Being refused a refund despite the refund policy on my receipt

PHK

Just to point out that it’s what the assistant told you that is the important thing as that is what led you to enter into the contract. What is on the receipt is immaterial because you received it after making/agreeing to the contract. 

In this case they are the same, but you want to be concentrating on what was said. 

It’s also worth pointing out that in a  successful dispute  over a contract the normal outcome is rescission of the contract which isn’t an option here. 

You’ve several routes here: you could make a claim in the small claims court for the value of the tiles you want to return. Or if you want to go down the contractual route you could go for what’s called “innocent misrepresentation” (where you are induced into a contract by the other party saying something they believe to be true [that in three months time you’ll be able to return] but turns out not to be true) Confusingly, this comes under Civil Fraud and so is probably not cost effective compared to the tiles. 

This might be one of those situations where the pragmatic thing is to sell the unwanted tiles and to take your business elsewhere in future. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

PHK said:

Just to point out that it’s what the assistant told you that is the important thing as that is what led you to enter into the contract. What is on the receipt is immaterial because you received it after making/agreeing to the contract. 

In this case they are the same, but you want to be concentrating on what was said. 

It’s also worth pointing out that in a  successful dispute  over a contract the normal outcome is rescission of the contract which isn’t an option here. 

For a consumer contract over a few boxes of tiles it's very likely balance of probability would dictate that what is printed on the back of a receipt is a true reflection of what the terms were prior to the contract being concluded. 

PHK said:

You’ve several routes here: you could make a claim in the small claims court for the value of the tiles you want to return. Or if you want to go down the contractual route you could go for what’s called “innocent misrepresentation” (where you are induced into a contract by the other party saying something they believe to be true [that in three months time you’ll be able to return] but turns out not to be true) Confusingly, this comes under Civil Fraud and so is probably not cost effective compared to the tiles. 

If OP returns the tiles the breach is failure to refund, this seems straightforward damages?

PHK said:

This might be one of those situations where the pragmatic thing is to sell the unwanted tiles and to take your business elsewhere in future. 

I do agree that sometimes it's easier to do such but tiles are typically heavy and fragile meaning posting them is not an option for the average person leaving OP to find someone local who happens to want the exact same tiles and only 5 boxes worth (unlikely to go far) meaning they'd end up with peanuts in return. 

jjj1980

Thank you for the replies everyone.  It’s Johnson Tiles Outlet.  Bought in store.

Absolutely can confirm that the store assistant’s confirmation that I had 3 months to return was the deciding to factor to buy at that time.  I was unsure of the exact date when the Tiler could start work so wanted to make sure I had enough time.  He even showed me the confirmation on the back of the receipt paperwork stating the 3 month returns period.  

Have had an initial callback from Citizens Advice to say that they will be back in touch with further information but basically that the policy change should not be being applied retrospectively.  Waiting to hear back again now then will follow up with the store again and their head office.  If they are still refusing to refund, I’m going to go via small claims as I believe it’s worth it to prove that what they are doing is not correct.  

jjj1980

Mr.Generous said:

Sounds like this store wants to go bust. How did you pay?

I paid using Apple Pay from my bank account.  

Jumblebumble

jjj1980 said:

i purchased 15 boxes of wall tiles on 13th January 2025 and the store assistant and the receipt both confirmed I had a 3 month returns period.  I purposefully bought at the time I did and purchased extra due to this policy.

i visited the store yesterday to return the 5 unopened boxes to be told they had recently changed their returns policy to 30 days, which I was now outside.  I pointed out that my paperwork given by them states a 3 months returns period, to which the store manager said that didn’t matter, that they were allowed to change their returns policy at any time they wished and that they were allowed to apply it retrospectively.  This I disagree with as it makes a fundamental change to the contract I have with them, based on the wording in my receipt, a change that I have not agreed to.  The store manager stated that they have already turned away a couple of people recently after getting in trouble with head office for complying with the receipt wording rather than the new policy.

i have sent an online request to Citizens Advice Bureau and asked the store to email head office to to ask them to revise their decision for purchases made prior to the policy change.  It will be likely a couple of days before I hear back from the store.

Hoping to gain some further information on rights regarding the policies quoted on the receipt.  Many thanks.

All advice given above assumes that the manager is not simply telling fairy stories to get rid of you.
For what its worth I think this is exactly what is happening

user1977

Jumblebumble said:

jjj1980 said:

i purchased 15 boxes of wall tiles on 13th January 2025 and the store assistant and the receipt both confirmed I had a 3 month returns period.  I purposefully bought at the time I did and purchased extra due to this policy.

i visited the store yesterday to return the 5 unopened boxes to be told they had recently changed their returns policy to 30 days, which I was now outside.  I pointed out that my paperwork given by them states a 3 months returns period, to which the store manager said that didn’t matter, that they were allowed to change their returns policy at any time they wished and that they were allowed to apply it retrospectively.  This I disagree with as it makes a fundamental change to the contract I have with them, based on the wording in my receipt, a change that I have not agreed to.  The store manager stated that they have already turned away a couple of people recently after getting in trouble with head office for complying with the receipt wording rather than the new policy.

i have sent an online request to Citizens Advice Bureau and asked the store to email head office to to ask them to revise their decision for purchases made prior to the policy change.  It will be likely a couple of days before I hear back from the store.

Hoping to gain some further information on rights regarding the policies quoted on the receipt.  Many thanks.

All advice given above assumes that the manager is not simply telling fairy stories to get rid of you.
For what its worth I think this is exactly what is happening

I suspect there may be a "computer says no" element to it as they CBA figuring out how to do a refund which their policy for current sales wouldn't allow.

saajan_12

jjj1980 said:

Thank you for the replies everyone.  It’s Johnson Tiles Outlet.  Bought in store.

Absolutely can confirm that the store assistant’s confirmation that I had 3 months to return was the deciding to factor to buy at that time.  I was unsure of the exact date when the Tiler could start work so wanted to make sure I had enough time.  He even showed me the confirmation on the back of the receipt paperwork stating the 3 month returns period.  

Have had an initial callback from Citizens Advice to say that they will be back in touch with further information but basically that the policy change should not be being applied retrospectively.  Waiting to hear back again now then will follow up with the store again and their head office.  If they are still refusing to refund, I’m going to go via small claims as I believe it’s worth it to prove that what they are doing is not correct.  

Presumably you'd start with a formal complaint and then LBA rather than court, given those are free and ensures you have a reasonably final response from the company rather than just one manager before you start spending money on getting the refund. 

But otherwise agree with you - the receipt is reasonable evidence of the contract that would have been formed verbally, and they can't change that unilaterally after the contract was executed (ie after purchase). 

jjj1980

Just wanted to come back with an update and thank everyone for their advice.

After speaking with their head office legal team, the store manager came back to me to advise they had now been informed they have to comply with whatever refunds policy is in the receipts given to the customer at time of purchase. The change in policy is only applicable to purchases made afterwards and which the receipt for quotes the new policy.

So I have now been given a refund! Thankful it’s all sorted but annoying it was made so difficult! 

saajan_12

jjj1980 said:

Just wanted to come back with an update and thank everyone for their advice.

After speaking with their head office legal team, the store manager came back to me to advise they had now been informed they have to comply with whatever refunds policy is in the receipts given to the customer at time of purchase. The change in policy is only applicable to purchases made afterwards and which the receipt for quotes the new policy.

So I have now been given a refund! Thankful it’s all sorted but annoying it was made so difficult! 

Good to hear, and I'm actually surprised they acknowledged that they have to comply rather than bluffing about "as goodwill we'll refund"