people who return clothes for a refund after wearing them

[tenpencemixup]

Not because of a fault with the item but because they don't to pay to buy it. Is this really a thing? I don't know anyone who has done this but apparently there are people that buy something new from a store/online, keep the tags on, wear to the event, then return to the shop as unworn for a refund? like a hire purchase but without the fee!

I've just seen it discussed online on a fashion/parenting group and the way it was discussed so openly, without shame or remorse made me think that it's more common that I thought.

Apparently
it's not theft because they return the item
stores over price items so why should they pay
other people don't mind wearing used clothes as it's only the same as trying on in a changing room
it's up to the store to decide if it's worn, not the customer to admit it was worn
a customer buying something new isn't getting a pristine product anyway as the manufacturing process means it's been handled by many people already
if it's only going to be worn once it doesn't matter

Aside from the moral and fraud? aspect I don't know how they do it. I wouldn't be able to relax and enjoy the event wearing an item knowing I was going to return it. what if it got dirty? smelly? other people's smoke? ripped? etc

Do stores know this type of behaviour goes on? Do they write it off as losses? Sell on to other customers knowing that it's worn?

other people tried suggesting that if you can't afford a full price item there are other ways of buying fashion. ebay, buying selling sites, charity shops etc. or buy new, but sell on and list as worn once to recoup costs. Just couldn't get through to them. they want new fashion items , but don't want to pay to wear them.

I worked in retail for 8 years and yes it happens all the time. Used to piss me off no end (even though it’s not like the money came out in wages) so if an item was obviously worn (fake tan/make up stains, glitter, smells of smoke or perfume) I would challenge them and refuse the refund on the basis that it had been worn and was not in the condition was sold and can’t be resold now. Some would kick off but didn’t really have a leg to stand on and some would just accept it and leave.

We used to have a serial returner but didn’t realise for a long time that she had been wearing the clothing, until I went to work in another store and she came in wearing something from our shop and then came in to my normal store the next day to return it! I was like sorry I saw you wearing this yesterday! She was very embarrassed. She still tried it a few more times after that, and even tried to return a work skirt with a white stain on the lining at the back 🤢 vom!

These people are the reason that M&S and other shops have changed their returns policies to make them much much stricter.

It's not new, though: back when I was at uni people used to buy dresses to wear out on a Saturday night then return on the Monday. One local shop cottoned on to this and started putting huge tags on the outside, so they couldn't be tucked in.

at the people who own their own tag guns though!!

It really is shameful and skanky.

Thankfully no one I know does this

Immexactly the same as Dudesmummy (great moniker!) I buy almost all my clothes online and shop to choose but wouldn't dream of wearing anything first. My friend's daughter apparently does this though. Really immoral IMO. Not a great look if you saw the tag hanging off the back either

Standandwait - I think YABU. So you buy a book, read some, don't like it, take it back!! I've one thing to say, libraries are really good (and buying 5 books a week makes no difference to what you're doing).

I don't know how people get away with it. Surely you can smell when something's been worn or even washed

Yes they do do it, but not always successfully.

DD worked in River Island, the stuff people tried to return as "unworn" were incredible, even down to leggings with skids in the crotch.

Which shops allow a refund if there is nothing wrong with the item? ( I don't get out much smile)

It's actually pretty common with chains. IME the ones that don't are generally low-end independents (many of which will display a sign hand-written in broken English that they don't give refunds in any circs )

While a shop isn't obliged to refund for this, many do as a matter of goodwill, and things like Xmas presents would be impossible if they didn't. So, treated in good faith, there's something in it for the shop too.

Where they don't, they quite often offer exchange or vouchers. Which presumably cuts down some of the piss-taking a bit.

I think of that as the equivalent of reading the first few pages in the shop, tbh. So long as it isn't sitting in your house being used as a coaster before being returned, then I think it's fine.

Depends. There's wearing it briefly at home having originally had the intention of keeping it, and there's buying it for a specific event knowing at the outset that you're not going to keep it.

In book terms, the latter would be the equivalent of having a mechanical problem which a book deals with. You buy the book, read it in order to solve your problem, return the book. Quite possibly with oil marks from your workshop .

back in the day , (when shops accepted an envelope with your name and address on as proof of ID for a cheque!) M and S , so rumour had it would take back any garment that was one of theirs as long as it still had a recognisable M&S label, allegedly if you were caught without funds you could whip off your old cardigan and exchange it for hard cash on the spot. I never tested this, probably because I was naught but an innocent babe in arms (ha ha) but also because I didn't have the brass neck to try it. I did though carry round a very scruffy envelope for years until some bright spark though of inventing bank cards.

[Dreams16 Wed 27-Sep-17 14:44:15]

"What annoys me is I've worked in retail that bloody slogan customers are always right needs to be done away with because customers aren't always right they are twats half the time and think it's fine to abuse staff just trying to do their job"

^^

I can see the point of the slogan in theory. Putting it into practice should net your company a great reputation for customer service, thus getting you more business.

But with the real arseholes, if you don't let them totally take the piss there's a chance they'll kick off and badmouth you all over the place anyway. And if you do let them walk all over you, they won't go round recommending you to others. Except possibly to others like themselves, whose "business" you don't want. Plus, with all the online review resources that exist now, a lot of businesses get negative reviews that are plain malicious, so it's kind of standard to have some, unfortunately.

