To refuse to give my address when returning an item to a shop?

[TamiTayorismyparentingguru]

First off please let me say that I haven’t actually refused to do this yet, but am curious about what would happen if I did. I also know it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it’s just something that irrationally irritates me.

Anyway - it has always irritated me that when you return an item to a shop you are asked for your name and address, however I have never seen this printed as a requirement on any returns policy. I’ve always suspected that you could argue against it because you bought the item with the stated returns policy in mind and this requirement contravenes that, but I’ve never tested the theory.

I also wonder now with all the new GDPR (if that’s the right acronym) regulations whether they are even allowed to ask for your details without a clear and specific reason for needing them. (Which I have never been offered.)

Anyway - any thoughts? WIBU to just start to refuse? When we lived in the US I always refused to give my phone number in order to buy an item - this request is really common in store there and I just point blank refused to do it. I was never refused a sale, but did encounter quite a bit of pushback from some stores.

Yes - irks me too. I've given slightly altered addresses and altered one digit of a phone number up and never got questioned.

I never give my real name or address and have a specific e.mail for online receipts.

I give a fake name and address, I don’t know why they need details.

No one knows why. Trust me even people who work behind the till like I did never knew why. I just know we got in trouble if we didn’t get.

I always make up an address and give fake phone number. I also have an old email I use for spam receipts and crap

Don't know if it is correct but I had heard from someone in retail it was to stop staff putting through made up refunds and pocketing cash. No idea though if it is right. Don't even see how it would work.

It’s to track fraud and theft, apparently. This would only work if they verified address details with ID though.

It’s so they can do spot checks and make sure it’s not fraud by checkout staff.

It may be a condition of accepting the return in some places. But they’re never going to know if you give a fake one

You don't have to give it if you don't want to.

I did write 123 Fake Street once.

If you are exercising your statutory rights, i.e. the goods are faulty/not fit for purpose/not of satisfactory quality, then you have the right to refuse to give your details.

If you have just changed your mind about your purchase, the shop has no legal obligation to take the goods back, so therefore have a stronger case for asking you to jump through whatever hoops they like.

You're calling on their goodwill so are on less of a strong footing.

I worked in retail for a number of years and it's because when they issue a refund it obviously processes through your bank - in the same way when you purchase something online you have to give your home address, it's so they can verify the card number with the billing address it's listed to

But it can’t be that doesthemindrulethebody because you’re still asked for your address if you pay by cash

You see Dontgiveamonkeys that is exactly why I have never refused before - I don’t want to make it hard for the shop worker who is just doing what they have been told to do. I did do it with refusing my phone number in America because I felt so strongly about that (it’s not to prevent fraud over there - it’s all about her tracking customers) but I felt so bad when a young member of staff was caught up in it because they were clearly just doing their job. One shop was particularly bad for it and I was told (on more than one occasion) that they couldn’t sell me the item without me giving my phone number. They always did in the end, but it was a hassle.

I don’t want to be that person, but it does irritate me. (More because it’s not stated as a requirement on the returns policy so I feel it’s a bit underhand iyswim)

I’ve worked in retail and as someone else mentioned it’s to monitor the staff. All refunds are checked and if one address keeps coming up they will investigate to see if it’s the same member of staff who keeps putting the transaction through and whether it is fraudulent or genuine. Nothing else is done with the information.

@TamiTayorismyparentingguru we never asked for an address if we were refunding cash, only card

I always thought it was to cross reference serial returners, people who wear clothes to a wedding etc and then return them and the ilk.

I hate having to sign receipts and give an address when getting a refund. This information is not usually needed when you make a purchase and the signature is never checked against the debit or credit card used to make the purchase . The last time my signature was checked when making a purchase was in the days when the retailer used one of these.

It's to make fraud easier to detect, especially from the staff. The reason they don't ask for it with online delivery returns is because....they already have your address?

Plus a tracking number, bar code, etc - much easier to detect fraud.

Give a fake address if you're paranoid OP - no one will care or try to catch you out.

Doesthemind - that's not correct, there's no checking of what you write on the slip with your card details. How would that happen?

Posters who are saying it's to try and control staff doing dodgy refunds and to maybe highlight serial returners are correct but of course in reality it stops neither as anyone can make up the details and I bet very few are ever checked.

As many others have said I give a fake name and fake address and alter digits of my phone number. No one has ever said anything

I was told it's to check for serial buyers and returners. Presumably someone checks to see if the same address keeps coming up. Though if the customer were savvy enough to do this repeatedly I guess they'd give different addresses.

I worked in retail many years ago and we never asked for address, regardless of payment method, which makes me think it is 100% unnecessary and pre-GDPD or whatever it is, was used to get you on to some kind of database.

I never give it and I’ve never had a refund refused because of it. I also never give me email ‘would you like us to email you your receipt’, no I would not.

No directly related but I recently bought some clothes for DD at a department store that may or may not have just done a rebranding exercise and paid for with a card that’s slightly bent and (I subsequently realised) didn’t have my signature on it (rubbed off, I guess). So happy to take my money from a card in this condition. Not quite so happy, in fact refused, to refund to the same card. Anyone know why? Surely, if it’s about fraud, you’d be checking when the good are paid for. I should say that I also requested, and got, a refund for the same card from Gap.

Ive refused before.

Went to make a return on an item which I clearly hadnt opened (it was stilled sealed). Was asked for my postcode and i refused. I didnt feel it was necessarily needed to process a refund, so refused. The sales assistant then refused to give me a refund. Wankers. I wont shop in there anymore.

They refused?! And was it stated on their returns policy? I’ll be there it wasn’t