To think this M & S assistant was wrong?

[MrsGrindah]

I saw a jumper I liked but they didn’t have it in my size. Ordered it to collect next day. Got it home and tried it on..fit fine. So cut off labels . But when I took it off I noticed it had a darker bit ...over each nipple. Tried it back on and this time looked in the mirror...so noticeable!

So went to return it and the assistant said it was just the variation in the material. I said yes but I’m uncomfortable with where it is and I wanted to exchange ( note not refund). She screwed her nose up and said okay “ but next time don’t take the tags off ok.” ! I was so taken aback, but now I regret not saying anything.

Surely it’s not unreasonable to take tags off and then notice a defect? I had all tags , bags and a receipt.

@MrsGrindah You really didn’t need to say it again.

Really? As you hadn't had that Eureka moment and understood that the whole incident hinged on a 'fault' or a 'variation' , I thought I'd better.

Do you mean tags or labels?

sorry OP YABU had that been NEXT they would have not let you exchange nor refund as you could have worn that once and now trying to return

Not saying that's what you did but they must get that all the time hence why she said don't remove tags

I keep the tags on a item until I'm about to wear it lol I know I'm sad 😂🙈

I’ve returned faulty items without the tags on before without shop assistants saying I should have left the tags on. (Including a pair of children’s pyjamas from Next where I didn’t realise the top and bottom were different sizes before I’d removed the tags)

I suspect the shop assistant here didn’t really agree the top was faulty and was treating it as a case of OP changing her mind about wanting the top.

I’ve already explained I meant tags not labels.I accidentally wrote labels but then I clarified

Colour variations in material are a defect and therefore the top was faulty. Having had a father who worked in the garment colouring trade I can assure you that colour matching is taken seriously and major buyers like M&S routine reject stock for poor colour matching. Obviously some garments still get through but they clearly aren't acceptable to customers as in this case.

Your consumer rights are fairly clear about your response rights to return faulty goods. Please ignore those who are implying that the shop assistant was doing you a favour, she was out of order to berate you for this.

I wouldn't expect to be able to return or exchange anything I'd cut the tags off.

Luckily the opinions of MNers don't override consumer rights wet to faulty goods under the consumer rights act.

Wow OP, you've poked the MN bear on this one haven't you!!. YANBU, you purchased a sweater, which on reflection you decided to return, with supporting receipts, despite removal of the tags - which by the way, is an easy fix for them to rectify. You are not being a snowflake, she was unnecessarily sharp and a tad rude with you. She should have known and would most certainly have been trained better. You gave a perfectly reasonable explanation and she should have been more polite and accepting. Simple. Upside - you don't have to walk around with a comical sweater on. 🙏

It’s common for most shops to ask you to keep tags on if you’re returning for reasons other than a faulty item. The assistant was doing her job and wasn’t being rude or snippy.

All this fuss over one comment? Sorry but it is snowflake territory.

But it was faulty...

Well the assistant didn’t think so and if can’t have been that faulty that the OP missed it even though she’d tried it on.

OP would have been better to have posted it back with an indication of the fault so bypassing the assistant. M&S are notorious for this.

We shouldn’t have to put up with shoddy cheap rubbish from shops. If people don’t return stuff they will think it is all good.

But it wasn’t faulty - the colour variations were just noticeable over the norks, which the op didn’t like. There was nothing wrong with the item or the fabric, the op just didn’t like the positioning of the colour. (Fair enough). It wasn’t faulty though, so doesn’t come under trading standards. It’s a store decision to exchange just because you don’t like something.

I still want to know..who the heck tries things on without looking in a mirror??

And, honestly, nipples are not in standardised places. On some people, it might have looked fine.

are you in the younger age group by any chance...

Retailers have to offer returns/remedy for faulty items by law, however change of mind returns for online purchases are different. Retailers can refuse change of mind returns if the item isn’t in the same condition it was sent in, eg with the tags intact, so items can be rejected at their discretion.

I too think that the store assistant didn’t agree the item was faulty, so processed it as a change of mind return. I haven’t seen the item, but it doesn’t sound inherently faulty from the way you have described it. I used to work in fashion retail whilst studying, and if a customer approached me with this problem I would assume that they were trying it on. I had customers declare a piece of removable fluff on the item or a single thread as ‘faulty’ etc.

Been following this and see almost 200 posts on a jumper costing £15. FGS it's hardly worth your time OP.

Actually OP I returned a belt to M&S for DH at the weekend (exchanged for a bigger one). The tag had become detached but DH hadn’t actually cut it off but still had the tag with me. The sales assistant said that as of next month they can’t accept returns on goods without the tags and pointed to something printed on the receipt.

Agree Jinglingbut that’s other people taking part in the conversation not me posting 200 times!