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!

@AdobeWanKenobi you used to be able to too years ago, it was always cash returns or some shops asked you with option you wanted. Its only in fairly recent years it now goes back to how you purchased it, be it credit card or cash.
Reading this its pretty grim that people actually do it and so brazen i actually can not believe they have the cheek to do it . I returns lots of things, but only because they don't fit or the quality is poor as you cant see it when you buy on line. I live in the country so buy lots on line as nearest proper clothes' shopping town is at least half an hours drive for me. The only time i was nervous bringing something back was a good few years ago bought an expensive jumper for my boyfriend, he had a very bad habit of ripping the labels off as soon as he got it without trying on. Tried it on then and low and behold it didn't fit . Lost my temper with him , then myself and my sister proceeded to find the plastic tag bits and managed to thread back the tag where it had been and glued the plastics but back together with the tag hanging on it. Returned it to the shop and got the next size - it was examined in great detail but she never spotted it thank god . He is still warned to this day never ever take tags off. Another thing that i have noticed is that a lot of online shops now have a huge cardboard tag hanging from an obvious place, say like from the bottom of a skirt that says that this tag needs to stay on if you are going to return this

Not convinced this hadn’t happened to a T-shirt I bought for work the other day. It seemed fine, but once I got warm (I was doing a sports massage in a warm room) it definitely had a bit of a faint whiff I just hope the client didn’t smell it! So random though as it’s just a bog standard plain top - who’s going to bother wearing and returning that? Maybe the last person to try it was a bit whiffy?

@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.

Eh? Why is that obvious? It’s news already. Tabloids so pick various MN threads up but I doubt it’s a plant.

[quote Warehouser1]@WhistPie Boohoo doesn’t have a department like that. And the rates are up to repack up to 100 an hour so you can see why returns staff just don’t bother checking, and sometimes don’t even open a cellophane package at all if the return is neatly folded inside.[/quote]
It was the 80s! We had to open the packets to put our ID sticker on to show who'd examined it.

We already have this system it’s called a high street. It’s how it all worked years ago before the internet

Yes, well I remember traipsing round boring chain stores for hours and hours not able to find what you wanted. Chain stores killed the high street, not the internet.

Just an awful thing to do

I once tried on a dress I ordered online that stank

It's not right, but it's not theft.

Eeew - I've never done this but used to hear about acquaintances doing it when I was younger!

@lborgia

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

Exact same thing happened to me. I might have been behind you in the queue! In my case the person was bringing back a dirty, grey looking broderie anglaise underskirt, the sort worn under midi dresses back in the 70s. They had to get the microfiche out to check the price.

@onedayoranother

It's gross. However, I used to work in an very upmarket department store and we were asked to wear stock on a occasion for our shift then it was put back on the rails.

Where was that? I thought most places gave staff an allowance or at least a discount so they could purchase stock to wear.

Definitely not I wouldn’t dream of doing this.

My brother’s ex used to do it all of the time. She wasn’t short of a Bob or 2 either! It’s disgusting!!

I never have but my sister used to all the time when she was younger. She used to return the stuff with very obvious fake tan marks on!
I used to be a bit iffy about buying 2nd hand due to thinking about strangers wearing the stuff before me, but then when I realised that half the "new" clothes I bought had probably either been worn or at least tried on anyway, I thought I may as well get them from vinted for a tenth of the price!

It’s grotty AF.

No Kay Burley, we all haven't done it

YANBU, it's dishonest and even fraudulent, but there are a lot of dishonest, exploitative people in this world who's only concern is if they can get away with whatever it is they're doing wrong, whether it be this or something else.

I did it once - totally by mistake.

I ordered two different sizes, wore the bigger one and then returned the other.

However, when I went to wear it again I realised I'd sent the worn one back. So now I have one that I can't quite get into.

So I've had my punishment and I didn't even do it on purpose!

Clothes have such a high carbon footprint - if they are being destroyed after being returned/damaged then those customers should be even more ashamed of themselves.

I once ordered a hoody from Next which arrived soaking wet and stank to high heavens. I mean it was neatly folded inside the plastic packaging and the people in the returns warehouse didn't realise it's condition.

Higher end retailers like Wyse London and Net-A-Porter now add an additional tag on a prominent place on the clothing which states if removed, refund is void. I think that's a way forward to avoid the scamming.

If I have only worn something once I've only ever returned things a handful of times, when the zip breaks on the first wear, or the item is unbearably itchy to wear, or a seam comes undone.

I don't buy stuff online anyway, I go to an actual shop.

Don’t worry about the Daily Mail picking this up. They just ram a story about reconditioning warehouses where returned clothes are cleaned and repaired then sold again as new.
I buy very few clothes, as I make most of my things. I did work in retail, and people would return worn items routinely thirty years ago.

@TooMuchPaper

Yes people do it. Hence why clothes are sniffed by the staff when being checked. I've seen Marks and Spencers staff sniff the crotch of trousers and the armpits of t-shirts.

Christ you could not pay me enough.

But no I wouldn’t do this. I buy clothes I need and then wear them, and would only return if I noticed they were damaged or faulty, or if they hadn’t been worn.

Reminds me of when I was looking for ski jacket. I found one on the rack that had a person’s name tape sewn in! When I handed to the saleswoman she sighed, thanked me, and told me it was really common for people to buy stuff for a holiday and then somehow manage to return it and get a refund. She did say that they should have spotted the name tape on this one, though.

I wouldn't do this as it's just dishonest. KB must have very low standards if that's her attitude. OTOH my DH had an aunt who did this and she got away with it until M&S put a time limit on returning clothes.

Happy memories of the Mark's and Sparks microfiche. I once saw (I worked there as a student) a customer returning a scarf given as a Christmas gift. It was established as 8 years old. The poor woman slunk off, clearly a regift.
Very good reason for Mark's to change its refund policy.