Should a refund be of full cost, if a gift card was used?

elsien

I'm confused. Surely they're refunding you however much you're returning so you're not out of pocket overall, just that there's more back by giftcard and less by cash?
If you buy something with a giftcard and ask for a refund it goes back onto a giftcard for you to spend another time so I can't see that this is much different.
It's probably one of those things where retailers can make their own policy so I suppose it's up to you to check beforehand what that is so you know where you stand.

Planter12

Have you actually handed the items back and accepted the cash?

I have, but I didn't have any reason to suspect the retailer would deduct a part of the cost of the items, believing that part of the cost to have been paid by a split of the gift-card. Nowhere on the site does it indicate that this is how it processes gift-card payments.

...bar your somewhat ridiculous hypothetical scenarios.

I beg to differ. The scenarios are perfectly easy to understand.

was it a promotional card (£50 off £100 spend etc) or a purchased card?

It was a general gift-card, to be spent as if it was cash - as most gift cards are treated. The £50 gift-card and £100 spend are just hypothetical, but it's a similar amount. The returned items easily fall within the 'cash' part of the overall payment - there isn't any need for a gift-card refund, as I didn't return that much. Also, there weren't any stipulations as to how the gift money had to be spent.

Are you saying that if you bought £50 worth of goods and paid with a £50 gift card only they would refund nothing if you returned the goods? (assuming they allow change of mind returns).

I assume that would be the case. The retailer won't refund any of the gift-card payment for the returned items. Maybe this is a temporary measure on their part or a permanent change of policy, but, either way, it doesn't seem fair.

Surely they're refunding you however much you're returning so you're not out of pocket overall, just that there's more back by giftcard and less by cash?

Unfortunately not. The shop has split the gift card value between each item I purchased, deducted it from the cost of each item and then kept the gift-card amount when refunding the cost of the returned items. I haven't received the full purchase price of what I returned. This is the problem.

LilElvis

So this is an online purchase?

I will repeat. When did you purchase (date goods physically received), when did you notify them that you were returning part of the order and when did you return the goods? Who is the retailer?

BorisThomson

Unfortunately not. The shop has split the gift card value between each item I purchased, deducted it from the cost of each item and then kept the gift-card amount when refunding the cost of the returned items. I haven't received the full purchase price of what I returned. This is the problem.

And when you asked them why they have not refunded the gift card amount, their answer was ...

Planter12

It was an online purchase, yes, from a retailer with a high street presence. It may sound daft, but I don't wish to give the precise details, I simply wish to judge where others stand regarding this method of splitting gift-cards between items and not refunding that part. Is it worth pursuing a complaint? Maybe I should proceed, but what harm would it do to see if I'm going out on a limb here - that most people think my objection is absurd?

Planter12

And when you asked them why they have not refunded the gift card amount, their answer was ...

That the refunded amount is the correct amount. Is the balance of opinion that they are correct or me?

BorisThomson

Planter12 wrote: »

That the refunded amount is the correct amount. Is the balance of opinion that they are correct or me?

The problem you have is that you ramble, so it's quite possible that the person answering your query has not grasped what you are saying.

Send them an email stating:

I returned an item costing £20
I have received a refund of £10

Please refund the outstanding £10. If you believe the refund to be correct, please explain why.

elsien

If you'd give us some exact figures, without specifying the items or the retailer it might help.
X items at y amount each. Total =z
Paid for with gift card amount A and cash B
Number returned = so total refund due =
Amount of refund offered (whether by cash or card) =


Then you might get some sensible answers. Because I have to be honest, I'm still none the wiser, so I'm not surprised if the retailer is baffled as well.

Fosterdog

Planter12 wrote: »

It was an online purchase, yes, from a retailer with a high street presence. It may sound daft, but I don't wish to give the precise details, I simply wish to judge where others stand regarding this method of splitting gift-cards between items and not refunding that part. Is it worth pursuing a complaint? Maybe I should proceed, but what harm would it do to see if I'm going out on a limb here - that most people think my objection is absurd?

Your hypothetical situation makes sense to you but it is not making a lot of sense to the rest of us, it’s not so much that anyone thinks your objection is absurd, more struggling to get to the bottom of exactly what is going on and what your actual objection is (although I think I’m starting to get more of an idea on that as you’ve clarified a few things)

Ultimately unless you are willing to disclose more details your scenario doesn’t give enough info to go off to decide what if anything has been done right or wrong.

To make things easier if you would say who the retailer is, what the items were, how long after receiving you returned, what the cost was of both individual items and the total and how you split the payment.

Most retailers will always choose to refund gift card first and only anything over the gift card amount would be paid back as cash so I don’t think you will have a valid argument about not getting it all as a cash refund however the non refund of the gift card portion seems incredibly strange.

DCFC79

Planter12 wrote: »

Sorry, I didn't realise I had accidentally posted this earlier.

What other advice were you wanting to gleam from others ?

You didnt accidently post it earlier, you started the thread at the back end of last month.

The majority of posters have voted unanimously.