Horrible interaction in New Look

In shops where I think it might be likely they ask for an email I ask if I can have a paper receipt before even putting the item on the counter. Then if they say no I just hand them the item and walk out.

There is absolutely nothing I need enough to want to give my email details to a poorly trained shop worker.

I hate shops that do this, it’s increasingly common. Dunelm are particularly prone to it. I acquiesced once, the emailed receipt never arrived and then I had a heck of a time when I needed to return an item as I had no receipt. I always get a paper receipt now. If they won’t provide one, I don’t buy.

Also to add to that I’m currently on crutches and the queue wasn’t particularly long but for some reason they were taking ages to serve people but there was no apology for the long wait. It was a girl in her 20’s I’d say, the older staff seem a bit better customer service wise.

I had a similar experience in a new look in Bristol recently. Went in to collect an online order and the order literally got slammed on the desk. There was no hello, please, thank you or goodbye. Went into Superdrug as my next stop and the customer service by the meet and great girl on the door was outstanding. So much so that I had a moan to her about how awful it had been in new look. It’s really put me off shopping in there.

There are several free email address hosts out there. We created an address that's literally "receipts@xxxxx.com". (Not xxxxxx obvs, Im not dumb enough to post the proper thing). We quote that in all the shops. I go though the inbox from time to time and mass delete the spam.

OP is right to be annoyed though...you were right to be assertive.

Yes I told shop assistant that I didn't want new look tracking my purchases and sending me targeted email advertisements that choke up my email address! I know shop assistants have zero say but they feed back to their managers who feed back to theirs and so on.

Local Dunelm asked for my email to send an e receipt, it never arrived! I rang the store and they insisted they couldn't resend it and didn't have a record so I could collect a paper one, I always insist on paper receipts now

I'm taking this advice!

The emailed receipts are becoming more popular. I’m not keen on it either.
I’ve made a new email address similar to- receipts @ address. com
They often can’t spell receipts quick enough so offer a paper one ha ha.

For a fast fashion retail outlet to say this would make me hoot with laughter. This industry is one of the worst culprits on a fast-track to destroying the planet!

I shop vintage whenever possible. This isn't only for environmental reasons - that's a sideways benefit - but because the quality of items available on the high street has gone through the floor as prices have gone through the ceiling.

Badly-cut polyester just doesn't appeal. And 'vegan' shoes are far worse for the planet than leather ones.

Paper receipts under the guise of saving the planet, aggghhh winds me up! Stop making so many plastic shoes instead. They just want our data. And New Look, even though they do have some nice things, have lost their way. I'm surprised they are still going. They certainly won't be much longer if they continue to piss off customers.

Haha! I should have proof read that 😆

Blimey, the cheap clothes are just to get you through the door, the real profit comes from selling your information to third parties ☹️

I gpt the eye rolling when I didn't want to give my email address and a sigh when paying with cash.

Tell them that if they care so much about the environment they should stop selling polyester crap!

Exactly this.

So many retail companies target their employees with obtaining an email address for marketing purposes.

Once they have your email, you’ve opted in to communications from them, so they can send you promotional emails until you opt out.

Haven’t RTFT except for the OP and first few responses but YANBU.

I don’t shop in New Look but I've been asked for my email address in Dunelm. I just say no thanks, I’ll have a paper receipt. Never had an argument.

However, just in case I ever encounter a really pushy assistant who insists on an email receipt, I pre-emptively created a burner email address that I now use only for this purpose or for when I don’t want to give my real one. Every now and then I go into it and clear out all the spam emails. Very satisfying it is too.

It's a constant well of surprises that people are so persistent about extracting contact details, and assume an entitlement to that information simply because they've asked for it

Also when they call you and ask you to prove who you are.

Erm - you called me. How about you prove who you are!

You can opt out and it should be easy, eg just clicking the unsubscribe button, but it's still a step you have to take that you shouldn't do.

AND asking for email addresses makes the queue to pay longer.

It's my personal info and I don't feel I need to share my contact details with a shop in order to buy something. It doesn't happen elsewhere. Plus they abuse it by signing you up to the newsletter without even asking permission. I'm sure they're breaching GDPR on that side, because they're using data for a purpose customers haven't consented to

Yes you are absolutely right.

And it's a breach of the GDPR in other ways too - if you collect personal information, you need to need it. Do you need an email address for someone to buy something in a shop? Maybe, for eg a candle or an electronic item, for product recall purposes*. But if I am buying a t-shirt? Unlikely.

• there are new EU laws about product safety that apply in Northern Ireland, so expect more requests for email addresses in shops there

Yes it actually is, under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which are being upgraded by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act with effect from April.

The new law will make it easier to establish that aggressive practices were followed. However, it has to affect a consumer's "transactional decision". By the time they are demanding email addresses, you've actually already bought the item and made the transactional decision.

Back in the day in many shops you had to provide name, address and tel no when returning items. I think so they could check up and make sure the sales assistant wasn't pocketing cash or products.

So I am not that surprised they ask for an email address, but any contact method should be sufficient.

Dont know if high pressure tactics to get personal info out of someone (which an email or telephone number is ) is a breach of any consumer or data privacy laws but it bloody should be.

You're not wrong to be annoyed. I always ask for a paper receipt too, purely because my email address is my name and my surname is long, uncommon and always needs spelling out. I can't be arsed with that at the till.

I used to shop at New Look a lot but it never appeals to me anymore. Our local one just looks run down and full of rails of sale clothes. The nice one at the retail park closed.

I just say because I don't want to and thst seems to shut the conversation down.