To think House of Fraser’s refund policy is another nail in their coffin

[Bearbehind]

I bought several expensive and heavy items online with the intention of choosing 1 and taking the others back to my local store for a refund

Turns out you can only exchange or get a credit note in store

If you want your money back you have to post it back at your own cost

Given the weight and value, I’m nearly £30 down for the pleasure.

Surely they can’t afford to piss customers off by refusing to refund in store - what difference does it make to them?

Very expensive lesson learned!

I will never buy from them again

If you pay with PayPal you can make 12 returns a year up to £15 a time to stores where you have to pay for returns. I used it to return something from Blacks who charge for returns.

To be fair if my local store hadn't shut I could have missed the policy change - I read about it on here but it might not have occurred to me to check for a shop I'd used before.

I very nearly got caught out with this but fortunately read the returns policy before I ordered as I knew HoF had been taken over by Mike Ashley and he is not known for good customer service.

Before this HoF was just like John Lewis or any other good online retailer and you could order goods and refunds were either in store or by free post.

I agree that this is another nail in the coffin. I have certainly stopped buying there and I used to be a regular customer. There has been the odd item that I could have bought cheaper but its not worth the risk or hassle.

Yanbu. HoF are shit now.

I couldn’t give two shits about the logistics of their stock levels, vans or whatever else.

Give me service or I’ll take my money elsewhere. No wonder they’re closing down.

@Bearbehind sorry I thought you said bulky items and were talking about furniture/home goods.

No sonja I can see why you’d think that though.

It was just bastard heavy coats which I didn’t realised weighed so much until I went to the Post Office 😂

2kg insured with Royal Mail is £11.

Over 2kg is £27 😱

www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-cancel-an-online-order

This article is worth a read. You have 14 days after the receipt of the goods to cancel your order (this is not the same as returning goods). I can’t see anything on HOF website regarding this which is good for you! If you read the article there is a bit that states who is responsible for the return postage costs. It is only your responsibility if their terms and conditions state this.

Sorry but if you want to change your mind after buying online then that's fine, but you're responsible for the return. Can't see why they should offer you a different route to doing that than the one you chose, i.e. by post.

YANBU, OP. The way I see it, all items should be easy and free of charge to return when made online. I often make a big purchase and return most of it as sometimes it’s impossible to see what you’re actually getting via a computer or phone screen, let alone how it will fit. I would wager that running a website and a packing warehouse isn’t nearly as expensive as running a chain of retail shops so the cost of returns really should be swallowed as part of the business model. If a retailer is going to sell online it should offer free returns. What its store policy is is another matter.

#toomuch87 I wasn't cross with myself as the delivery note in my package clearly stated that I could return to store for free. Unfortunately the person on the till was highly apologetic but explained that she couldn't accept it despite the evidence in black and white as they no longer had the collections.

Is it not clear on their website?

Fortunately we can choose where to spend our money and paying for returns is not something I am prepared to do. Plenty have free returns or I use the PayPal ‘return shipping on us’

Can't see why they should offer you a different route to doing that than the one you chose, i.e. by post.

Because every other high st retailer I’ve ever used does

Sorry. Pressed too soon.

I've been buying using click and collect for 10 years probably. The process changed.

They are very 'computer says no' - reprogramme your fecking computer then! I feel sorry for the staff having such shit policy to work to.

YANBU OP - I’m a larger size so struggle to get a choice in my size instore, and have little time to shop with young kids, so I order a lot online - different sizes ( Depending in the shape etc. I can be a different size) and rely on being able to return at no cost and get a refund for Whether that’s with free postal returns or I store. I favour stores that allow me to do that.
It’s the future - and any store who can’t keep up will go out of business.

What you’ve judged posted about HOF has guaranteed that I won’t be buying for them. There’s no HOF in my town so online would be the only option.

I’m a larger size so struggle to get a choice in my size instore

Me too. Not helped by the fact I can be any one of 3 sizes, before the minefield of lengths, depending of the brand.

I spent nearly £600 and still had to pay £5 for the delivery, then £27 to return the unwanted items.

Never again!

Because every other high st retailer I’ve ever used does
Can't use very many then. Free returns is not legally required and very far from universal.

It's a terrible service for customers. In the current retail climate the customer journey has to be as seamless as possible to compete and any retailer who falls short is risking their business. So yes, they are within their rights to say online purchases can't be refunded in store but it's a short sighted policy that is putting customers off returning. I'm guessing they know this but the cost of changing their logistics is not something they can afford at the moment. It's not a Mike Ashley implemented policy though, I had the same experience a few years ago.

Next time (ok there won’t be one 😂) worth using parcel2go.co.uk and sending by courier - cheaper for heavier stuff.

Can't use very many then. Free returns is not legally required and very far from universal.

RTFT

I do not expect free returns

I do expect to have the choice of returning an item to the high st store if it suits me

www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations

It’s all in here