Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for a receipt

69 replies

toots123 · 30/12/2018 08:04

Every year ILs buy DH clothes and every year it's the wrong size. Not just one size too big but two!
He's too polite to say anything but puts them in the bin.
Surely they would prefer he was honest and ask if he can exchange it?

The clothes are lovely so it's a shame when it's something he would use.

Quite awkward to say 'the size you've been buying me for the last 10 years has never fitted' though ....

OP posts:
ChardonnaysPrettySister · 30/12/2018 08:39

Binning brand new clothes is silly.

Slamadramafamalam · 30/12/2018 08:41

Most shops will do exchanges without a receipt especially at this time of year.

GnomeDePlume · 30/12/2018 08:42

Binning a gift year after year for such a silly reason is not being polite. It is making the gift giver to waste money.

Away from Christmas can he say to his parents what his size actually is?

As a separate thought, was he ever the 'fat kid' in the family? I know my DH was. Eldest brother was the slim one, middle brother the tall one and DH the fat one. Now in middle age eldest is the big one being closely followed by middle brother. DH is now the slim one. But if challenged IL's view would be what they were when they were young.

OohLookAtThat · 30/12/2018 08:44

Binning clothes is just plain stupid. What a waste. Everyone is busy, no excuse.

PanannyPanoo · 30/12/2018 08:45

Just say they must have changed the sizings and he is now a medium please can you have the reciept to exchange and you will let them know what size fits now.

BikeRunSki · 30/12/2018 08:45

Website without a shop? Is it Boden
Their customer services are excellent at stuff like this. Whoever it is, it’s worth ringing them.

UhUhUhDennis · 30/12/2018 08:47

Putting new clothes in the bin is fucking disgusting. Shame on you. You could take them to the charity shop any time doesn't have to be immediately over Christmas.

NewPapaGuinea · 30/12/2018 08:50

Binning new clothes is wasteful on so many levels. The resources that made them and transported them. The money that bought them. That they now end up in landfill. You can even argue the paper that was used to wrap them.

So many people could benefit from these clothes. Pretty disgraceful imo.

Jodielie · 30/12/2018 08:51

Clothes bank? Charity shop? Charity sack that comes through your door, which you then leave outside for them to collect?

Why throw them away?

jessstan2 · 30/12/2018 08:53

I'm aghast at him binning them. If he doesn't need the money one of you can surely go to a charity shop. There are enough of them around. Also you will have charity bags through your letter box so you could fill one and put it out for collection.

Failing all that, put them on ebay. Lots of bargains on there after Christmas.

The best thing would be to tell your in laws that the clothes they bought this year don't fit him and ask if they still have the receipts to return.

firawla · 30/12/2018 08:54

Genuinely shocked he bins them - wtf?! He could put on gumtree and have someone collect them from the house for free if he’s that lazy he can’t make it to a charity shop ever!

Ethel36 · 30/12/2018 08:57

I'm sorry, but in the bin?

Lost5stone · 30/12/2018 08:59

Seriously round me most of the supermarkets have charity clothing bins in their car park all he has to do it drive by and pop them in.

I'd be pushing him to charity shop them more than worrying about in laws to be honest! God I dread to think what else he just bins...

Wer2Next · 30/12/2018 08:59

How wasteful.. Just have a charity shop pile and take when you have some time in the 365 days in a year.

No sympathy from me here for being an unassertive man to either say something to relatives or atleast donate.

hendricksy · 30/12/2018 09:04

A lot of shops are tightening up their returns policy due to losses .. I work for a large high street shop and they lost 1.5 million last year from people returning items that weren't from their shop or were stolen .. they absolutely will not refund or exchange now with proof of purchase .

LIZS · 30/12/2018 09:09

How pathetic and wasteful. Either ask to exchange , with a gift receipt (although I suspect he "would not have time" to do so) , tell them he would prefer cash (probably no time for that either) , ask them not to bother with gifts any longer but give to a charity on his behalf or at least donate unsuitable items.

tinesltitties · 30/12/2018 09:09

He bins new clothes rather than simply say to his parents 'this jumper is too big, can we exchange it please'

What a delight.

winsinbin · 30/12/2018 09:14

I know it’s off the point but given the number of people living on the breadline or sleeping on the streets it’s just obscene that someone fortunate enough to have a home, food and enough clothes to wear could be ‘too busy’ to donate brand new unwanted clothes to a charity. I find that absolutely shocking.

subspace · 30/12/2018 09:22

Christ on a bike, what a turn off if a guy is binning brand new clothes because he can't be arsed to go to a charity shop! We have a serious waste problem globally, we have people who have no choice but to use food banks, there are homeless people on the streets, imagine if one of those people could benefit from a nice brand new jumper!

There are clothes bins in various carparks that he could drive to 24/7/365 to donate them. He could offer them out on a local Facebook group/freecycle/Olio app, somebody would bite his arm off to come to his house at a time that suits him to collect free brand new clothes, all the busy, lazy arse he would need to do would be to leave it in a bag on your doorstep/at end of drive/hanging on gate, he doesn't even have to be in or answer the door!

TinselTimes · 30/12/2018 09:24

My husband is genuinely very very busy. There is still no way he would consider binning brand new clothes. That is just disgusting behaviour tbh, and it’s shocking that you are so relaxed about it.

subspace · 30/12/2018 09:27

Putting new clothes in the bin is fucking disgusting. Shame on you. You could take them to the charity shop any time

You misspelled HIM. Shame on HIM - don't put another job and mental load onto the OP, it's not her responsibility, it's HIS. If he's like this in general she'll already be carrying the majority of the mental load and need another like a hole in the head.

Bombardier25966 · 30/12/2018 09:27

Can you show him this thread OP, and make him realise how awful binning perfectly good clothes is? There are people out there that would be grateful for any clothing, brand new stuff would be such a treat for them. And if not a charity shop then many food banks will also take clothing, or a homeless project.

WhenOneDoorClosesAnotherOpens · 30/12/2018 09:28

I saw a program a few years ago that showed people going into shops, stealing items and then taking the items back to the shop and saying 'Someone gave me this, but it's not the right size/shape/colour can I get a refund/exchange because it still has it's tags on but I don't have the receipt because it was a 'gift'? The shop assistants would sometimes give a refund for the value on the tag and but more often they would let the person exchange the item which created a receipt. The thief would then go to another shop with the receipt and say 'Sorry, this isn't the right size/shape/colour I need a refund', hand over the receipt and then be given a cash refund.

The shops became wise to this and that's why a lot of shops will refuse to do any type of exchange or refund without a valid receipt.

Not saying you have stolen anything OP, but just explaining why some shops are so strict on the 'no receipt' policy.

WhenOneDoorClosesAnotherOpens · 30/12/2018 09:30

Website without a shop? Is it Boden

Boden has shops. There's one in Park Royal.

TroysMammy · 30/12/2018 09:31

Do they hand him the gift personally? If so he needs to put the clothes on when he is with them then let them see they don't fit.