Refund when points used

kateyp

Hi,
What are the refund rules when using points to purchase?

I bought handwash & toothpaste from Superdrug online for click & collect. Two of the handwash bottles have leaked on all the items. 

The order total was £5.88, with £5 paid with loyalty points. They have refunded 23p, which doesn't seem fair. If I had taken them back to the shop I think I would've received either a full refund or replacement of the items.

Any advice welcome. 

MeteredOut

There will be no standard "here's what should happen when you get a refund after paying in points" - it will depend on the scheme, though general consumer rights would dictate that what happens should be fair, and a 23p refund does not sound fair. How was the 23p calculated?

So what do the Superdrug T&Cs say for refunds when paying for points? What did the cashier say when they processed the refund?

And, under what process did you return the goods? Did you make it clear you were not accepting them due to quality?

flaneurs_lobster

Trying to deal with a Superdrug Loyalty glitch (should have been elevated to Super VIP++ or some such when making a particular purchase) was one of the few occasions when I have simply given up.

Utterly exasperating, every contact promised immediate resolution, simply didn't happen. 

Okell

kateyp said:

Hi,
What are the refund rules when using points to purchase?

I bought handwash & toothpaste from Superdrug online for click & collect. Two of the handwash bottles have leaked on all the items. 

The order total was £5.88, with £5 paid with loyalty points. They have refunded 23p, which doesn't seem fair. If I had taken them back to the shop I think I would've received either a full refund or replacement of the items.

Any advice welcome. 

What they should have done is credited you with £5 of loyalty points and then refunded 88p by however you paid the balance.

Did they give you back the £5 loyalty points?  (You haven't said that they did and you haven't said that they didn't).

Regarding the balance you paid by "cash" did they explain why they only refunded you 23p and not 88p? 

Have you asked them?

Do the T&Cs of the points scheme give a possible explanation?

Did you explain the goods wee faulty and not a "change of mind"?

If you bought online and you took them back to the shop for replacement, the shop probably would have been entitled to refuse you as you did not buy instore

flaneurs_lobster

Okell said:

If you bought online and you took them back to the shop for replacement, the shop probably would have been entitled to refuse you as you did not buy instore

Bit confused, OP says bought online for click'n'collect. Leakage not apparent at pickup apparently. So when discovered, no attempt to return to shop but refund sought online?

kateyp

I can't find anything about points refunds in their T&Cs, or even anything about damaged items.

The 23p is the cash part paid for two bottles. They haven't refunded the points.

I haven't returned the goods, I emailed them to explain what had happened and they sent the partial refund.

The order was in a sealed plastic bag, so it wasn't obvious that they had leaked until I opened it.

flaneurs_lobster

kateyp said:

The 23p is the cash part paid for two bottles. They haven't refunded the points.

I haven't returned the goods, I emailed them to explain what had happened and they sent the partial refund.

The order was in a sealed plastic bag, so it wasn't obvious that they had leaked until I opened it.

I'd decant the handwash back into the bottles and give the toothpaste a rinse under the tap. 

eskbanker

kateyp said:

I bought handwash & toothpaste from Superdrug online for click & collect. Two of the handwash bottles have leaked on all the items.

kateyp said:

The 23p is the cash part paid for two bottles. They haven't refunded the points.

I haven't returned the goods, I emailed them to explain what had happened and they sent the partial refund.

The order was in a sealed plastic bag, so it wasn't obvious that they had leaked until I opened it.

So is the small payment being issued as some sort of goodwill gesture, rather than an actual refund, if you still have the items in your possession (and they can presumably still be used)?

Okell

So you haven't actually returned* the goods?

Why don't you go back to them and tell them that you want to return the goods for a full refund (including return P&P) because the goods were faulty - ie the containers had leaked?

Or ask them if you can return instore for a refund or replacement.

It's up to you how much trouble you want to go to over a fiver.


*Didn't you think it relevant to mention in the first post that you hadn't returned them?

Okell

flaneurs_lobster said:

Okell said:

If you bought online and you took them back to the shop for replacement, the shop probably would have been entitled to refuse you as you did not buy instore

Bit confused, OP says bought online for click'n'collect. Leakage not apparent at pickup apparently. So when discovered, no attempt to return to shop but refund sought online?

OK.

Looking at their T&Cs it would seem that any online purchases ( ie purchases from Superdrug as opposed to third party vendors) can be returned in person to any Superdrug store.

If the OP wanted to exchange an online purchase, that can only be done instore.

Should have gone back to the store...

Alderbank

Usually the issuer of reward points says that the points have no or negligible monetary value.
However that is not the case with Superdrug Beautycard points. Their T&Cs say the current redemption value of points is 1 point = 1 penny/cent. 

Your situation is covered by chapter 2 section 20(9), (10) and (11) of the Consumer Rights Act.

This says:

(9)The consumer's entitlement to receive a refund works as follows.

(10)To the extent that the consumer paid money under the contract, the consumer is entitled to receive back the same amount of money.

(11)To the extent that the consumer transferred anything else under the contract, the consumer is entitled to receive back the same amount of what the consumer transferred...

That is an extremely clumsy and awkward way of saying that your refund must be the amount of cash you paid, plus the points you paid returned back to your card.