Help! M&S won’t refund, on live chat

[ComputerIsSayingNo]

On live chat, did a big order for M&S for DH’s birthday. Present and clothes to wear. Ordered on the 9th and paid extra for next day delivery. This was presented as the 11th as the 10th was a Sunday. Didn’t arrive yesterday and checked today to see they have put delivery as the 19th. I wouldn’t have selected this date and don’t know where the error is.

Asked for them to send for tomorrow, said no. Asked to cancel and refund my order so I can reorder for tomorrow, said I am not allowed to cancel the order or ask for a refund. Even though it hasn’t been dispatched and won’t be a for a week!

i have siad distance selling allows me to cancel according to government but they are still saying I am only allowed to cancel 30mins after the order.

Sounds like it's getting sorted @ComputerIsSayingNo but next time I'd reccomend going onto twitter/x.

They seem to be much more amenable/speedy to sort things when it's all out in the public eye :)

Why?

Because it's well documented that speaking as a man, or even signing off an email as a man, is more effective in situations like this

Your right to cancel is just your right to return once you have received it.

Most online retailers have a close stating that the contract isn’t formed until they have dispatched the items (this allows them the change to cancel orders if they run out of stock etc without you being able to say you had a valid contract). But it also means that until they dispatch the order, your right to cancel is doesn’t kick in.

Consumer law gives you to right to cancel online orders but that just means you have the right to return it once you have it. Honestly, loads of them operate this way. You can’t cancel most orders after they’ve been placed; you have to wait to return it. You are wrong, M&S is right. Arguing with them and starting the “law” isn’t going to help because you’re wrong. They need to be allowed to fulfill the contract before you can then use your right to refund.

The live chat is awful, and outsourced apparently (found this out after having one live chat assistant be terribly rude to me).

Are you able to speak to them on the phone? I told them they have poor accessibility before, I know several people who this would affect.

You've misunderstood what the right to cancel is, I'm afraid. It doesn't mean you have the right to prevent dispatch, only that you can return the goods once you have received them.

I would try just explaining why this isn't practical for you and see what they can suggest. Arguing isn't going to help if they don't have a system which allows them to stop things going out.

Not in the only M&S shop here which is food only. The tills direct you to the scan and open bin

I love your husband. 😅

Thanks for the explanation @Itslegitimatesalvage that does make sense. But would assume the contract starts once they take the money?

I love M&S but I get shit like this every Christmas. In the past I have reordered for click
and collect and then returned the first but it’s a complete pain.

computer says no to stopping a parcel in transit,

You could try and cancel through your bank

Thanks @PetrifiedForestNationalPark thag makes sense. I asked if I was still able to order today for tomorrow could they send it today, just computer says no. I explained I would have to order the same and pay and then go to the post office to return, which I appreciate isn’t their issue.

To all those saying why can’t my DH wait he’s not a child, The issue is mine, he’s more than happy getting nothing. I just wanted a sparkly top to wear out, and to give him something to open as we are going through a truly shit time and he is just fantastic. So he won’t care to wait a week, but I would.

I thought ordering 4 days in advance with next day delivery was plenty 😂

No, the contract is formed upon dispatch. On almost all confirmation emails, there will be small print which says something like, “This email provides proof of ackyof your order but we don’t form acceptance of your order until dispatch” or something similar.

Just Google M&S complaints. It gives the customer service phone number, but you'll actually get to verbally speak to someone and explain your problem. If they can't help, ask to speak to their supervisor and ask for the Head Office complaints phone number. I've done this before and they will bend over backwards to help you. They don't want you going higher up the chain with a complaint, as it looks like they haven't done their job properly. It's too easy for them to fob you off on chat.

You DO sound a little "Mrs Brady, Old Lady", OP...

cant refuse the parcel as we just get them left on the doorstep my the majority of couriers, they do t even ring the doorbell most of the time. “Parcel handed to resident” means left in the rain outside the door.

I know it’s not M&S fault but Evri are shite round here

They used to be Hermes, @Shopper727 - shiney new name, same shite service.

No idea what this means but going to have to google this

Spoke to them on the phone, got no where.

I had a wretched time getting an order fixed which M&S had messed up completely.

They also didn't refund the part that was refunded when they initially said they had. I had to chase them for it.:/

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/cartoon/2009/nov/07/2

Mrs Brady

I accept it’s my fault for not reading the T&Cs, black mirror did an episode on this and warned us 😂

I do think it's reasonable to raise this with them, with head office rather than call centre staff, They should be thinking about the needs of their disabled customers, and that might include changing the dispatch system or providing other ways to return goods- not going to help you this time obviously but such a large retailer should be grateful for the feedback. I would approach it as explaining a practical issue for their disabled customers which they might not be aware of (and which for which they should perhaps be making reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010), rather than presenting it as being related to the right to cancel.

They have taken the money for my order yesterday, which is the day I (thought) I had requested for my delivery, which doesn’t make sense if they’re waiting for the 19th. so would the right to cancel start from the day they’ve taken my money? Not dispatch?