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Original poster

HELP!!!! LK Bennett refund policy!!!!!!

86 replies

WhatTheHellJustHappened · 22/06/2012 23:56

I already know I am being unreasonable to freak out so badly over this but I desperately need help.

I wanted to give my sister a nice gift for her birthday and I decided to buy something from LK Bennett. She loves brown so I decided on a brown Anna Bag! I confirmed with the sales assistant twice if I could refund the item in case I changed my mind and she said I could do so within 7 days.

Well, I bought the bag today and when I came home and saw it, I changed my mind. I don't think it looks all that great.

Now the trouble is I paid in cash and it turns out the receipt reads "We regret that we don't offer cash refunds". Shouldn't the salesgirl have told me this when I paying her £300 in cash???????

Has anyone heard of this policy before? That you can't return an item if you pay in cash but you can if you pay by card??? This is so unfair.

I can't afford to lose £300 at this point. An exchange or credit not will be worthless since I've already done my share of shopping for this season.

I'm going back tomorrow to return the bag. What shall I do if she refuses:(:(

OP posts:
SaraBellumHertz · 23/06/2012 08:27

Wasn't there an LK Bennett thread on here ages ago where a poster was treated really shoddily and was a refused a refund on the basis that the dress had been worn when it hadn't.

LK Bennett did NOT cover themselves in glory and it has always stuck in my mind when I wander past...

kensingtonkat · 23/06/2012 08:31

Overpriced and badly made shoes and overpriced and badly made viscose dresses that make you look prematurely middle-aged? Yes, that's LK Bennett for you Grin

MrsMoosickle · 23/06/2012 08:38

Very strange post this.......not sure I buy it.

MrsRobertDuvallHasRosacea · 23/06/2012 08:51

Looking forward to the outcome.
I worked as a retail manager for years and our policy was refund with receipt to original mode of payment.
No receipt= credit note, valid for 6 months.
As other posters have posted, stores are not legally obliged to refund if customer has changed their mind.

The only hassle paying such a lot of cash is they may not (probably will not) have that amount of cash in the till.

Whoneedssleepanyway · 23/06/2012 09:35

I have just looked at an LK Bennett Receipt and it says

"We hope you will be happy with your purchase. Should you wish to return anything bought from us within 7 days we will be happy to exchange or refund using the original method of payment provided it is in fully resaleable condition. We regret we do not give cash refunds."

I don't think this means that they won't refund you OP but they won't give you cash, they may have to refund it onto a card.

If I were you I would just go in and say you have changed your mind and ask for a refund, don't mention the cash thing it may not be an issue. If it is refer them to the member of staff who served you before, hopefully she will be there.

LK Bennett are notoriously bad for their customer service as I found out recently, I posted this thread a couple of weeks ago

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/1491228-v-rude-store-manager-in-LK-Bennett

If you experience difficulties email their head office customer service, I think you should get your money back OP it would be very strange to refund card purchases and not cash ones, I think their policy simply means they won't give you the cash it will have to be credited to a card. Good luck.

[email protected]

Mama1980 · 23/06/2012 09:42

Not sure if this helps but I bought a iPad with cash for my mum - apple have a similar refund policy and it was made clear to me when they sold it that they do not offer cash refunds but if I needed to return it then they would credit a card or give me store credit. hopefully lk Bennett have a similar policy....

FoxyRoxy · 23/06/2012 09:48

Let us know how you get on OP, I'd like to know if LK Bennett are breaking any laws by not clearly stating their returns policy at the point of purchase...

fizzyapples · 23/06/2012 09:51

I don't see anything odd about this thread at all. Just because it wouldn't happen in your world, doesn't mean it doesn't happen..that's bizarre!

Anyways, hope you get it sorted op, wonder if your mum woud swap hers instead?

squeakytoy · 23/06/2012 09:56

The law in this country is that a refund must be made in the same manner that payment was given. Cash = cash, card = card.

dappleton · 23/06/2012 10:08

Haven't read all the replies to your post and i'm sure someone else has already filled you in but it means they won't give you cash back it doesn't mean you can't return the bag and have the money refunded in some other form, they just won't give cash, they may make the payment onto a card or give you store credit. It's perhaps just that they don't keep this sort of money in tills to actually refund you and possibly to stop people using this type of activity to get rid of fraudulent money (but i'm guessing a bit with this last statement). Go back to the shop WITH your receipt, explain the situation and see what they can do. Often it applies when you don't have a receipt - perhaps just check the wording again.

