To be really naffed off with this shop?

[PoshPineapple]

Large homewares store - am I allowed to name? If not, it's that large one beginning with D selling bedding, fabric, cushions etc.

I bought a duvet set from there yesterday, at a branch nowhere near where I live (about 40 miles away). I was asked for an email address for the receipt, but declined as I don't want to give my email address to a shop that might do goodness knows what with it - I get enough spam as it is. I wasn't offered a paper receipt but thought nothing of it, as I knew I wouldn't want to exchange it. As it was a bedding item, I was advised that unless it was damaged or faulty, the item couldn't be returned (this was before the assistant scanned the item, we hadn't got to the receipt part at this point).

This morning, I popped it on a quick wash and as I started to iron it shortly afterwards, it looked all wrong. One of the side seams has been miss-stitched and the whole of that side is ruched up and puckered. I took it back to my local branch this afternoon and they've refused to exchange or refund it because a) I don't have the receipt and b) I didn't buy it from that particular branch and they had "no way of knowing that I'd purchased it from them" I actually laughed at as it was an own brand duvet, so I'm hardly likely to have bought it in Halfords! I was told I should have said yes to an email receipt. I asked why I wasn't offered a paper receipt as an alternative and the assistant conceded that I probably should have been, but that I "need to get used to email receipts as everyone is going to be doing it soon". I then said that surely if the item is faulty (and it quite obviously was - nobody was quibbling over that), then I shouldn't need to provide proof of purchase. Again and again I was told that as I couldn't prove I even bought it from them, then yes I do need to provide evidence. The only suggestion they could make was to show them a bank statement with the transaction on it?

So. I'm now stuck with a flaming useless duvet set - I'm certainly not going to make a 40-mile trip to return it to the actual store I bought it from, but even if I did, am I going to have the same problem with not having a receipt?

And yes, lesson learned - I'm going to create a new email account and call it "justemailthefuckingreceipt", I will enjoy shouting that out at the tills! In the meantime, has anyone else encountered a similar issue with paperless receipts and refunds/exchanges? It really doesn't seem right to me....

What do you mean, you keep your receipt of course

There was a thread on here the other week and someone said there’s no legal requirement for a shop to give you a receipt, so if dunelm go email only, as they seem to be moving towards, they don’t actually have to give you a printed one.

Would you be keeping the duvet if not damaged? Go and buy another one exactly the same after examining it to make sure there are no problems. Get paper receipt. Return the damaged one in the packaging and with receipt from the second purchase. You will have a perfect duvet to use. It won’t be returnable because you will have already “used” the receipt for your return. They can afford to cover the damaged duvet in my opinion.

The store you bought it from will have the purchase on their system if you know the date, time, price and method of payment.
The store you went into locally won't have access to that at their till.
YABU to feel they should've refunded you when you had zero proof of purchase.
The fact you laughed kind of tells me a lot. How would that help the situation?
Is the laugh to imply the sales assistant is somehow beneath you because they don't refund when you couldn't prove the purchase other than saying you bought it and it having their company name on it?
For all they know you could've bought it from a charity shop, shoplifted it, found it etc etc.
You likely think that's ridiculous but having worked retail 15 years straight believe me it happens way more than you would think, and always from the people who look like butter wouldn't melt!

Now yes the original person should have given you a paper receipt, but equally you said you wouldn't be returning it (I realise that was when you thought it would be fine). So either contact the original store and explain calmly what happened or chalk it up to experience.
And your witty email address idea makes me wonder who it's for? Who are you going to be shouting it for? To make the shop assistant feel stupid? To make other customers think you're somehow sticking it to the man? Just ask for a paper receipt or don't, your choice.

Cheeky minx! Of course I have emails, I just don't want to have to wade through any more crap than I already do.

Banking apps. I refuse to have anything financial on my phone as I had my phone pickpocketed leaving a concert last year. To this day, nobody knows how on earth it happened (I had face ID on the phone and two-factor authentication on the bank app), but 4 separate transactions were attempted via Barclays, for not insignificant amounts. Luckily, the phone was taken around 11pm and the attempted purchases were made later that night/early hours morning and because of the unsocial timings and the large figures involved, Barclays automatically rejected them and contacted me early the following morning. I'm not blaming the bank, my phone or anyone else, but clearly I had some security amiss somewhere so I took the decision to not have any bank/card-related business on my phone. I survived perfectly well for about 20 years without it, so I'm damned if I'm going to let a duvet cover change my mind 😂

It's faulty and is an own brand item. You don't need proof of purchase. Go back to your local store and ask to see the manager. Presumably you want an exchange, you're not even asking for a refund... they are BVU.

YANBU to at shop is shockingly unhelpful.

And as usual there are posters falling over themselves to say ‘you should have got a receipt’ - how about Dunelm should have provided a useable Duvet cover for the money she paid?

