Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be outraged at River Island!

52 replies

salsmum · 26/12/2010 15:05

I went to RI with my DP and DD xmas eve, they had a sale on and I chose a jumper for my friends son. I asked the assistant how much it was because it didnt have a sale tag on just was on sale rail [identical jumpers near sale peg for £15 just different colour}. He went away came back 10mins later and said it'll be £12-£15. My partner queued up for 20mins while I waited outside with my DD who couldn't get around in her w/chair. Partner comes out and said the plain navy jumper was £19.99 I went back in and explained to the 19 yr old sales girl that I'd been charged the wrong price...she told me to queue again ShockWhen i said I cant wait another 20mins she said 'do u want it?' I replied not for that price she snatched it off me and threw it in a box behind her I asked if the refund would got straight back on my card she said yes. I suggested option 3 call the manager. manager comes I explain my dilemma. she said I'll refund you on your card I ask how long she says 3-4 working days and asks do you want it? I say not for £19.99 I say I'm not prepared to have £20 come off my account and waste my time and still not get a purchase!...To cut a long story short she sold it to me at £15 and I told her that if my account ends up overdrawn because I'd now spent £35 on a bleedin jumper I will expect RI to pay the bank charges AIBU to be so cross with RI and their attitude when their mistake was brought to their attention?.

OP posts:
SantasENormaSnob · 26/12/2010 16:42

It will probably fall apart after 4 washes anyway.

MorticiaAddams · 26/12/2010 16:43

itsawonderfuldarleneconnorlife The OP has already explained that she had enough money for the £15 but was unsure about whether the fact that it could go to £35 for a short time would make her overdrawn.

Goodadvice1980 · 26/12/2010 16:45

So really the store should have just refunded you £5 and had done with it?

Seems to be overly complicated!

MorticiaAddams · 26/12/2010 16:54

Unfortunately because of barcoding, etc it's not that simple. It would have to be refunded and put through at the new price. Just refunding the £5 would cause a reconciliation nightmare on a store chain that size.

SantaMousePink · 26/12/2010 17:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ragged · 26/12/2010 17:51

Oh Salsmum, you should have just gone home to have a big glass of wine and an enormous mope in self-pity and then posted the sorry tale on the "Christmas Horrors" thread instead of in AIBU.

It's nice that you were willing to spend your last 15 quid on a friend's son and hours of your Christmas Eve braving the horrors of Christmas Eve shopping. More credit to you I couldn't have faced it I'd rather pull my fingernails out with pliers, tbh.

Original poster
salsmum · 26/12/2010 18:17

oooh ragged have they got a xmas horrors thread? Grinhick wine all gone too I wasn't looking for self-pity was just a bit miffed with the attitude of RI staff TBH with you.

OP posts:
SantaMousePink · 26/12/2010 18:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

musicmadness · 26/12/2010 18:41

I must admit I didn't know that the price displayed was only invitation to treat.
Every time I've gone shopping and the price was higher at the till than the price displayed I've challenged it and every time without exception the person at the till has then given me the item at the price displayed (ie the lower price). I heard one of the girls ask her manager once and the manager said they had to sell at the price displayed. Maybe that was just that stores policy then Confused

OP: Its the original sales assistants fault for not checking the price properly - it sounds like bad customer service but I'd guess that was just because they were so busy they didn't want to spend a long time sorting out one customer who wasn't buying an expensive item.

SantaMousePink · 26/12/2010 19:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

KalokiMallow · 27/12/2010 01:21

Yeah sorry, the staff on till couldn't possibly have known that you'd been told the wrong price. And you should always pay attention to the amount you are asked for at the till (especially in the sales) just in case.

They refunded you and allowed you to buy it for a reduced price, despite having to proof that you had been told it was left, and despite you agreeing to the till price. Which is pretty good customer service really.

merryberry · 27/12/2010 01:33

isn't "while I waited outside with my DD who couldn't get around in her w/chair." a bit more of an issue with this shop than a small error at sales time?