JustFabulous · 23/06/2012 10:17

I hope you are able to get a refund whether it by cash or on your card.

I remember a looooooong thread about someone wanting to return a dress to LKB that turned out to be faulty and she had an awful time.

AnneTwacky · 23/06/2012 10:21

Pretty sure no cash refunds means that they won't give you your money back in cash.

If they give it back via your debit card they can prove they've refunded you, whereas if they give you cash, they can't.

QuickLookBusy · 23/06/2012 10:37

This has happened to me in Jigsaw. I paid cash for something, but when I went for a refund they said they didn't have £150 in the till, so could they put it on my card. I didn't mind at all.

I think the op is mistakingly thinking "cash refund" equals "no refunds if you paid by cash"

QuickLookBusy · 23/06/2012 10:38

Sorry that should be "no cash refunds"

wellwisher · 23/06/2012 15:11

What happened? :)

LIZS · 23/06/2012 15:21

I'd read that policy that if you had paid by debit or credit card you would not be given a cash refund - ie no different to M & S et al. If you paid by cash then you should get cash, assuming the rest of the discretionary returns policy applies. Hwoever as others have stated the policy is down to LK Bennett with no legal backing other than that the stated poilcy forms part of the contract.

lololizzy · 23/06/2012 16:39

I've always worked in retail and am absolutely sure that if you paid in cash, they wouldn't refund onto a card. It has to be same method only. But, it is crap if they have one rule about cards and another about cash.
I would think it's about not having that money in the till.
In my shop, for every £100 (of cash) taken , the till informs us, and we have to do a 'cash lift' which is a proper signed off procedure. Each £100 is shut away until it can be banked. It cannot be used again for change, refund, next day's float, etc. Maybe that is their rule, like many shops , to never have more than £100 is in the till. That makes sense to me, anyhow.
Always safest to pay by card.
Good luck, though

BabeRuthless · 23/06/2012 20:54

They may not give cash refunds in order to avoid any kind of staff theft. I've worked in retail for a long time & a lot of the cases of staff theft I've seen have been from people stealing money by manipulating the refund system. They were basically giving pretend refunds & then pocketing the cash. That might be why they have that policy. If that is the case (and I'm not saying for certain it is) then its sad that the customer gets punished too but it may be a rule they won't break.

LKBennett · 25/06/2012 12:43

Hi,
I'm Head of eCommerce at L.K.Bennett and I have just been reading through these messages. I'm sorry that the wording on the receipt led to some confusion and worry for you over the weekend.

I can confirm that we will be happy to offer you a full refund on the bag. As the sales assistant said, you just need to return it to a standalone store within 7 days.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer refunds in cash, as stated on the receipt. Many of the people who left comments were correct, there are all sorts of issues that come up with offering refunds in cash, including how much cash we can keep on the premises. We?re more than happy though to put the full amount on your debit card when you come in.

If you?d like to talk though any of this simply call our customer services team on 0844 581 5881, I?ve explained the situation to them. In future, if you ever have questions you can always send us an email [email protected] and they will respond to you at the first opportunity.

I hope this helps to clarify and reassure you, we want people to be confident in making purchases and happy with their choices, which is why we offer 7 day refund policy and 14 days to exchange on non-sale items.

I hope your sister has a lovely 30th Birthday, and if there?s anything else we can help with do get in touch.

Kind regards

Sarah Lukins
Head of eCommerce
L.K.Bennett

BelieveInPink · 25/06/2012 12:55

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

CHOOGIRL · 25/06/2012 13:00

Not read whole thread but they don't have lots of cash in store. They will refund to a debit card though. It's not a new policy. Hth

Original poster
WhatTheHellJustHappened · 26/06/2012 10:38

The people who said money paid in cash cannot be refunded onto a card were absolutely wrong.

There was no problem at all- I returned the bag and the store manger processed the refund onto my debit card.

I am sure this will really annoy squeakytoy who desperately wanted to see me 'punished' for spending £300.

OP posts:
BellaVita · 26/06/2012 10:51

Am glad things were sorted for you OP and it was nice to receive a reply from the Head of Commerce.

spammertime · 26/06/2012 10:57

It's great to see that after a few threads being less than complimentary about LK Bennett that in this instance it has all been resolved so quickly! And v lucky that customer services saw this thread!