Makes me mad that we are expected to hoop-jump and if we don’t then we somehow deserve to get trampled on by commercial businesses. They have basically stolen your money at this point OP.

Go back when a different person is on tills / ask to speak to the manager / keep escalating and make a nuisance of yourself until they give in. Or, just show them the bank statement as suggested (not that you should have to).

@statetrooperstacey

yeah, they would, but she doesn't want an 80mile round trip to do that, probably cost more to do than the duvet is worth too

@PoshPineapple well, you can just shrug & do something else with it. (Run the side up & make it a single cover, use it over a table in the garden, if you have kids- a thing you can throw on the floor, they can play Lego or do colouring & not worry about the carpet, spare throw for when friends dogs visit, dust cloth for decorating

OR you can actually speak to the manager where you bought it or customer services. Both have been very good in the past, but it involves speaking to people above the level of toll staff who don't appear to have the seniority to actually help if you don't have the receipt.

I hate email/text receipts, I prefer paper ( 🦕) but that's a processing thing for me. If I start getting emails from
somewhere I don't want them, I just unsubscribe it takes seconds.

i need a throw away email address too, but I always seem to fail when trying to make one.

I agree with you but I also suspect from the OP stating she laughed and from the way she's planning to use a foul email address so she can shout it out in queues... it doesn't sound like she was a pleasant customer to deal with. Sounds more like the assistant had tried her best and reached the end of her tether with something that wasn't her fault to begin with.

Oh yes, the awful hoop jumping of using ones words to ask or a receipt, it's almost like we're grown adult who know how to shop

They are in the wrong. It’s faulty and they know you bought it from their company (branch is irrelevant) so they need to give you a refund or exchange, and as PP posted upthread you don’t need a receipt for this. Do you have any social media? I’d contact them to complain

order the same duvet on line - pick up at store ...

Wait a day or so - return the faulty item - ask for a full refund.

You have a good duvet - they have the faulty one. Job donesa

@PoshPineapple most likely the authentication text came through and they were able to use that when logging on via a different device. There was a well-publicised case a few months ago.
You can safeguard against it by switching off message content preview in your phone settings.

Indeed but it doesn't have to be a receipt - as a pp said, the guidance on the Consumer Rights Act is very clear that it can be a bank statement, and it doesn't depend on the branch. This is Dunelm being silly, and also trying to force people to give them their email address.

And yes, the way round it is to buy another one and then take that one with the receipt the next day*. They might remember you now though.

*I think I did that once.

Thats ridiculous, it'll have a SKU number for them to check, they'll know it's their product

I would complain to their customer services with a screen shot of transaction
And details of fault with a picture?

The law does not say that a retailer MUST give a receipt. But a retailer cannot make it difficult for a consumer to return faulty goods (that IS a legal requirement) and if they don't give you a receipt how are you meant to prove you bought the item from them?

Further, a retailer cannot tie the provision of a receipt which you need for consumer protection reasons with demanding your personal data for direct marketing. They do not need your personal data to give you a receipt and under GDPR they must have a reason for wanting your data.

When you buy online, you effectively get an email receipt. But you also have enhanced consumer protection and it suits the method of purchase- sending a receipt in the post would be a bit overkill (though it could go in with the parcel - but then if the parcel doesn't arrive...)

When you buy from a shop, you may pay cash and not even use a card, and therefore you need a paper receipt.

Retailers cannot refuse to provide one but don't have to give them automatically.

In some countries not providing a receipt is considered to be tax fraud.

I am thinking about writing a article about this.

I can assure you I was not offensive and the whole exchange was conducted politely and good-naturedly by both of us. At one point, the assistant even said to me "sorry, I'm pregnant, the hormones are making me evil (and laughed too)" This was straight after she said they had no way of knowing I'd even brought it from Dunelm and could have got it from any number of places - I pointed out that even the 'care' label inside the duvet was Dunelm, and laughed. And given this line has apparently only been on sale since July, it's unlikely it had already turned up in a charity shop or jumble sale already. If I've made this exchange sound

As regards the proposed email address for receipt purposes. As if. Look at my first sentence in the OP - I was even too scared to name the shop in case it wasn't the appropriate thing to do. Consider tongue removed from cheek.

I'm pissed off with Dunelm as an entity, for allowing this frustrating situation so easily. I did not, however, go barging in there banging on the counter and start being snippy with the employees.

This....

This....

And

This

This. I’m surprised everyone thinks it’s your fault.

YABU for ironing bedding

😆Rumbled!

Thanks all for your advice, I think I'll call the branch tomorrow and see what they say.

Otherwise, the idea of buying it again (with a receipt!) is genius. Thank you.

This is what I was going to suggest

I think you're right, the bank said that was the most common cause. Thank you.