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Original poster

Charity shop refusing refund

238 replies

BlazeMonsterMachine · 01/05/2021 05:35

This is such a trivial thing I realise, but for some reason it's annoyed me....

I needed a new pair of jeans, so popped to the local charity shop. With covid restrictions, you can't try clothes on at the moment, so when paying I asked about what to if they don't fit.

They told me to keep the receipt and I can exchange them. I queried whether there could be a refund, but apparently not - exchange only.

Now we're talking less than £10 here, and I realise it's charity, but it just doesn't sit right....

Are they allowed to do this? It feels like I'm just throwing money away / making a donation rather than shopping. It just strikes me as bizarre that I have to guess as to whether something fits and tough luck if it doesn't (as there's no guarantee that they'll have anything I want to exchange for).

Just wondering if anyone knows if this is the correct procedure as annoyingly the jeans don't fit.

I'm not planning on kicking up a fuss when I go back, but if they don't have a pair of jeans I could swap for, it would be good to know if i could push for a refund.

OP posts:

kowari · 02/05/2021 19:29

@TheFutureDoesntWork

If you néed cheap jeans try Tesco £4 or Asda.

Well there's a novel sales technique. "Go to a different shop." 😐

This is sadly what will happen. I wouldn't buy without being able to try on, or it being made clear to me that refunds were available. I just hope they open the changing rooms soon. I've never found jeans in a 6 in a supermarket but I've just bought some from h&m for £12 where I can easily send them back if they don't fit.

AbsolutelyPatsy · 02/05/2021 19:30

due to not being able to try on you can get a refund in all the charity shops i have been in during this stage of the pandemic
all said very graciously

AbsolutelyPatsy · 02/05/2021 19:32

and all of the posters saying be generous, it is a donation, dont be mean.

quite unfair.
put yourself in other people's shoes

bpirockin · 02/05/2021 19:36

That's pretty standard for charity shops in my experience.

Vynalbob · 02/05/2021 19:39

I think it's the Way for most, but not all charity shops... no refunds.

Used to like charity shops as I saw them as double charity.... good for shoppers that can't afford full prices good for the individual charity.... but three quarters (mostly big ones) are on my blacklist. An assistant told me with glee that (holding up a dress) this one costs £20 here but £50 retail... however when I pointed out that they'll keep stock for a long time as no refunds and no choice..... also pointed out a toy and a book that they had at £3.99 when I just saw them for £1 in poundland.

I try to stick to small charities that have less costly overheads & ceos

Ddot · 02/05/2021 19:43

I thought that because you couldn't try on you were entitled to a refund but I cant find anything on google so I must be wrong. Its if faulty and not fit for purpose. Charity shops near me do offer a refund, so shop in a different one. I do hope you can find something else

InFiveMins · 02/05/2021 19:43

I couldn't even consider asking for a refund from a charity shop .

I'm confused that you went ahead and bought the jeans knowing you might not be able to return them but are now aggrieved that you might not be able to return them.

Go and exchange them, sure there'll be something else there that will be fine for less than a tenner.

FudgeFlake · 02/05/2021 19:54

It doesn't matter what the shop's profits are directed at, shareholders or a charity. If I need to buy an item that needs to be checked by trying it on, and I am prevented by health restrictions from doing so on the premises, I expect to be able to exchange it for a suitable replacement or if that is not available a full refund at the earliest opportunity.

bigbadbedknobs · 02/05/2021 20:08

Charities are supposed to carry out their mission and chances are that the mission of most of the charities that run the charity shops on the High Street are not to provide cheap clothing and other goods to the general public, it is a nice side effect obviously. They exist to raise money to enable the charity to carry out its mission, whether that be research into curing heart disease or raising money to look after stray cars or whatever.

Livelovebehappy · 02/05/2021 20:10

Of course they should offer a refund. If they don’t have a facility for trying stuff on before you buy, then they should be flexible on the fact that once you try on at home, that it might not fit/suit. Regardless of whether it’s a charity shop or not.

chipmunksmummy · 02/05/2021 20:12

I run a charity store. We dont give refunds unless faulty but do offer no quibble exchange or a credit note that lasts 12 weeks.
Maybe check with them to see if they offer credit notes?

Bellyups · 02/05/2021 20:15

It’s a charity shop. I wouldn’t have even asked for a refund

PerspicaciousGreen · 02/05/2021 20:23

@Vynalbob

I think it's the Way for most, but not all charity shops... no refunds.

I try to stick to small charities that have less costly overheads & ceos

"Mispricing" like this happens because the shop is staffed by volunteers who might only be there for three hours a week for a year. The shop has guidelines for pricing (in ours, we had a list of brands of high, medium and low value, and a list of how much each kind of clothing item cost at high, medium and low value - I only ever did clothes, I'm not sure how other stuff was priced, but it must have been similar) which could be followed by your average seven year old because they get all sorts of people coming to volunteer. If you're volunteering in a charity shop, you usually don't have a full time job elsewhere which is why you have spare time midweek, so they're not getting the most, uh, competitive people.

