Hoping for some advice, please.
As a surprise for our 10th wedding anniversary, my husband me bought an expensive bag from a London department store. At the time of purchase he made it conditional that the exchange period would be extended from 2 weeks to 1 month. This was agreed and written on the receipt. The bag is lovely but not my style so we agreed to exchange it. We are well within the 1-month exchange period and he is returning it today. We both prefer that I choose the replacement.
The complication is that we live in Ireland and I won’t be able to look for a replacement until my next visit (maybe December). Wherever I have shopped before, a credit note/gift voucher can always be given if you don’t see anything you like at the time of exchange. So, I assumed that would be the case here (as did my husband when he bought it).
I phoned the store yesterday to talk this through, ahead of him returning the bag today. Central customer services said ‘fine; we’ll issue a credit note’ but put me through to the concession to double-check. The first person I spoke to at the concession also said ‘fine; we’ll issue a credit note’ but put me through to the manager to double-check. The manager said ‘no, it’s exchange only; you missed the 2-week refund period’.
Apparently, because this is a concession, a credit note is treated by them internally the same as a refund. I don’t know how the customer is supposed to know this. From the customer’s perspective, a refund and sales credit are very different. A refund means you get your money back and can spend it at the competitor down the road; a credit note means they keep the money and you select the goods later. I feel that this distinction should have been pointed out and it would have made a difference to my husband’s decision.
Husband will be in store today – any advice on how we deal with a refusal to issue a credit note, please? Anyone have any experience in a similar situation?
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Concession at Department Store - returns
8 replies
43andcounting · 15/11/2016 10:01
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