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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be a bit off about M&S taking back my free dress?

187 replies

YoLoZammo · 06/08/2017 01:04

I bought several items in the M&S sale. Couple of things didn't fit stupid sizing so I returned them for a refund. The sales assistant couldn't find one item on my receipt and said I could only have a credit note. I knew it was the correct receipt and I wanted a refund so she took me to customer services. We went through each item on the receipt to try and identify which one it was as it was just not scanning as any of the receipt items. Turns out I hadn't paid for it Shock. I had had no idea when i bought it as i just threw the pile on the counter, and paid when asked. I hadn't counted what was scanned or checked my receipt. Who does! It seemed that the original sales assistant had missed scanning or charging for the item.

So, there we were at the customer services desk, with me trying to return a dress I had never paid for, though i hadn't known that at the time. The sales assistant said they had to keep the dress and there would be no refund or exchange and they would out it back out for sale. I accepted that I should no longer be asking for a refund because it wouldn't be right since I hadn't paid for it in the first place. I did ask him if he could at least put the dress in the Oxfam box by the desk (M&S have a charity clothing collection scheme). Since the shop had already lost the dress through its own incompetence so it didnt seem right that it should profit from me bringing it back. He said he would ask his manager but I knew he wouldn't and it was a fob off.

I left the store feeling a bit off. If I hadn't brought it back then i could have ebayed it or given it to charity shop or waited til i slimmed into it. I lost myself a free dress!!! Ok ok I know that would be wrong and I'm honest as the day.

Has anyone else had this happen to them or have got unexpected free stuff?? Cheer me up!! and share some of your windfall with me

OP posts:
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Pemba · 06/08/2017 05:41

Well as you didn't pay for and it was no good to you anyway, you have not lost out. But another time I'd suggest checking your receipt, especially before returning stuff. In fact checking receipts in general is a good idea, as mistakes are not uncommon.

IdentifiesAsYoda · 06/08/2017 05:55

I think your reasoning is very strange. You haven't lost out; why should M&S?

Pengggwn · 06/08/2017 06:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Canyousewcushions · 06/08/2017 06:40

I got a free jumper from Debenhams once- had been chatting to the cashier as she scanned and removed tags. Tried to return it to the shop but they wouldn't take it back becuase I didnt have a receipt Hmm Did my best to get it back to them as I hadn't paid and it wasn't mine to keep but the lack of receipt totally threw them and they made me take it away with me again. At least I got to keep with a clear conscience!!

YWBU to suggest they should have put it in the charity box- it wasn't your dress!

kateandme · 06/08/2017 06:48

have you checkd the bamk to make sure this was the right receipt.what if you have been charged on some other receipt and its now out your bank.find it hard to think they oculd have missed scanning a dress through!

Coconutspongexo · 06/08/2017 06:48

That's what I thought enchanted I've taken the wrong reciept back to return an item before! They've never taken it off me just accepted my apology and let me go, that could have so easily been the case here.

WellErrr · 06/08/2017 06:54

You're lucky they didn't think you'd nicked it.

Why on earth would you think they WBU to take it back!?

InfiniteSheldon · 06/08/2017 06:54

KoalaDownUnder

You didn't pay for it, you didn't want it, and now you haven't got it.

^^^^ in spades why should you dictate where an unwanted unpaid for item goes!

user1498911589 · 06/08/2017 06:57

We got an Amazon fire tv box through the post which we hadn't ordered. I contacted Amazon and they maintained that somebody had sent it to us as a gift (they hadn't) and we should keep it. I connected it up to our TV and it was registered to a Joe Bloggs in our town so I found him on social media and sent him a message; he replied to say that he'd ordered a fire tv box on Prime which hadn't arrived so he'd contacted Amazon who didn't know where it was so they sent him a replacement.

I kept the email transcript of the online chat with Amazon where they insisted it was a gift and I told them that it wasn't and they insisted that it was and I keep it so I did just that with a clear conscience.

monkeysox · 06/08/2017 07:19

I bought a pile of stuff in next sale.

Returned things that didn't fit and one pair if trousers didn't scan to receipt.

Next let me keep them but not return them.

TipTopTipTopClop · 06/08/2017 07:19

As you must surely know, YABVU.

feathermucker · 06/08/2017 07:29

No idea why you'd be a bit anything about them taking back a dress you didn't even pay for in the first place.

