It's okay to wear clothes then return them for a refund

[KeyLimePies]

Kay Burley on Sky News mentioned an article in one of the papers covering what happens to clothing purchased online and returned (not sure which retailer). Apparently they go to a big warehouse to be sorted and are given a 'sniff' test - to which KB said "c'mon, we've all done it"

AIBU to think that the majority of people don't order clothes, wear them, then return items in a smelly state for a refund? I have never done this unless the item has developed a fault after wearing it - and I've definitely never returned clothing smelling of sweat or anything else.

YABU - it's perfectly okay to wear something then return it for a refund, even if it's not faulty - it's one of life's perks.

YANBU - the majority of people don't do a KB!

So many spelling errors in that! 😀🤦🏻‍♀️

@Dammitthisisshit

Eeew Yuck. Would never do this and it puts me off buying online as much as I do!

It's not just online, very common in bricks and mortar stores too.

Used to have so many arguments with people when I worked in retail because they'd bought an outfit for a night out then tried to return it the next day. Some slipped the net as you'd occasionally find receipts or wrappers in the pockets of clothes on the ship floor.

@PeeAche

It's just dawned on me that this post is either a journalist's plant or going to be picked up by the Daily Fail etc. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I hate it when I get suckered into one of these.

I'm not a plant @PeeAche - I've been on MN for years under various names. I was honestly grossed out by what Kay Burley said - and she said it as if it was a normal thing to do. I just wanted to know if I was in a minority to think it's not normal.

I thought only a certain type of teenager did that.
I haven’t/ wouldn’t but I do return loads as I order different styles and sizes to see which fits or suits best.
Without free returns I wouldn’t order half the stuff in the first place so it’s just the cost of doing online business for some stores. They rarely carry my size in the actual high street shops anyway.

I was gutted I had to return a top which had been out of stock for weeks.
I finally managed to snag it after checking the site daily but when it arrived, it absolutely stank of really strong perfume!

I was seriously pissed off!

I have never done this. It’s disrespectful to the store/warehouse staff. Why should they have to handle your smelly worn clothes.

Many moons ago, I used to work in retail (woman’s clothing store) and we would get at least 3 or 4 returns a week, people bringing back clearly worn clothes from a night out. It was disgusting. I could never believe the audacity of it!

Wow people actually do this?! I would NEVER do this!

Obviously not, no. Come on OP, that's a form of theft.

Can't abide KB so doesn't surprise me that she thinks it's acceptable... 😡
I bought a body warmer from a catalogue and it arrived... It absolutely reeked of strong perfume... Wrapped it up to send it back and I could still smell it through the packaging... 🤮 🤮 🤮 🤮

I am aware that people do this - I just wasn't aware that even news readers do it, and seemingly think that it's a normal thing to do.

@YukoandHiro

Obviously not, no. Come on OP, that's a form of theft.

I agree.

@Dammitthisisshit

Eeew Yuck. Would never do this and it puts me off buying online as much as I do!

It happens to clothes returned in store too.

I know a large group of people who buy clothes, wear them to a wedding or finer etc & then return them.

I personally think it's disgusting.

I do a lot of of online clothes shopping and I don't do this.

I did many years ago buy a very expensive jacket in Central London on a whim, wore it to someplace for a couple of hours and then wondered what I was thinking, and returned it.

I wouldn't do it again, learnt my lesson.

@cheekychaplin

Anyone who has ever worked in retail will tell you customers are brazen and will attempt to return anything. It's much more common than you would think.

A relative worked at a VERY posh shop in London, and models and celeb types would come in and borrow clothes and just bring them back dirty, more or less chucking them at the staff. I thought it was disgusting.

I saw this but don’t think Kay Burley was referring to everyone returning stuff they’d worn, I assumed she meant we’d all ‘done the sniff test’ , eg sniffing our clothes to check if they’re still clean after wearing once or heaven forbid, picking them off the floor! (I live with teens).

I wouldn’t do it though, it’s revolting.
I rarely buy heavily reduced sale stock from online retailers because I’ve bought so many returns this way in the past. Boots covered in dog hair,
Dressed covered in deodorant, etc etc 🤢

Worked retail where someone attempted to return a skirt that had been altered from an ankle lengthy to a knee lengthy.
Err no, sorry but that's not a refundable item...

@Badnightguaranteed

I saw this but don’t think Kay Burley was referring to everyone returning stuff they’d worn, I assumed she meant we’d all ‘done the sniff test’ , eg sniffing our clothes to check if they’re still clean after wearing once or heaven forbid, picking them off the floor! (I live with teens).

I hadn't thought of that. If that is her excuse it wasn't said in the context of the news piece.

On a related note, I recently learned something interesting about eating/drinking supermarket products while walking around the store. (Not something I've ever done.)

If you consume something you've picked off a store shelf, before paying for it, you are immediately guilty of theft. Even if you pay for it when you get to the till, that does not change the fact that you're committed a criminal offense.

(Saw this on "Blackbeltbarrister" youtube channel.)

Nothing would surprise me with KB

I agree it’s basically theft.

I remember being at the back of a very long queue for customer returns at Marks in Oxford Street. I think it would've been around 1988...

The woman at the front who was being this HUGE hullabaloo, was trying to return a lot of stuff and arguing that it had worn badly, and was terrible quality, and she wanted a refund.

I thought the nightie looked familiar because it looked like one my mum had worn when I was about 4...

The Mark's employee said very loudly that the kind of product number it had no longer worked with the new machines, and so she went and got this huge folder, and suggested it was circa 1973. Which would've been spot on by my calculation .

The woman had absolutely no shame and ended up coming out of it with a very small gift voucher.

Barking.

Thanks for the reminder

I thought she said something like
‘Where the staff at the warehouse do ‘the sniff test’… c’mon we’ve all done it’
More like she was saying…don’t pretend you don’t know what the sniff test is .

Yeah but generally the sniff test is done on your own clothing, so it's still a pretty comment to make regarding making staff sniff clothes worn by other people!