Original poster
salsmum · 27/12/2010 01:39

KM,pretty good customer service??? sorry you couldn't have been there to witness the bad attitude by the staff that day..the girl behind the till chucked the jumper behind her (luckily it landed in the box)and the way I was asked 'do u want it' (vicky pollard fashion) left a lot to be desired politeness and good manners cost nothing. The age of the shop assistant wasn't really relevant but the fact that she had a face like a slapped arse when dealing with a customer who had a query was. If she'd had a little bit more experience/training in good customer care I maybe wouldn't have had such an unpleasant experience with her. Shock

OP posts:
emmyloulou · 27/12/2010 01:47

Err river island never had to sell it to you at any price. The guy only gave you a guess, probably as he was busy. Busiest day of the year, huge stress.

Price does not match his guesstimate, they honour it to shut you up so they can continue serving.

Sale untagged clothes left on random rails is not uncommon in busy times, they couldn't have know the prices of all items instore.

I'd imagine if the tone of the posts are anything to go by. You were ruder than you were letting on. They never had to sell at that price on a guess, harassing them until they did makes you the unreasonable one.

Original poster
salsmum · 27/12/2010 01:52

merryberry it wasn't really no if a shop is really busy and packed my DD can't look around properly anyway it wouldn't have been safe for her either or the sales shopper who doesn't see her coming so my DP and DD were quite happy to wait outside. I have taken my DD in this shop on non-sale days but, unfortunately some of these fashion shops just try and cram as much on the floor space as possible leaving little room for w/chairs and buggies so I wasn't annoyed about my daughter getting round the shop it was just about staff attitude etc...when I made my purchase. A post on here mentioned that they prob couldn't be bothered to look up the price for 1 cheap jumper, or words to that effect but I do shop here out of sale time and spend more than £15.

OP posts:
SantaMousePink · 27/12/2010 08:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

gorionine · 27/12/2010 08:27

I think YANBU

but I was wondering, if it taked 3-4 for the refund to be back on your card, maybe it will take 3-4 days for the purchase to be taken off it as well? therefore not affecting your balance too much?

I would be fuming too if I took the precaution of asking someone in the "know" about the price of an item, be told the item is up to £7.99 more than what I was told (I do not understand either how a member of staff could not tel the exact price of the jumper, £12 to £15 is not an answer I would expect!

scoobytoo · 27/12/2010 08:30

Why dfidn't they just refund you £5 and you take the jumper?

DontLetTinselDragOnTheFloor · 27/12/2010 17:41

"I must admit I didn't know that the price displayed was only invitation to treat"

This didn't use to be the case. The price displayed was the price they had to charge. The law was changed some time in the last, er, 20 years or so. Since I last worked in a shop anyway!

Original poster
salsmum · 27/12/2010 19:15

scoobytoo, apparently they cannot just do that and it has to be done in 2 transactions so for 3-4 days I will have been charged almost double. I am a reasonable person and if I speak to someone in a reasonable manner I expect the same. I was literally told to get back in the queue and wait 20 more minutes when it was their fuckup error I felt like a kid who'd jumped the dinner queue.

OP posts:
whensitgunnahappen · 27/12/2010 19:22

get a grip.

SantasNutellaFairy · 27/12/2010 19:23

Not where I work.

We can do the twon transactions in one go as an exchange.

Item being returned is returned through system, item can then be resold with a modify price code to th elower correct price, difference is refunded on card.

How difficult must they make life for themselves?
It's piss easy! You tell the computer what you want it to do, it does it. Most of the time.Grin

Original poster
salsmum · 27/12/2010 19:46

whensit ??? {confused]

OP posts:
backwardpossom · 27/12/2010 20:04

YABU for shopping in River Island. Their clothes are shit.

llbeanj · 27/12/2010 20:12

"invitation to treat" was decided in 1953!

oddly, it was to do with boots putting medicines on the shelves and not having the pharmacist hand them over. it's on wikipedia

not much help now, but cash does have some advantages