To expect Morrisons to refund food item

[rileynexttime]

It's only frozen Twister lollies which when I got them home and out of the box it became apparent that they'd melted in store and then refrozen into a lump.
I had receipt and photos showing time short time after purchase.
They say the barcode from the box needed to refund. Which I understand though think inflexible.
My offer to go and get a box from freezer was declined.
I am unreasonable to think they should have refunded?

I know it v seems trivial but I wouldn't normally buy this kind of item, it's a bit of a treat.

Yes but they have to scan the box and the receipt to ensure they correspond

No its not you might have gone to another shop

You get so many thieves and scammers, you can't allow someone with pictures of manky lollies to get a refund. Take the originals back or that picture could have been from last year for all the store know.

Have i missed why you didn't take the box back?

When I worked at ASDA we needed the physical item to process the refund - it was to stop people buying stuff, claiming it was off/unusable, binning the item and claiming a refund anyway.

Sorry, that should be keeping the item, not binning it!

The phone shows the date and time when the photo was taken. It shows it was taken 15 mins after purchase.

No its not you might have gone to another shop I suppose I might have been making multiple requests at various stores. But surely a store making a refund would annotate the receipt to prevent multiple refunds?

It’ll be to do with stock control - they need the box to scan the barcode in order to write off the product. Millions of pounds can go missing if refunds aren’t processed correctly. It was something Morrisons had a big issue with a few years back.

The codes used for refunds going through the tills are recorded, signed off by managers twice a day and will be sporadically audited by outside parties. It’s not as simple as “just give them the money”.

Have i missed why you didn't take the box back no, sorry.

Stupidly didn't occur to me. I bought the lollies yesterday,, didn't keep the box. Thought pictures and receipt would be enough , not liquid in a wrapper and soggy box.
But lesson learnt.

@SemperIdem could they have scanned another box of the same item ?

I can't speak for Morrisons but at ASDA, no.

The item is scanned back as a faulty refund, and put in the waste, which is then weighed at the end of the day. A large discrepancy in waste will lead to investigations as it can look like a scam through the tills otherwise.

Basically, they need the item as proof - otherwise what's to stop you buying something, taking it home, using it, taking a random photo from the internet (or from a previous issue) and claiming the refund?

Ok, good point. Thanks for explaining.

No worries! I know it seems silly as it's only a box of ice lollies, but you'd be surprised at the scams people try and pull off lol.

I'd buy a new box, swap the dodgy lollies into it and return for refund on that purchase.

Don’t be daft. You need to take the item back.

I’ve just had two packs of Sainsbury chicken that has been off when opened (several days before the use by date and my fridge temp is fine).

I could take the rancid stuff back but I don’t think they’d thank me for that.

I work in a supermarket and people bring stuff like that back daily, if you want a refund, put it in a sealable bag and take it back!