consumer rights farce

fred376

I have shopped at my local big name supermarket for decades. Heres the problem.
I do shop there frequently often daily. I buy mostly fresh items. I often buy the same things. The quality of fresh fruit or vegetables tend to be highly variable and a gamble since often you cant see or taste it before you buy.
Melons for example are a risky item. You never know what the quality is like until you cut it and taste it. It could be overripe, underripe, unfit for consumption or just lacking flavor.

Now I used to ring up this supermarket everytime i bought an item i was dissatisfied with. I can honestly say ive never lied or done it to get compensation. They would send me a giftcard to refund me but after a while, things changed. I was told that i could no longer ring up the store to obtain refunds and that i should return it to the store instead. I subsequently complained to the CEO but nothing changed. I was essentially robbed of the right to make use of their refund policy that says if youre not happy you can call their tekephone number, all because of what they considered an unreasonable frequency of returns.

Now that was a few years ago. But now the same thing is happening when i go into the store to return items. Ive now been told that i will no longer be given refunds for this particular item and told never to buy it again. Ive been robbed of my consumer rights.
I got into an argument recently and they initially refused a refund but they gave it to me in the end.

I have even thrown away a few of these items recently instead of going back in order to avoid embarrassment if they refused.

I feel that i have no consumer rights and that if i was to try to pursue this it will likely result in a ban from the store especially given my previous history of complaints, which would really be inconvenient for me as theres no other store id prefer going to.

What makes it worse is that the security guard there always watches every move i make. I feel harassed. Ive never shop lifted.

I feel that all i can do now is shop there and refrain from ever returning any items again and be grateful that I'm even allowed to enter the store. Or risk getting banned.

I feel that im being unfairly treated here, is this just the way it works?
The problem comes down to the fact that I cant prove if a product is faulty. But most supermarkets offer liberal returns policies where if the customer deems a product to be unsatisfactory they can get a refund. Theres no limit to the number of times you can return an item.

Even if i took them to court and won, it wouldnt be a victory because id still just get banned probably.

Bermonia

Seems like you have a nice little earner out of these so called faulty items... the shop has said enough is enough, let’s be honest with all the gift cards your probably well up for the next few years regardless

meer53

I shop once a week and have never had to call a store about the quality of goods. I've taken chicken back that has gone off before the sell by date, once.

It sounds as though they're fed up with you returning things, i'd try shopping somewhere else, to be honest it sounds a bit OTT to be constantly phoning and taking stuff back. A melon being under or over ripe isn't a reason to take it back, if it's over ripe don't buy it, if it's under ripe, leave it to ripen ?

powerful_Rogue

fred376 wrote: »

I have shopped at my local big name supermarket for decades. Heres the problem.
I do shop there frequently often daily. I buy mostly fresh items. I often buy the same things. The quality of fresh fruit or vegetables tend to be highly variable and a gamble since often you cant see or taste it before you buy.
Melons for example are a risky item. You never know what the quality is like until you cut it and taste it. It could be overripe, underripe, unfit for consumption or just lacking flavor.

Now I used to ring up this supermarket everytime i bought an item i was dissatisfied with. I can honestly say ive never lied or done it to get compensation. They would send me a giftcard to refund me but after a while, things changed. I was told that i could no longer ring up the store to obtain refunds and that i should return it to the store instead. I subsequently complained to the CEO but nothing changed. I was essentially robbed of the right to make use of their refund policy that says if youre not happy you can call their tekephone number, all because of what they considered an unreasonable frequency of returns.

Now that was a few years ago. But now the same thing is happening when i go into the store to return items. Ive now been told that i will no longer be given refunds for this particular item and told never to buy it again. Ive been robbed of my consumer rights.
I got into an argument recently and they initially refused a refund but they gave it to me in the end.

I have even thrown away a few of these items recently instead of going back in order to avoid embarrassment if they refused.

I feel that i have no consumer rights and that if i was to try to pursue this it will likely result in a ban from the store especially given my previous history of complaints, which would really be inconvenient for me as theres no other store id prefer going to.

What makes it worse is that the security guard there always watches every move i make. I feel harassed. Ive never shop lifted.

I feel that all i can do now is shop there and refrain from ever returning any items again and be grateful that I'm even allowed to enter the store. Or risk getting banned.

