Told refund for damaged item can only be given by local store

sueromain

Before the ‘lockdown’ I ordered a large item from a local leading brand store. It arrived damaged and, by contacting the main office telephone number, I arranged for it to be collected and a refund given. I contacted them after the refund was long overdue, to be told I would have to wait until the local branch reopened and then contact them for a refund. This seems very unreasonable, particularly as the store could be closed for a considerable time. Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated.

[Deleted User]

sueromain said: told I would have to wait until the local branch reopened and then contact them for a refund. Can this be legal?!

In normal circumstances there would be someone at the store to book  your return onto their systems. Clearly this hasn't happened and cannot therefore be checked because of the store closure. 

Regardless of the "legality", I think you'll have to wait until they are trading normally before a refund is granted. However, you might have some additional leeway if you have documentary proof that the uplift was carried out...

mattyprice4004

You need to elaborate on timescales.
When was it uplifted, how long did you leave it to contact them and was the order made with the local store directly or via head office? Was the uplift arranged by the local store? 

sueromain

mattyprice4004 said:

You need to elaborate on timescales.
When was it uplifted, how long did you leave it to contact them and was the order made with the local store directly or via head office? Was the uplift arranged by the local store? 

It was uplifted on 13 February. I emailed them on 3 April. The order was made with the local store but the uplift arranged with the head office.

[Deleted User]

sueromain said:

It was uplifted on 13 February. I emailed them on 3 April. The order was made with the local store but the uplift arranged with the head office.

Assuming you placed the original purchase order at the store, HO will  simply have referred your complaint to the local store to solve. 

As a result, HO will only have a record of referring you on. They won't know the store has collected the item if the store (as I suspect) hasn't recorded the uplift. It's also why no refund has been actioned. 

  

 You also only contacted them to enquire about your refund not only after more than six weeks had elapsed but also  weeks after the government told such stores to close. 

So I think you'll have to wait until they open again unless, as I said earlier, you've kept a copy of the  uplift documentation provided when your item was collected....

Jumblebumble

Moneyineptitude said:

sueromain said:

It was uplifted on 13 February. I emailed them on 3 April. The order was made with the local store but the uplift arranged with the head office.

Assuming you placed the original purchase order at the store, HO will  simply have referred your complaint to the local store to solve. 

As a result, HO will only have a record of referring you on. They won't know the store has collected the item.  

 You also only contacted them to enquire about your refund not only after more than six weeks had elapsed but also  weeks after the government told such stores to close. 

So I think you'll have to wait until they open again unless, as I said earlier, you've kept a copy of the  uplift documentation provided when your item was collected....

This store chain must have lousy stock control systems if your theory that head office have no idea the company has the item back in stock  is true.

[Deleted User]

Jumblebumble said:

This store chain must have lousy stock control systems if your theory that head office have no idea the company has the item back in stock  is true.

The store is closed (and has been for weeks). As I said earlier, it looks like the uplift hasn't been booked onto their systems and there is now no one in that building to look for it. 

As to "stock control systems", they only operate correctly and accurately when there are people actually at work. Even during normal working errors  still occur. 

Why are posters on this forum  so oblivious to the devastating effects of this global pandemic?  

sueromain

Moneyineptitude said:

Jumblebumble said:

This store chain must have lousy stock control systems if your theory that head office have no idea the company has the item back in stock  is true.

The store is closed (and has been for weeks). As I said earlier, it looks like the uplift hasn't been booked onto their systems and there is now no one in that building to look for it. 

As to "stock control systems", they only operate correctly and accurately when there are people actually at work. Even during normal working errors  still occur. 

Why are posters on this forum  so oblivious to the devastating effects of this global pandemic?  

The uplift of the damaged item (large headboard) was arranged through the head office, not the branch and the refund was promised by the head office, so I thought the branch was no longer involved. However, I guess I will have to wait longer for a refund, although I think it is very poor customer service.

[Deleted User]

sueromain said:

The uplift of the damaged item (large headboard) was arranged through the head office, not the branch and the refund was promised by the head office, so I thought the branch was no longer involved. However, I guess I will have to wait longer for a refund, although I think it is very poor customer service.

When you called Head Office (why?) complaining about your damaged headboard, the person you spoke to will have simply raised a complaint ticket which was forwarded to the store to deal with. The store then uplifted your item and  for some reason failed to action the subsequent refund. 

The lesson to be learned here is that (on most occasions) there is little point in contacting a company's Head Office for common or garden complaints like this. In  your original situation, you would have been far better  contacting the branch where you originally purchased. I'm certain this would all have been sorted back in February if you had done this. 

Did you contact Head Office because you thought you would somehow get a speedier resolution? Or was this escalated to Head Office only after the store failed to provide a satisfactory resolution? 

You have also failed to explain why you only queried your lack of  refund more than a month and half after your item was collected. A refund generally takes 3-4 days to process back into your account, so why did you wait until April when the uplift occurred in February? 

Anyway, in normal circumstance, a quick investigation would take place and a refund hastened. 

The lockdown unfortunately means this is not possible and so you'll have to wait. The unique situation of a global pandemic  has little  to do with providing good "customer service" I'm afraid.