Returning items to M & S when they are part of a 3 for 2 offer

CelticStar

Just wondered can anyone advise me about this as I bought quite a gifts from my local M & S a few days ago and want to take a couple back - in one case the item that I had originally wanted online came back into stock online but not in store and I want to return the substitute present I bought.

When I take the item back will I have to return the free item if I get a refund or swap the original item for something of similar price.

Just want to find out where I stand before I have to trail everything back into town.

Thanks.
CS

cdodd

don't know about xmas pressies but i took some school trousers back that i bought on 3 for 2, said i didn't have the receipt (obviously the label says from m&s anyway), by the time i returned the offer had finished so i got the full price back, wish i hadn't returned now though as ds has since made a hole in one of his pairs and so we are down to one and struggling to find a new pair, sorry for the rambles, hope this answers your qu !!

shaileytuff

on the 3 for 2 offer youy only have to take back the free gift if you are returning the other 2 items, if it is just 1 gift going back then they won't worry, a way round this though is just to say you don't have your receipt, M&S are fine will exchange no probs without receipt even one 3 for 2 don't worry, as long as you do it before the sale starts as they will then only give you current price without a receipt

FL

I took back the free gift and they won't refund the money that it is worth but will let you exchange for something of the same value. I had my receipt. The staff had to ask a supervisor to check.

ljw2701

I bought some school uniform on 3 for 2 during the summer. Two weeks into the new term the thread on my son's trousers started to unravel (right at the crotch ) so went to M&S, with receipt in hand, for what I thought would be a straightforward exchange of faulty goods!

In this small store (Dunfermline) they don't have a dedicated Customer Service Desk so I went up to a normal till one busy Saturday afternoon only to be practically accused of trying to cheat M&S out of a couple of pounds because I wouldn't pay the difference between what I had paid on 3 for 2 and the full price:mad:!! Trying to explain that I simply wanted to exchange faulty trousers for another pair exactly the same just fell on the deaf ears of not one but two sales assistants. When I asked to speak to a Manager the older one said "Oh, just give them to her then!" as if I was being let off with something!

Sorry for the rant but the moral seems to be - pretend you don't have the receipt because it just confuses them:rolleyes: !!

pamperedprincess

Sorry for the rant but the moral seems to be - pretend you don't have the receipt because it just confuses them

I work part-time for M&S as a customer assistant and really we are not that easily confused! The staff you dealt with were wrong. If goods are faulty we offer a cash refund or an exchange. Because the trousers were faulty I don't think you should have been asked to pay the difference.

ljw2701

pamperedprincess wrote: »

I work part-time for M&S as a customer assistant and really we are not that easily confused! The staff you dealt with were wrong.

Sorry, didn't mean to tar everyone with the same brush - I used to work for Tesco (and M&S many Xmases ago) and know how very different all the staff can be!!

bylromarha

pamperedprincess wrote: »

I work part-time for M&S as a customer assistant and really we are not that easily confused! The staff you dealt with were wrong. If goods are faulty we offer a cash refund or an exchange. Because the trousers were faulty I don't think you should have been asked to pay the difference.

Please can you explain this to your online team then?

Back in June I bought 3 suitcases that were 3 for 2. 1 case was faulty. They couldn't replace the case as it was now out of stock. My local store had the case in stock, so I asked for gift vouchers or cash to buy a replacement locally. They would only refund 2 thirds of the price I paid for the case as I got it on a 3 for 2 deal...so I couldn't get a replacement without paying more money.

So I'd forget your receipt when you go back into store OP.

shaileytuff

yeah i used to work for M&S and they have a great refund policy and customer always right attitude sometimes though you have to make assistants aware of policy or ask them to call management, some people feel like it is coming out of their own pocket! The management tend to generally favour the customer, honestly some refund things were beyond a joke! They want you to stay loyal so don't feel bad about arguing the toss, if all else fails just go in without your receipt and ask for an exchange although you get cash back (what you paid, if it has gone in sale you will be asked date you bought it and they will look it up) if the item is faulty.

Good old M&S really

nlwsaint

Funny this should come up today. I've just got back from M&S after returning a small item which cost just £5 but was on the 3 For 2 deal. It was faulty but I had kept the receipt luckily. I really wanted a replacement but the item was out of stock even though it was showing up on the system as 70 in stock. I was initially told that as it was in fact "free" I should just throw it away. As I pointed out, I wouldn't have bought it for £5 but 3 for 2 made it better value. Anyway, after a bit of wrangling, I was in fact credited with £5 back. I think it really depends on how experienced the customer service assistant is & whether you stick to your guns.

oasisfeverish

The policy on the 3 for 2 range:

In store the cheapest of the three gifts is free. This is confirmed on the till receipt with the words FREE next to it. Once M&S have issued a receipt to the customer, the contract is binded and M&S can not demand the FREE gift back, even if you decide to return the two paid gifts back for a full refund, which effectively means you get a gift for free. Buy 3 train sets at £149 each, pay for two = £298. Return two, refund of £298. Result one FREE train set value £149. You may/will get a 'look' from the SA, but there is nothing legally they can do to demand the free gift back.

If you return the items with a till receipt you will be refunded the same way you paid, ie. cash / card / gift voucher / credit vouchers.

If you return the items with a gift receipt you will be refunded with a credit voucher.

If you return the items without a receipt you will receive a credit voucher to the last known selling price. However please be prepared that in some cases they can refuse you a refund, as none of M&S items are tagged and it has been known for people to walk in, pick a item up, go straight to the returns desk and ask for a refund. Please don't get any ideas though, there are cameras everywhere and would be classed as theft.

Some SAs on the returns desk will mention if the item returned is part of the 3 for 2 range if returning with a gift receipt, this is a way to try and force you not to get a refund by stating you have to return all 3. This is infact illegal in what the SA is stating.

Last year post Xmas in some stores notices for the eyes of staff only mentioned that if customers bring back gifts from the 3 for 2 range SAs must not ask for the free gift back.

I covered this subject on here last year in depth, whereby another poster said that they bought 3 gifts, took two back and effectively ended up with a gift that they had not paid for, some people said that was illegal, it is NOT.

You can take it one step further and return the free gift, if you state "I'm returning this as I don't want it / not suitable" you will be asked "do you have a receipt" your reply should be "no". The SA will then scan the item, see what the last known selling price is and issue you with a credit voucher. Resulting in your FREE gift no being exchanged for a credit voucher with a value. As long as you haven't been asked if this was a free gift then you do nothing wrong, Illegal no, morally wrong, up to the individual to decide.

I'll leave it entirely up to the each one of you to decide what you would do.