take me into the 60% off and in actual fact saved me £200! + the guarentee. Then after five years, because I hadn't claimed I got a refund on the guarentee which was pocket money for a holiday. Now that was worth having!!

SamMoffatt28

tullula wrote:

Will I get in trouble posting this .

Your secrets safe with us

TigerAngel11

If something comes up at the wrong price on the checkout or a special offer isn't discounted, shut up and pay up... Then take it to the customer service desk, where it is policy for a lot of supermarkets to give you a total refund, not just the extra you paid (as they would on the checkout).

superhoop

TigerAngel11 wrote:

Then take it to the customer service desk, where it is policy for a lot of supermarkets to give you a total refund, not just the extra you paid

Good shout TigerAngel. Always complain - never let it go.

Unfortunately the response you get will vary very heavily on who attends to your problem, whether they know the store policy, their mood, the value of the item etc etc.

For example, I've been treated a number of different ways by Tesco, ranging from:

- a full refund and they let me keep the item

to

- a refund but they took back the item and withdrew it from sale (honest, this did happen!).

Both ends of the spectrum are perfectly legal approaches for the store to take but of course have vastly differing impacts on customer goodwill.

The retailer is not obliged to make you recompense you for their mistake. All they really should do is ensure you are not out of pocket since this would be tantamount to theft and would soil their 'good name'. However, the general public can go to trading standards with cases and this can create very bad PR.

When I worked as a checkout manager in a Safeway in an inner city part of London several years ago, I would always fully refund and let the customer keep the item in genuine cases.

However, we did have less scrupulous customers, who knowing the policy, when they spotted a pricing error would buy large quantities of the offending item or alternatively bring in family and friends to do the same. The speed with which this could be done was very often much quicker than we could get the price changed in-store. The scam was obvious of course, but if management weren't around, checkout supervisors sometimes dutifully gave full refunds plus gave away £££s worth of goods to these people. The goods would be then fenced off into local trading networks and often end up in local shops down the road!

Don't get me wrong - the people who work in supermarkets work bloody hard - they earn and deserve every penny they get. But despite protestations to the contrary, the retailers usually don't train them properly as they focus on the next set of weekly sales figures. Shop staff are usually underpaid, undervalued, overworked, undertrained, and unloved by those they work for. (Go people - join USDAW if you can!)

In an ideal world, each retailer would have a set policy, make all staff aware of it and it would be transparent to all customers. But sadly in reality this just doesn't happen!

Steve

libitina_2

superhoop wrote:

Hi Helen - welcome!

Absolutely right - Tesco will do this except on any coupons they have issued themselves. These will typically have the Tesco logo.

Not all retailers are so generous though. Save your time and don't try it in Morrisons!

Steve

But you can always try Asda too. As long as the item is stocked. :j

libitina_2

superhoop wrote:

I bought something from Comet for about £100 at the weekend. I usually avoid them and DSG like the plague but I needed it for a gift in a hurry and it wasn't a bad deal etc etc.

Was about to pay when the cashier asked for my name and address. I challenged why she wanted it and she mumbled something about needing it for the "manufacturer's guarantee".

As I have hinted in earlier posts, this is absolute twaddle. Do you have to give your address if you buy a walkman from Woolies?

Checked the Ts & Cs on the invoice - they want your details to sell on to third companies to junk mail you.

Companies will also buy this data about who buys what from which postcode to ascertain levels of affluence, tastes etc.

My advice:

- Don't give out your address / personal details when purchasing in a shop

- Ask if providing your details are a condition of the purchase. It may be the case if you are buying an extended warranty, but then as many of us here know you should think twice about doing that anyway!

- If you're not satisfied, ask to see the manager before completing the purchase.

Why give your details to Comet so they can make a fast buck at your expense?

Steve

Though please note, if you are buying a TV, video recorder, DVD player or set top box, then by law they have to take your name and address for the TV license authority.

Paul_Herring

libitina wrote:

Though please note, if you are buying a TV, video recorder, DVD player or set top box, then by law they have to take your name and address for the TV license authority.

Why for the DVD player? You don't need a licence for one of those (note - a DVD recorder however does need a licence. PC TV Cards also require a licence.). And it's not the purchaser's details that must be obtained, it's the place the equipment will be used.

The details are spelled out at http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/tvdealers.jsp