I feel that im being unfairly treated here, is this just the way it works?
The problem comes down to the fact that I cant prove if a product is faulty. But most supermarkets offer liberal returns policies where if the customer deems a product to be unsatisfactory they can get a refund. Theres no limit to the number of times you can return an item.

Even if i took them to court and won, it wouldnt be a victory because id still just get banned probably.

You'll get banned much before this goes to court.


PS - you won't have much of a case if you continue to purchase knowing their store policies don't apply to you.

fred376

I think we need to come to the realisation that this is a severely unjust situation. It could happen to anybody.

Seems like you have a nice little earner out of these so called faulty items... the shop has said enough is enoug

How is it an earner if the product is faulty? Im not gaining anything if i have to throw away the product away. Its my loss.

You are giving wrong advice here. Show me where it says in the law that a store can decide enough is enough? Theres no such law I'm aware of. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

davidmcn

fred376 wrote: »

Show me where it says in the law that a store can decide enough is enough?

They can't opt out of your statutory rights for items you've already bought, but they're perfectly entitled to tell you that your custom is no longer welcome.

fred376

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

You'll get banned much before this goes to court.


PS - you won't have much of a case if you continue to purchase knowing their store policies don't apply to you.

You could be banned yourself for any reason did you know that?

and I never claimed I was continuing to purchase knowing their policy doesnt apply. On the contrary. I expect to have the same right to return things no matter how many times i go back with an unsatisfactory item!

SHAFT

fred376 wrote: »

I have shopped at my local big name supermarket for decades. Heres the problem.
I do shop there frequently often daily. I buy mostly fresh items. I often buy the same things. The quality of fresh fruit or vegetables tend to be highly variable and a gamble since often you cant see or taste it before you buy.
Melons for example are a risky item. You never know what the quality is like until you cut it and taste it. It could be overripe, underripe, unfit for consumption or just lacking flavor.

Now I used to ring up this supermarket everytime i bought an item i was dissatisfied with. I can honestly say ive never lied or done it to get compensation. They would send me a giftcard to refund me but after a while, things changed. I was told that i could no longer ring up the store to obtain refunds and that i should return it to the store instead. I subsequently complained to the CEO but nothing changed. I was essentially robbed of the right to make use of their refund policy that says if youre not happy you can call their tekephone number, all because of what they considered an unreasonable frequency of returns.

Now that was a few years ago. But now the same thing is happening when i go into the store to return items. Ive now been told that i will no longer be given refunds for this particular item and told never to buy it again. Ive been robbed of my consumer rights.
I got into an argument recently and they initially refused a refund but they gave it to me in the end.

I have even thrown away a few of these items recently instead of going back in order to avoid embarrassment if they refused.

I feel that i have no consumer rights and that if i was to try to pursue this it will likely result in a ban from the store especially given my previous history of complaints, which would really be inconvenient for me as theres no other store id prefer going to.

What makes it worse is that the security guard there always watches every move i make. I feel harassed. Ive never shop lifted.

I feel that all i can do now is shop there and refrain from ever returning any items again and be grateful that I'm even allowed to enter the store. Or risk getting banned.

I feel that im being unfairly treated here, is this just the way it works?
The problem comes down to the fact that I cant prove if a product is faulty. But most supermarkets offer liberal returns policies where if the customer deems a product to be unsatisfactory they can get a refund. Theres no limit to the number of times you can return an item.

Even if i took them to court and won, it wouldnt be a victory because id still just get banned probably.

If you don't like it shop somewhere else.

Aylesbury_Duck

fred376 wrote: »

I think we need to come to the realisation that this is a severely unjust situation. It could happen to anybody.

How is it an earner if the product is faulty? Im not gaining anything if i have to throw away the product away. Its my loss.

You are giving wrong advice here. Show me where it says in the law that a store can decide enough is enough? Theres no such law I'm aware of. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

You seem to have made up your own mind so I'm not sure why you asked for people's views.

The store is perfectly entitled to ban you for any reason if they wish. Given your account of what you've been doing, I think their actions to date are wholly justified (and entirely legal).

You are equally entitled to shop anywhere else you choose. You aren't automatically entitled to shop somewhere just because it's convenient.

hollydays

Give us a list of the things you've returned and why..

fred376

davidmcn wrote: »

They can't opt out of your statutory rights for items you've already bought, but they're perfectly entitled to tell you that your custom is no longer welcome.

Hence consumer rights is a sham.You're forced to choose between a ban by claiming your rights or waiving your consumer rights to avoid a ban.