to take something back to a charity shop

[SquareholeRoundpeg]

And asking for a refund?

I do regularly donate to charity and have been involved in various fund raising events-just to set the scene!

I was in a charity shop recently and found a beautiful designer shirt for DH for £15. I took it home for him but it did not fit unfortunately. So the following week I took it back.

They said they did refunds but I was made to feel most unwelcome and the manager doing the refund even made a comment on my ring - but not in a nice way.

It made me think I was out of order to return it, given that it is a charity.

Wibu?

[monkey666lynn]

I don't think there is anything wrong here at all, and I have taken things back to charity shops many times. You bought something, you don't like it, you take it back, what on earth is wrong with that? Cant believe the attitude of the assistant, he had no right to do that, and should just do his job and not act like some sort of charity police.

[monkey666lynn]

I don't think there is anything wrong here at all, and I have taken things back to charity shops many times. You bought something, you don't like it, you take it back, what on earth is wrong with that? Cant believe the attitude of the assistant, he had no right to do that, and should just do his job and not act like some sort of charity police.

[Cath40t]

I bought new school shoes for ds from charity shop. He wasn't with me at the time so I asked if I could buy them and return for refund if they didn't fit him. They were £20. Assistant said it wasn't a problem, just keep the receipt. Possibly if you had asked if it was ok to return it it didn't fit they might have been OK about it?
Bit off thought with the comments about your ring though. I went in straight from work, still dressed in chefs clothes....stressed out. Maybe they made assumptions about my financial status.....who knows

[Buddahbelly]

Yanbu. I worked at a charity shop and did numerous refunds a day so dont worry about it.

[hollieberrie]

I work in a charity shop and its no problem to return an item within 14 days as long as you have the receipt. Some managers are sniffy about it tbh but they really shouldnt be. Its a business at the end of the day. Dont worry OP, you did nothing wrong.

[isseywithcats]

the charity shop i work in will do an exchange or credit note but not cash refunds if someone buys something that obviously isnt for themselves like kids clothes or mens clothes and they are female adult, i tell them to hang onto the receipt and make sure the tag does not come away from the garment, ours are tagged with plastic featherthrough the tag and cloth

[MiffleTheIntrovert]

It reminds me a bit of Phoebe and Mike from Friends wanting to get their donation back from a charity.

I don't think I could basically take money from a charity. It seems very mean spirited to me. I would be embarrassed, quite frankly.

£15 does seem a lot for a charity shop shirt, but you have no obligation to buy it. I think if you do choose to buy it however, you take the chance and think of the cost as a donation to charity. You wouldn't go and ask for a donation back surely.

YABU.

[LunaLoveg00d]

I'm going along to my local charity shop (one of the best known UK charities) on Tuesday for a chat about volunteering.

This thread is making me have second thoughts!

[Thornyrose7]

YANBU at all. That was unprofessional of the manager to complain.

[janiekernow]

I volunteer in a charity shop and we have a 14 day return policy on new and used items including clothing. As long as you have a receipt you can return it. We would never question or judge. Sometimes when you try it on it doesn't look as good as you would have hoped! Let's face it charity shops aren't exactly cheap anymore most of our clothes are more than a fiver.

[TrinityForce]

YANBU, it's still a shop.

[IceMaiden73]

YABU I would never take anything back to a charity shop

[Mammylamb]

Yanbu. Most charity shops price in line with the high street, with senior staff getting paid handsomely (not referring to volunteers on the shop floor). If they expect to run like a business, they need to provide customer service in line with this. If it was under a fiver I'd probably not bother but £15 is hardly nothing

[starry0ne]

I had to take a toy back once that wasn't working and staff were quite snotty about it..I never shopped there again..I agree with the comments they are now pricing like a retail business.. I expect them to behave like one.

[Mischa123]

£15 is a lot of money, I don't think yabu. I bought a dress for my DD in a charity shop but said before I paid 'can I bring it back if it doesn't fit?' I didn't but would have had no problem taking it back

[PennyDreadfuI]

Yanbu. I used to manage a charity shop and refunds were fine. All my local ones offer them - in fact last week I bought a dress for DD which didn't fit her, so I took it back to get the £9.50 refunded. It makes sense for them to offer refunds - for every item I've taken home to DD or DH that wasn't any good, I've bought about 20 that were perfect. If I hadn't had the option to get a refund, I'd have bought none of them.

Also, not sure where the 'moral dilemma' is in selling stuff in eBay and getting more for it than you paid. I've sold on stuff from chazzas that I've worn/used and got bored with and got more than I originally paid - I once bought a Mulberry bag for £4.99 which I used a few times but was way too small for all my junk. I sold it for £89. If the charity had wanted more for it, they should've put it on eBay themselves - as it is, I paid what they asked, fair and square (I even said to the assistant that it was genuine and they could get more for it, but she said that was the price so it looked like I'd got a bargain!).

[iMogster]

Wow! A genuine Mulberry bag. I'm obviously going to the wrong charity shops!

I have never taken anything back to a charity shop as it had never crossed my mind. But if I think about it, it's a business making money, so why not. YANBU in this case as it's £15 and it's not possible to exchange for the next size up as it's the only one in the shop.

[Cushionwoman]

Totally totally U.

[BananaThePoet]

Charity shops get all sorts of tax breaks and people give them money etc. If they didn't operate to the same rules as commercial shops which includes small businesses trying to earn a living then it would not be fair and people would go out of business trying to compete. Though to be fair that happens anyway. I think charity shops should comply with consumer law and people should expect them to comply.
The goods have been given to them so they won't have spent any money on buying them and if you bring it back in the same condition as you took it away then all that has happened is they've had a bit more space on the rack for a few days and they've had the use of your money in that time. A bit like a pawn shop in reverse!

They can sell the item again and if they give you your money back in a pleasant way you might buy something else. I don't see any benefit to the shop for them having a rude assistant.

[frumpet]

Just to make me feel better about myself , the suit was a Austin Reed one and was absolutely lovely , it just didn't fit DS , I popped back a few days later and the suit had gone , and I bought some other lovely stuff

[Wordsaremything]

I wouldn't generally but I bought some of those stretch on grip type things to put over shoes/ boots to avoid slipping.

It became clear they fitted over no type of footwear known to the universe so I did take them back and got a credit note.

This was last winter and it's still in my purse.

[EweAreHere]

YANBU.

Otherwise, why give receipts in the first place, if not to prove you've bought something and might need to return it?

[Lilmisskittykat]

I think it's ok to get a refund. It's not like it was a couple of pounds. 15 is a lot of money to pay for something that didn't fit.