High street shops just won’t refund or exchange anymore?

[Chumbibi]

Has anyone else found this? Two examples recently:

• Marks and Spencer’s - baby cardigan received as a gift - all tags on and style of cardigan still on sale in stores. No gift receipt but asked if I could exchange for next size up as too small. Lady scanned it through the till and said it was outside of 30 days so nothing they could do.
• Whistles - purchase the exact same style and size of jeans in different colours. Tried one in store, ordered the other online. The pair ordered online are about three inches bigger. Ripped the tags off and threw them on and then realised after an hour they were falling down. My fault I should have checked but was told, there was absolutely nothing they were prepared to do. The woman told me in the shop ‘I had probably stretched them’ which was nice 🙄

So AIBU? It seems customer service is non-existent these days. I appreciate they have policies but it seems once something is sold they don’t want to know?

I’m glad someone has pointed this out.

So you didn’t try something on in good time and then get pissy because it doesn’t fit. Your fault.

Er, it's not a freebie. And the sales assistant knew she hadn't stolen it because she told op when it had been purchased 😂 And literally anything you buy could have once resided in a home with fleas, smoke, and a herd of cows for all you know (for up to 30 days). You're clutching at straws.

Why on earth should a shop take back a non-faulty item you've taken the tags off and worn for an hour? They can't be resold - I don't want to be buying a pair of 'new' jeans thinking they've had someone else's bum in them!!

I was caught out like this with a Christmas gift. It was purchased 3 weeks before Christmas, which isn't particularly early to do Christmas shopping. I was away visiting relatives for over a week after Christmas.

Lots of shops to extended exchange (with receipt) over Christmas. From memory, all high street shops I bought from had "bought in December, exchange until the end of January". Which is fair enough.

When buying for Christmas I always get a gift receipt and include it wrapped in the gift. It's not hard.

@FarmGirl78 how many peoples bums are in those same jeans for 10/15 mins a time when tried on in the shops? They’re not cleaned on sanitised on those occasions are they?

@GreenFingersWouldBeHandy but she scanned it and could see it had been purchased and when? And it could of been of been farted on everyday for 30 days by someone with a receipt 🤣

The figure re John Lewis refunding millions of stock they hadn’t even sold is bonkers! Fair enough they require proof of purchase

Plus the jeans are faulty as they’re not the size as described on the label. Honestly pictured next to the same jeans of the same size is absolutely comical!

@Goodoldvera but I wanted to exchange it for the exact same item but in a smaller size. If they have 10 sets of these dungarees in a variety of sizes and I want to swap sizes they would still be left with 10 sets in a variety of sizes. Letting me exchange doesn't cause any difference in the number of items they have of that particular item ... think about it.

Sorry @mewkins I missed you'd already stated my point!

Clear you aren't a shoplifter because you have a baby?

What do shoplifters look like?

I think you are quite naïve op. Shoplifters are rife and they do include normal looking folk with babies. Pushchairs are often used for shoplifting.

The problem is that there's no such thing as a standard size. I have various "sizes" of clothing, they all fit.
You know the situation. Labels on, receipt in hand, you get a refund in 30 days.

Common sense seems to have left the building on this thread a LONG time ago.

A. Shoplifters tend to not be paying for a bunch of clothes while trying to SWAP a low value item for the exact same one in a different size

B. The sales assistant told the op when the item had been BOUGHT and when.

This. My wardrobe contains clothes with labels ranging from 8 to 16. They all fit. Are all of them faulty?

Plus the jeans are faulty as they’re not the size as described on the label

They aren’t though. Each retailer has its own sizing. Even if they are bigger than other jeans in Whistkes, they still aren’t faulty. This is why you’re expected to try them on.

The jeans spec is quite oversized at the moment.

That doesn't mean they're faulty at all. Faulty means not fit for purpose, not that they don't fit.

All sizes have an allowance either way as it's almost impossible to make (for example) a thousand absolutely identical pairs of size 10 jeans.

But if they didn't allow you to exchange they would be able one less pair to reduce...think about it

Not all shops have that technology

They don't want older stock back. The receipt ensures stock stays more seasonal. The place I work used to exchange without receipts, people would sometimes return stock 6 months old for an be exchange. Some of these people returned swimsuits in the winter meaning you had odds and sods hanging around making the store look more untidy. The chance of a random person wanting to buy a size 12 bikini top with no bottom on offer is minimal. This is an example but you can't pick and choose what you will or won't take back. That's what the policy is for

I don’t know any high street shop that sells items without barcodes. They need the info on them for deliveries and sales info.

Small boutiques might not have them, but the bar code system is pretty much everywhere in retail.

Oh dear god. Woman bring back top in size 9 months, swaps for SAME top in size 12 months. Shop still has one item (just in a different size) to sell at full price or reduce.

Huh? Exchange only written on the receipt so that someone (with way too much time on their hands) can't bring it back and exchange for cash. Makes bugger all difference to time frame or bikinis in winter. Generally all shops used to let you exchange anything that was still stocked in the shop as they could still sell it.

I would say items are faulty if you have two of the same items in the same size in different colours which are clearly very different in size when you hold them up together.

All sizes have an allowance either way as it's almost impossible to make (for example) a thousand absolutely identical pairs of size 10 jeans

Yes it is possible, that is literally the actual point of clothes shop chains and clothes sizing. If they aren't going to do that reliably, why should we bother?

Men's clothes sold by measurements are so much easier!

I think M&S were a bit mean, though within their rules. Agree family member should have got gift receipt.

Whistles, no problem with their policy - you have to try on before you take tags off. I've done it, tried something on, even thought it was ok, taken tags off and then put it on again and decided I didn't like it after all. Don't take the tags off until you are sure!

@Goodoldvera huh? I didn't purchase one in a smaller size, they were left with the same amount of dungarees when I left the store as when I walked in. They would also have been left with the same amount of dungarees if they'd let me exchange. I don't think it's me that needs to 'think about it' here.

@Goodoldvera they were also left with extra baby clothing that I declined to purchase when they refused to do an exchange.