Woolworths - awful service attitude

mrt_2

Last year I bought a portable power unit - the type you can plug a 12v cool box into or an emergency jump start for your car.

I know its not a lot of money but it was £19.99 reduced from £39.99 and we only used it a few times in the summer.

It less than 12 months old and is faulty, it wont charge up. Its in a Woolworth own brand box and looks brand new with all the packing etc, but I cant find the receipt - ( paid cash )

All I wanted was a repair or replacement and I thought it would be reasonable to expect that, surely the store must have some records of when products were sold.

I have tried everything from approaching the store, to writing to customer services, even the Chief Exec and all I have got is the blunt fobbing off saying if I havent got my receipt the refuse to do anything about it.

I would have expected better of Woolworths, but just goes to show

skintchick

Contact Trading Standards. Under the Sale of goods Act you have up to six years if an item is faulty - you don;t necessarily get the full amount back but your are entitled. TS will be able to advise you better. But don;t be fobbed off.

hollydays

They are right in law,and it seems fair to me.
I think there are only a couple of stores that have systems that "might " be able to check this,ww is not one of them.

If Woolworths,and most stores didn't have this Policy,what is to stop people from collecting various broken /used,items from car boot sales and the like,then taking the back to be replaced with a brand new item?

bottleredhead

hollydays wrote: »

They are right in law,and it seems fair to me.
Do you have any other proof of purchase such as a bank statement or credit card receipt?
I think there are only a couple of stores that have systems that "might " be able to check this,ww is not one of them.

If Woolworths,and most stores didn't have this Policy,what is to stop people from collecting various broken /used,items from car boot sales and the like,then taking the back to be replaced with a brand new item?

Woolworths CAN check a sale if you have an idea when you bought the item and give them your card details.

I'd bought my daughter some boots in woolies and after about 3 months the front seam split.

Whilst I was in Sheerness I went in and asked about a replacement; trouble is I couldnt remember which WW I'd bought them from (could have been my local one in Surrey or the Sheerness one. brain like a sieve)

Any whooooooooo

They traced my purchase, (whilst she was away doing it I remembered I did get them there and my daughter remembered I'd bought her tights as well, which when they traced the receipt they confirmed that was the case) and I got a new pair of boots.

Dont think it works for cash but worth asking

SaraSeahorse

mrt wrote: »

but I cant find the receipt - ( paid cash )

op states they paid cash so this will not show up using card or on statements

moonrakerz

skintchick wrote: »

Contact Trading Standards. Under the Sale of goods Act you have up to six years if an item is faulty - you don;t necessarily get the full amount back but your are entitled. TS will be able to advise you better. But don;t be fobbed off.

Ah ! The good old "6 years under the SOGA" rears it mythical head again.

Sorry, but this won't work. The complainant has to PROVE that the goods were sub standard at the time of manufacture or that the design was in some way lacking. To do this without a horde of lawyers and technical experts backing you up is impossible.
The defendant only has to say that he believes that you misused the product in some way and you are stuck.
I'm afraid that is the answer you will get from TS.

Hollydays is correct, Woolies are acting well within the Law. It might seem a bit unfair but retailers have a major problem with people shoplifting items then taking them back for a "refund" - even M & S have tightened up on this very considerably.

uktim29

skintchick wrote: »

Contact Trading Standards. Under the Sale of goods Act you have up to six years if an item is faulty - you don;t necessarily get the full amount back but your are entitled. TS will be able to advise you better. But don;t be fobbed off.

As other have said, this is wrong, wrong, wrong!

The op has no proof of purchase so ww don't have to do anything. It's not unfair, as has already been mentioned this helps prevent shoplifters taking an item straight of the shelf (not even going out the store in some cases) and then asking for a refund. Yes it does happen, I use to come across it hundreds of times when I worked in retail.

Again as has already been mentioned, Trading Standards won't be able to do anything!!!

Funny isn't it the title of this thread "awful service attitude" the op is in the wrong! The op would get the same service with no proof of purchase everywhere but comes out with some !!!!!!!! like "awful service attitude" because they didn't get their own way.

Every day something always reminds me why I hated working in retail!

Woolworths_Employee

Woolworths can check when an item was bought and match it with a customer's credit card details only if they paid by card! You cannot trace a cash transaction to an individual obviously. It is reasonable for Woolworths to ask for proof of purchase and we do have the right to refuse a refund without it! If you don't have your reciept then we are under no obligation to even check on the system. Some member's of staff will (i am one of them).

smcaul

Proof of purchase does not need to be a receipt or even a credit card/bank statement, it could also be the word of someone who was with you on the day of purchase. Harder to prove using that method but still acceptable.

marcowil

Under the SOGA, a receipt is not required, as some shops do not issue receipts. However, it is a good form of proof of purchase.

If you claim, legitimately and truthfully, that you purchased the item from Woolworths, the onus is on them to prove you did not.

Woolworths_Employee

Proof of purchase does have to be a reciept, that i the conditions of purchasing from Woolworths. If you don't agree to it then don't make the purchase. And we do have the right to refuse a refund without REASONABLE proof of purchase. Asking a cashier to prove that you bought the item is not reasonable!