Overcharged?

Catlady72

I recently bought a blazer and jeans from Marks & Spencer’s. The price tags were labelled £45 and £39.50. The following day I checked my receipt and noticed I’d been charged £49.50 and £45. I contacted M&S online, querying in my mind the overpayment. Their response was the store had not updated the price tag since the garments price increases in April, so I had indeed paid the right amount. They didn’t even offer an apology, is this my fault for not noticing when I paid? (My mental math is rubbish

user1977

Take them back for a refund? You don't have a right to buy at the price marked instore, though it's potentially a trading standards offence for them to mislabel things.

Catlady72

Yeah I will return the jeans- as I can now buy them cheaper at Next but I removed the label from the blazer, so will have to suck it up! 

user1977

Catlady72 said:

Yeah I will return the jeans- as I can now buy them cheaper at Next but I removed the label from the blazer, so will have to suck it up! 

Do you need the label? I thought M&S were a bit more flexible about things like that.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Catlady72 said:

I recently bought a blazer and jeans from Marks & Spencer’s. The price tags were labelled £45 and £39.50. The following day I checked my receipt and noticed I’d been charged £49.50 and £45. I contacted M&S online, querying in my mind the overpayment. Their response was the store had not updated the price tag since the garments price increases in April, so I had indeed paid the right amount. They didn’t even offer an apology, is this my fault for not noticing when I paid? (My mental math is rubbish

If you mean you purchased in store then it's worth asking the customer service desk in store if they can refund the difference, they might have a different interpretation to the online CS or more wiggle room for goodwill. 

Manxman_in_exile

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Catlady72 said:

I recently bought a blazer and jeans from Marks & Spencer’s. The price tags were labelled £45 and £39.50. The following day I checked my receipt and noticed I’d been charged £49.50 and £45. I contacted M&S online, querying in my mind the overpayment. Their response was the store had not updated the price tag since the garments price increases in April, so I had indeed paid the right amount. They didn’t even offer an apology, is this my fault for not noticing when I paid? (My mental math is rubbish

If you mean you purchased in store then it's worth asking the customer service desk in store if they can refund the difference, they might have a different interpretation to the online CS or more wiggle room for goodwill. 

I agree 200% with this!

I had a problem with M&S a couple of years ago and I found their online customer services to be completely unhelpful and uninterested.  (The problem arose during covid and I tried to get a solution online rather than going instore)

I went instore and got the problem sorted to my satisfaction immediately and with no trouble whatsoever.  They were more than happy to assist.  And it wasn't even the same store that the purchase had been from.

With stores like M&S and JL I think you'll always get a better result face to face instore than online.

Catlady72

Manxman_in_exile said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Catlady72 said:

I recently bought a blazer and jeans from Marks & Spencer’s. The price tags were labelled £45 and £39.50. The following day I checked my receipt and noticed I’d been charged £49.50 and £45. I contacted M&S online, querying in my mind the overpayment. Their response was the store had not updated the price tag since the garments price increases in April, so I had indeed paid the right amount. They didn’t even offer an apology, is this my fault for not noticing when I paid? (My mental math is rubbish

If you mean you purchased in store then it's worth asking the customer service desk in store if they can refund the difference, they might have a different interpretation to the online CS or more wiggle room for goodwill. 

I agree 200% with this!

I had a problem with M&S a couple of years ago and I found their online customer services to be completely unhelpful and uninterested.  (The problem arose during covid and I tried to get a solution online rather than going instore)

I went instore and got the problem sorted to my satisfaction immediately and with no trouble whatsoever.  They were more than happy to assist.  And it wasn't even the same store that the purchase had been from.

With stores like M&S and JL I think you'll always get a better result face to face instore than online.

Many thanks, I will definitely try!

Manxman_in_exile

Catlady72 said:

Manxman_in_exile said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Catlady72 said:

I recently bought a blazer and jeans from Marks & Spencer’s. The price tags were labelled £45 and £39.50. The following day I checked my receipt and noticed I’d been charged £49.50 and £45. I contacted M&S online, querying in my mind the overpayment. Their response was the store had not updated the price tag since the garments price increases in April, so I had indeed paid the right amount. They didn’t even offer an apology, is this my fault for not noticing when I paid? (My mental math is rubbish

If you mean you purchased in store then it's worth asking the customer service desk in store if they can refund the difference, they might have a different interpretation to the online CS or more wiggle room for goodwill. 

I agree 200% with this!

I had a problem with M&S a couple of years ago and I found their online customer services to be completely unhelpful and uninterested.  (The problem arose during covid and I tried to get a solution online rather than going instore)

I went instore and got the problem sorted to my satisfaction immediately and with no trouble whatsoever.  They were more than happy to assist.  And it wasn't even the same store that the purchase had been from.

With stores like M&S and JL I think you'll always get a better result face to face instore than online.

Many thanks, I will definitely try!

Yes do.

I also had a similar problem with an instore self-checkout purchase from Boots.  When I got home I realised I hadn't got some special offer on the price and as I was already home I asked online what I could do to sort it out.  They explained I'd missed the special offer because I'd done it at a self-checkout till and there was nothing they could do about it.

I went back to the store and explained what had happened to the first sales assistant* I met and she sorted it out immediately and no fuss.

*  NB - when I got the M&S problem sorted out instore I didn't even go to their customer service desk.  A sales assistant also dealt with it for me.

TELLIT01

This from CAB may help  https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/if-something-is-advertised-at-the-wrong-price/

user1977

TELLIT01 said:

This from CAB may help  https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/if-something-is-advertised-at-the-wrong-price/

It's not particularly helpful though.

"If you realise you’ve paid more for an item than it was advertised for at the time, ask for the shop to refund the difference between what you paid and what was advertised."

Well, yes, you can ask, but you don't have a right to the difference.