I think that just as you budget a certain amount of money for being defrauded, you have to "budget" a certain amount of your reputation as a predicted loss due to people being dicks.

This is why I don't take much notice of people's ebay feedback provided there's enough of it and it's above 95% positive. Most of that 5% is probably error or malice. Though I knew someone who used to sell on ebay, and knew how bad some customers could be, and got very upset at losing her 100% positive score unjustly, but then herself would not buy from people with lower than 100%. I can't get my head around that.

Though now I've said all that, I expect research has been done that suggests that overall, "the customer is always right" does work out better financially. It depends on other costs to you, I suppose.

I purchased a handbag from Very. It arrived all packaged up and looking lovely.

Didn't notice straight away but hidden in a pocket was 2 lipsticks some concealer and half a packet of mints.

Phoned Very and they offered me a tenner off the price - erm no full refund please!

I know a lot of people who do this. I bumped into someone in primark who loudly announced that she was going to Ibiza for the weekend, then she would be bringing the stuff back when she came back! I was so embarrassed, not just because she thought it was perfectly ok to do this but it's primark ffs! Everything's cheap in there anyway. I dread to think how much she sweated in that stuff. Ewww!

katedot we never put them back out. Just chalked it up to horrible customers and put it on the reject pile.

DH had a high school job in Fenwick in Brent Cross.

A middle-aged, very middle class woman came in one time to get a refund on a pair of jeans that she said were 10 years old. She was loudly and vocally disgusted that they were so worn after such a 'short' period of time!

They gave her a refund to shut her up and get rid of her.

The brass neck of some people is mind blowing.

Mamabear4180
I didn't know about this and I don't wash new clothes, maybe I should start!

I didn't use to but read about someone catching impetigo from trying on clothes (not sure if it's true or not? ) but I did start washing all new clothes from then on.

Happens all the time. I've worked in two well known stores and lots of people would have the brass neck to try and return clothes that had obviously been worn. I refused to accept them, logged it with the dept that dealt with that kind of thing if they wanted to complain and sent them on their merry way with the reference number.

I had gnostic recently.

I ordered a dress offline and when it come I literally took it out of the bag and tried it on only to see what looked like a grease stain on the back. I didn't like the dress on anyway but then had the dilema do I return it as damaged and have to deal with them possibly saying it was my fault or just return it.

Someone had obviously had it on and then returned it.

Most things you can return if you just change your mind, I don't like trying stuff on in stores so I would buy 3 pairs of something and then return 1-2 that didn't fit or didn't look nice on etc .. but I never wear it and return!

I had this recently*

Way back when I was at university, I heard about an even worse clothing scan. Appears a friend of a friend would go into the local department store, buy a bunch of clothes, and a few days later she would 'return' them all when one of her friends was working. The friend who worked there would do the clothes as 'returns', refund the girl, then put them all back in the bag and off they went!! Out and out theft, but she had a bag and a receipt, so could walk out of the store no problem. I was shocked ... still am, really.

When I was a teen I knew a quite a few people who did this. We all worked in retail as teens and it didn't seem like a big deal as we knew lots other people did it (as we received the obviously worn items..that usually stank of smoke from being worn in a club). I would never dream of doing it. Even when I buy something and a hole becomes evident on first wear I usually just see it up rather than return it as I feel like they will think I have put a hole in it or something...
I've heard from my 18YO SIL (she's big into Instagram) that it's even more common now as apparently you can't be seen on Instagram wearing the same thing twice...apparently people also buy expensive stuff they can't afford, take pics of themselves wearing the items and then return them.

Only one person who's admitted to doing this? OK, I have too, and I'm willing to bet there are plenty more reading this thread who won't be adding their comments!

I've done it twice, for weddings, and in both cases it was desperation. First time I was heavily pregnant, and couldn't find an even slightly attractive maternity dress that suited (I'd only bought maternity clothes for work and slopping at home as we were quite hard up - nothing at all smart) I eventually found something that was pretty ugly but fine for a wedding, but more that I could afford for a one-off event so I bought it, kept the tag on inside the back, and took care to wear nothing perfumed, ate and drank with ponderous care so nothing spilled, and perched on the edge of my seat all night so I didn't overly crease it. I took it back for a refund the next week but you really wouldn't have known it had been worn.

Second time was similar, only not pregnant, just fat, and only owned casual clothes. Again could find nothing nice in my size, and evenutually ordered a passable dress online in three sizes. They were all an uncomfortable fit but I'd run out of time so ended up wearing the least bad one, and thought I'd chance my luck again and keep the label on. I sent all three back afterwards, again with no signs of wear.

Cheeky fucker? Perhaps. Desperate fucker, definitely. Theft and/or fraud? Don't be stupid. Theft is taking something without paying for it. I paid for the outfits. I later took them back, the shops in question examined them and decided they met their grounds for a refund. It's hardly Watergate.

I'm not proud, but not apologetic either. Given the state of some of the clothes PP say they have bought "new", perhaps shops should be apologising for putting such manky items back out for sale. I'm pretty sure most of us have bought a "returned" item at some point but as they're usually in immaculate condition, we've never known. And as the saying goes, what the eye doesn't see, the hear doesn't grieve over.

It's horrible OP, but... I have a friend who used to work in Anne Summers. The things people returned clearly worn and covered in bodily fluids and pubic hair would make you gag. Rubber gloves were needed for dealing with returns [boak]

I once bought a purse in next and found £45 in it when I got it home.