Asking for a refund from a CHARITY shop?!

[Guyfree]

I was out shopping yesterday and, whilst in one of the local charity shops, overheard a woman at the till demanding for a refund for a top she had bought. She said she had bought it, tried it on in the shop, but once she got home she decided she didn’t like it. Admittedly, I don’t know how much the top was, but I can’t imagine it was a lot as it’s not an upmarket charity shop or area particularly.

The staff kept saying that they didn’t give refunds, only credit notes, but the woman insisted she wanted a refund.

I just found the whole exchange really bizarre. When I buy something from a charity shop, I make sure it’s a considered purchase, and would never ask for a refund! On times I have regretted purchases I just take the hit in the knowledge I’ve at least donated some money to charity.

YABU - asking for a refund from a charity shop is fine.

YANBU - asking for a refund from a charity shop is tight and strange!

I would just resell it on vinted or give it back to the charity shop and consider my initial payment a donation to the charity. Unless it was a pricey one then credit note. I would not feel right asking for money back from a charity shop at all

Most charity shops are happy to refund, or as in this case, offer a credit note if the item is returned with the tag still on. They can sell the item again.
I personally would just re-donate the item unless it was very expensive, but not everyone can afford to do that. Charity shops aren't cheap anymore, you can expect to pay around £5 for a top and that's a lot of money to someone on a tight budget.

@AgathaMystery I think you were rude. All you had to say was No, sorry, that's the price, we don't negotiate

You can do this because of the shops own policies, not because the shops have to offer this by law.

Yes you are entitled to a refund in a shop, for those of you saying that you aren't.

You really are not legally entitled to a refund if you change your mind in shops in England, although the vast majority of shops will do so. I don't know if the law is different in other countries in the UK. This is a quote from CitizensAdvice UK

You don’t have an automatic right to get your money back if you just change your mind about something you’ve bought and there’s nothing wrong with it.
It’s the same no matter how expensive the item was - it’s really down to the seller whether they offer you anything.

This is the reason for such entitlement from customers - being completely wrong 😖

I volunteer in a charity shop and we give refunds. Our policy is we allow 28 days and the item must be returned with the receipt and the tags on.
Outside of those constraints refunds are at the manager's discretion.
Often customers will find an item to the same value and do an exchange.

I work in one of the more well known charity shops and have done for 10 years. We have a 30 day refund policy even though we have changing rooms. People don't always want to try on in the shop. We do a few refunds daily - it's not a big deal and nobody minds.

I personally would never ask for a refund from a charity shop - I would just treat it like I'd made a donation. I guess I'm just lucky I don't miss a fiver here and there but realise many people would.

I returned something to a charity shop just the other day, and have done so in the other charity shops near us in the past when I've decided I don't like it or it doesn't fit. They all have signs at the till saying that returns are accepted.

Bought something from a different charity shop this morning though, it was for dh so asked if I would be able to return if it didn't fit and they said no, they don't offer refunds. That's fair enough, they made it clear at time of purchase and if he decides he doesn't want it I'll just sell it on Vinted and probably make a profit on it!

I would never return something to a charity shop. Never.

^Can't edit my post above but was going to add that we do encourage customers to try clothing on before purchasing to try to cut down on returns.

Yanbu but it's actually very common - often people are treating the charity shop as a free clothes library - buying it, wearing it once then returning for a full refund. It's one of the major hazards of the whole gift-aided-item-donation thing where you sign a Gift Aid declaration on tags to attach to your bags of donated clothing. Legally if you gift aid your donation of an item of clothing that then sells for £8, the charity can then reclaim £2 from the government but then if the customer returns the item for a cash refund it is YOU the original donor who owes the £2 that is due back to HMRC, not the charity. The only way to avoid the utter nightmare this would cause is to have a no-cash-refunds policy.

I overheard this in a Marie Curie Charity shop and the poor lady on the till was getting upset so I gave the 'customer' the £ she was demanding and redonated the dress. I don't remember the exact amount but it was coins.

Unless marked as damaged or stained, I would absolutely not expect to buy that unknowingly. Doesn't matter that it's secondhand.

You might not agree with haggling, but publically shaming a customer like this is just awful behaviour

I quite agree. That's above and beyond.

The manager of the shop in which I volunteer doesn't at all mind a reasonable offer. Something we've had for a month at £20 and somebody offers £15? Done.

Why though? A few of us who volunteer say that this is a very normal thing to do, happens all the time, we don't judge people who do it, we actively encourage people to bring things back if they don't fit, as long as you have the original receipt and the tag is still attached it is really, really not a problem!!

Chances are that you'll be back in a fortnight or a month to buy something else anyway.

But unless it was a particularly expensive item, surely if something doesn't fit you would just donate it back to a charity shop again? I've also been in charity shops when people have haggled for a £3 top and I think that is dreadful. You wouldn't haggle in Next so why do people do it in a charity shop, where they are trying to raise money for a worthy cause?

It is not up to us as volunteers to speculate about someone's financial circumstances or whether a particular sum of money is a lot to them or not. We offer refunds - that is the chain's policy - and if people want to take us up on that policy there is no judgement from me whatsoever.

The charity shops near us don't allow refunds either but I have seen someone kick up a fuss about it & I've also seen a senior staff member do the refund just to get rid of someone after they'd reduced the volunteer to tears. It was a similar situation, nothing wrong with it, they'd just decided they didn't want it any more.
The charity shops do have signs saying: please use the changing rooms no refunds etc & have warnings on games & puzzles clarifying if they've been checked or not. So I think it should be up to the purchaser to check the item and decide if they really want it.

Yea you can!!!

A charity shop should be treated the same as any other shop, if something was wrong with an item ie damaged I would expect to be able to take it back for either a credit note or refund, depending on their terms. I wouldn't expect either tho for just changing my mind, so she should just sell it on. Some charity shops aren't that strapped for cash either so if I bought something and it was default I would return it, just like I would in any other shop and I wouldn't be made to feel bad about it, like feeling sorry for returning it because it's for charity.
Sale items are non returnable tho, like in all shops.

I have a business- honest to god people are cheeky fuckers. I can’t wait to sell up and not have to people anymore.

It depends on why she's shopping there doesn't it. If she's there because things are tight and she can't afford to shop elsewhere then she also may not be able to afford to just take it on the chin and consider it a donation. I would have thought that consumer rights still apply in a charity shop and that you'd still have a 7 day cooling off period. Personally I think they should have refunded her, they're running a shop at the end of the day and should be treating customers with good customer service like any other shop.

It is incredibly common unfortunately! I’ve worked in charity shops for many years and it happens so often.

also, edited to add that just like with standard retail shops, charity shops will have refund and exchange policies. Some will refund without any questions asked provided the charity shop tag/label is attached, other will offer credit notes only. I much preferred working in the charity shops that did refunds with no questions asked because the shops that didn’t offer refunds meant there were regular awkward conversations about refund policies!!