I always check receipts so I'd have known i had an extra utem.

WanderingTrolley1 · 06/08/2017 07:41

Yabvu.

NoSquirrels · 06/08/2017 07:54

Eh?

You tried to return something (that you didn't want to keep) & the store kept it. They'll resell it.

The not paying in the first place is totally and utterly irrelevant.

What do you think they usually do with returns? Of course they resell them!

000PuraVida000 · 06/08/2017 07:58

You basically took goods that you didn't pay for. What on earth makes you think you can dictate what happens to them?

Crunchymum · 06/08/2017 07:59

You should have taken the credit note of said "silly me, the dress is on another receipt, I'll return it another time" if you were so desperate to benefit from a dress you knew you hadn't paid for.

M&S once gave me the wrong order at their click and collect..so technically I could have taken £100 worth of stuff back and git a credit note (I collected my actual order no issue) but I did the honest thing and returned it. I wasn't expecting fanfare but fuck me the customers services person was rude. Did I give the wrong name when I collected? No. Didn't I notice it was wrong name? Not until I'd opened the order and realised it wasn't mine (name was quite similar). Why hadn't I opened it in store? Because I never do, I wait until I'm home. Didn't I notice the package was wrong size? Urm it was mainly bras so could have well been my item. Why had it taken me 2 days to return it when I noticed mistake? Because I don't fucking live next door to M&S.

I did actually complain to a manager.

SoftSheen · 06/08/2017 08:01

It was never your dress; it belongs to the shop. If you want to contribute to the Oxfam box, then put in something you actually own Hmm

dudsville · 06/08/2017 08:03

It wasn't "free", it was a mistake on their part.

Sweetpotatoaddict · 06/08/2017 08:08

crunchymum that sounds exactly like the customer service in the m&s near me. Absolutely jawdroppingly awful at times.
Op In this case regarding the dress they were right, you never paid so it's not yours. Yabu

rubberducker · 06/08/2017 08:16

I had similar when I bought LOADS of stuff from m&s in one transaction - DH was going on a work trip to somewhere hot but had been crazily busy in the lead up and as I was at home, I went and bought loads of things for him to try on, knowing that most would be returned.

When I went to return the things he didn't want, one pair of trousers wasn't on the receipt. It was definitely the right receipt as I only bought things for DH on that day. We agreed at the till that the person who served me previously had probably missed scanning it when I paid as I had so much stuff but they insisted on refunding the trousers onto a gift card. I kept saying that they didn't need to do that as clearly I hadn't paid for them in the first place but the sales assistant was adamant that they couldn't know that I hadn't paid for sure so policy said they should refund. I was Shock, I didn't go in there with the intention of getting something for nothing but not going to look a gift horse in the mouth when they were pushing the gift card on me!

BalloonSlayer · 06/08/2017 08:19

Since the shop had already lost the dress through its own incompetence so it didnt seem right that it should profit from me bringing it back.

Er it's their dress, it belongs to them, and you are lucky they didn't accuse you of stealing it (which I know you didn't). You really had an awful cheek trying to dictate to them what they should do with their own property.

WalterandWinifred · 06/08/2017 08:20

Troodiedoo, Boden did the same to me but I emailed them and explained, they apologised and sent a free returns label for me to send it back.

I would have felt terrible keeping something that wasn't rightfully mine. What if that was the last one in stock and someone had ordered it?

RebeccaCloud9 · 06/08/2017 08:29

We ordered blinds from blinds2go. They randomly sent us a duplicate of one of them. I called them and explained and they let us keep it as they can't resell pre cut blinds - they even told us we could sell it on eBay if we wanted to. I've been recommending them ever since - lovely blinds and fab customer services!

Original poster
YoLoZammo · 06/08/2017 08:51

I'm not a millionaire! The dress was £12 and yes it was hideous. I don't know what possessed me to buy it!

Technically the dress was MINE when I brought it back. As the store had given it to me. No theft as no dishonest intent on my part. So they kept MY dress! That's the legal position I think but of course I did the right thing and left it there once I discovered this. I could have had a credit note but I was honest. I didn't even find out it was not paid for until I went through the receipt with the sales assistant.

Love all you moral beryls here!!

OP posts:
troodiedoo · 06/08/2017 08:58

WalterandWinifred it was rightfully yours though. I was planning to return in but then never got round to it. It'll probably just lie in the corner for years.

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