They have these rigid guidelines because otherwise it would be chaos with volunteers making random assessments about how much something should cost with hugely varying knowledge of current fashion and shop prices. Often they are sent from Head Office and not updated for years. We used to price Primark stuff embarrassingly highly (on a par with New Look and H&M when at the time the new prices were about half that) but shortly before I left they reissued the guidelines with a fourth price category (I think) for really cheap stuff like Primark and ASDA.

It's not because the shop is greedy, because the volunteers are stupid, or anything like that. It's because the shop's policies are of necessity based on the fact that they are staffed by volunteers with a wide range of experience and abilities.

PerspicaciousGreen · 02/05/2021 20:28

One thing I do dislike in charity shops, which was just coming in when I was there, were "new products" (other than Christmas cards). Stuff like Fairtrade food, eco toiletries, etc. They must do it because it makes more profit for the charity (which, as discussed upthread, is the actual point of the shop) but we'd have the back overflowing with perfectly good items which had been donated but couldn't sell because there wasn't the space on the shop floor.

IIRC unsaleable clothing (usually because it was not in a fit condition to be sold, like stained or torn, but as shop space reduced it would be stuff that was perfectly wearable but wouldn't sell for much - Primark stuff) would be sold by the kilo to be made into rags, and I think it's a real shame to do that to perfectly wearable clothing.

HalzTangz · 02/05/2021 20:29

I would never dream of asking for a refund from a charity.
I generally find holding jeans zipped up against my waist is fairy good judge of whether something will fit. Fit doesn't fit i'd just sell on using eBay or facebook

HalzTangz · 02/05/2021 20:31

@AbsolutelyPatsy

They are currently now giving refunds, since you cannot try them on

Not everywhere is

littlepattilou · 02/05/2021 20:36

@BlazeMonsterMachine YANBU, and I would actually shun them from now on.

Any shop that is shit at giving refunds, and makes it really hard to get one, will NOT get my custom. Apart from charity shops and Sports Direct, Currys/PC World are difficult too, as it Tesco and Sainsburys - IME.

If I want to buy anything expensive (eg, tech or white goods,) I will NEVER go to Currys PC World or Tesco, or Sainsburys, as I have found them very difficult to deal with, if something goes wrong.

fatchilli123 · 02/05/2021 20:43

A lot of charity shops round near me do not exchange either . If you don't like the item you gift it back and buy something else. Take a tape measure in with you and your measurements.

PerspicaciousGreen · 02/05/2021 20:47

Just to clarify, I don't think there's anything wrong with returning something to a charity shop that does refunds, even if it only cost 50p. Some of our local charity shops do refunds, and I've returned things to them. Some do exchanges, and I've returned clothing and got a book instead, for example. Some don't take anything back. If they have said they're happy to do refunds, take them at their word! It obviously works for them.

What I don't think is OK is criticising charity shops for having a policy of not offering refunds on donated goods - especially when the policy is clear at time of purchase. As I explained above, they have good reasons for having the policies they have and for every customer they lose who won't shop there because they can't get a refund, they will be protecting themselves against two total chancers who will scam the charity shop the first chance they get.

Star1966 · 02/05/2021 22:08

I work for Cancer research. Vi offer a refund if the item does not fit. Please just bring it back with tags still attached and the receipt. The customer can then choose if they would like an exchange or their money back :)

Turningthecorner · 02/05/2021 22:26

@Myshitisreal

On a side note, zip up the jeans and wrap the closed waist around your neck. This is a usually a good guide if they will fit. Do it with a pair that fits perfectly so you know how it should feel. Almost like a superman cape 😂

I feel absolutely positive that my neck is nowhere near the size of my waist.....but I will have to try out this theory 🙈🤣

safariboot · 02/05/2021 22:44

Legally they don't have to refund unless the sizing is so far beyond what's normal that it could be considered not as described. Dress sizes or S/M/L aren't very standardised anyway though, especially if it's vintage versus modern with vanity sizing.

Oldsu · 02/05/2021 23:58

PerspicaciousGreen your comment about people bringing in old tatty clothing with a tag saying the tag fell off is spot on, my DH runs two charity shops and this happens all the time, there was a post on a Facebook page for charity shop managers where this happened it was a tatty worn out F&F coat that was returned, the tag was separate on the tag it said 'Per Una' and was gift aided, when the manager refused the refund the customer went ballistic, the manager explained that it wasn't the coat that had been purchased, she knew that because she her self had donated the coat which she could prove as it was her gift aid number and the fact that the customer was actually WEARING the coat purchased.

AlwaysLatte · 03/05/2021 00:03

It's for charity, I wouldn't dream of it. Just get another pair.

Mamanyt · 03/05/2021 01:04

@Starstruck2021

I don’t know why you’re surprised as you asked and they told you you can’t exchange. You made the choice to buy them anyway.

Ah, but she can exchange, they simply do not refund. Dunno about over there (although I learned a lot from this thread), but here in the USA, especially with thrift shops, that's the norm. Exchanges are done, but not refunds. And it does not have to be for the same type item, just an item of similar value.

OH!!! BTW, Mumsnetters, THANK YOU! There is now an outside chance that in the next few years I will be an expat, living in either England or Scotland. I don't feel as if I will be quite so lost. Should this come to fruition, I'll try very hard not to be "the ugly American."

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