Taking faulty products back for refund.

[Ladyandherspaniel]

I work for a high street retailer , someone called today because the toilet seat she had purchased was now faulty , she's too embarrassed to come back into store with it , so could we go and collect it from her house .

I personally haven't got time in my life or my head space to take broken stuff back and claim on guarantees unless of course its something expensive .

I really couldn't put myself thru taking a used toilet seat back for the sake of £15 🤣

The absolute best was when a woman bought back a sex toy and said it had stopped working , the persons face on the till at the time was a picture 🤣🤣

So do you keep all receipts and take things back when they are faulty ?

I do wonder if some people just have no shame... I mean we are NOT Ann Summers , we don't expect to deal with used sex toys and where do people keep all these receipts for everything they buy 🤔 some people come back 11 months later with all packaging for their item , receipt inside the box ... where do they keep all these boxes lol.

What's the most random faulty thing you've taken back ?

I once sent 4 TVs back in the space of a 5 days, manufacturer fault, probably should have twigged on after the 2nd one had the same problem.

Honestly can't think of anything else

I don't recall taking anything faulty back anywhere except a bottle of wine, many years ago, to Tescos. It had one of those artificial corks that were used for a bit before screw tops became common for cheap plonk. Anyway, it had fragmented when the corkscrew was put in and I couldn't get the last part out. A permanently sealed bottle.

It probably cost about a fiver, but if I buy wine I expect to drink it! 🤣🍷

I don't think I made a special journey. Just took it with me when I went to do the next big shop.

Anything under a tenner, maybe not

But if something is faulty then of course I'd return it. I paid for that and it's not fit for purpose

I am about to take back something that cost £2.50 but that is mainly because DS purchased it with his own money and it is faulty

I'm usually deterred by having to go through the refund process or deal with the shop staff, but that's more out of sympathy for the staff!

My main means of avoidance these days is simply not to buy stuff in the first place. It's amazing how much stuff it's possible to not buy if you put your mind to it.

I worked at Woolies back in the day and once had someone return twenty plus test old ladders, with receipt and original packaging, as they'd developed a fault and had a lifetime guarantee! Also had someone dig plants up from the garden to return as they hadn't flowered.

Twenty plus year old ladders that should say

Of course I take faulty things back if they don't work. Have taken lifetime guarantee salt and pepper mills that stopped working after a few years, non stick pans where the coating, came off before the 10 year guarantee, just about to claim under fiskars lifetime guarantee for some garden shears that fell apart after a few years and for some bulbs out of a big order which did not come up. Have claimed at year 19 for faded drainpipes which had 20 year guarantee, got them replaced. Just got a replacement pure linen sheet for one that had gone threadbare after 2 years.
I always buy decent quality products which inevitably cost a bit more, many have long or lifetime guarantees so of course I'm going to claim if they go wrong.
I keep the receipts and guarantees in a box in my admin cupboard in my study.

I was so angry about a pack of nappies that didn't work for my dd i took them back for a refund, I'd used about 5 out of 20, they leaked really badly, admittedly I didn't make a special trip but I was furious! They refunded then without an issue, didn't even need a receipt (they were own brand)

I’ve taken/sent loads of faulty stuff back for refund, large and small.

I keep all receipts for at least a month then weed out the smaller stuff like groceries but keep anything else for as long as it’s expected to last, I.e. small electricals etc through to bigger stuff with warranties/guarantees.

I only keep packing and boxes for the changed mind return timescale as they need to be returned in sellable condition - you don’t need original boxes to return something faulty.

I don’t see why I should pay for something faulty so have no problems taking/sending stuff back. I even take back a rancid yoghurt or a squashy apple to Tesco on my next trip to get a pound or two refunded.

Just got a replacement Mira electric shower that went faulty just a couple of weeks short of the 2 year warranty! Last year got a replacement drum for a relatively new washing machine.

OH buys loads of things “he may need” when doing diy jobs - always takes back everything he ends up not using - no point cluttering the garage with things he may need one day when he can easily go and buy stuff again when the time comes!

Don’t understand why someone wouldn’t return something faulty that came with a lifetime guarantee.

I mean yes if I've bought something and it's faulty I've taken it back.

The most annoying one we've had recently is a computer monitor that DH bought from amazon that developed an intermittent fault. We sent it back they said they would fix it or refund, they have done neither and trying to get in touch with amazon's customer service department is absolutely terrible.

I had the amazon kids fire tablet that broke two weeks after the end of its two year replacement guarantee. I pointed out starting the guarantee on the day of ordering before delivering it was ludicrous as they were counting days before I even had the product, and they could see it hadn't been activated before Christmas day as it links to their amazon kids account, so was under two years use.

Anyway I got a replacement. I'll pursue things I think are unfair!

Absolutely fine to return it but you must admit not many people would have the original packaging and receipt after that long

@ISeriouslyDoubtIt Faded drain pipes? I had mine replaced last year and I never got a guarantee about fading. What are yours made of?!

They were black plastic guttering and drainpipes which were installed when I had new fascias and soffits. It was a 20 year guarantee against defective product and they had faded to a greyish colour in certain parts. It took a huge amount of letters, phone calls, site visits etc over the course of about a year before they would agree to replace and they tried every tactic to try to put me off, but in the end agreed it was a valid claim.

I had a carpet shampoo machine with a five year warranty. With about a couple of months before the warranty ran out, it broke down so I sent it in for repair. It couldn’t be fixed so the manufacturer sent me a brand new replacement.

Some manufacturers are brilliant and will just replace others are a nightmare to deal with and even we give up in store and just replace ourselves.
Garden electricals seem to be coming with longer guarantees now so getting a lot of them back .

Can't you just go on chat?

Why wouldn't you? Regardless of how much it costs, it should be fit for purpose and if it can't even work for the paltry 12 months it's guaranteed for it's not fit for purpose so yup I'll take it back.

I've taken things back ranging from a £19 kettle to a Dyson ball vacuum cleaner because both broke down within the period the manufacturer had guaranteed them to work for.
Dyson gave me a voucher to replace and Asda gave me a brand new kettle. The store will not be out of pocket as I assume they'll notify the manufacturer who will reimburse them.
Never needed original packaging though so long as you have receipts.

Last was my kettle, blow up months into a 2 yr guarantee.
Airfryer error code it stopped working they just replaced it.
Both were good brands so I have switched to a different brand.
I will keep any receipt for electronic stuff, some more expensive clothing.
Surprising how quality lacks these days so keep receipts in my storage box of junk and household stuff.
Working in retail you have to be considerate of what people expect.
Recently my online shopping's rotten 3 oranges got a refund request via email..I was sick it's all I wanted and don't sell me your rotten shitty fruit...my refund was sorted not a problem...it's the principle. $4 for 3 oranges well that's a rip off here anyway.

You don’t need original packaging. Keeping a tiny piece of paper is hardly a big deal.

@Ladyandherspaniel

So do you keep all receipts and take things back when they are faulty?

Yes, quite frequently unfortunately.

Currently finding that I have to take quite a lot back to supermarkets, i.e. sour milk, yoghurt, rancid fresh meat, mouldy veg and bread, etc. Never a problem getting refunds, I think they're used to it these days. I'm not paying good money for something that is unusable just a day or two after purchase.

Got a pan set as a wedding present from Argos with a lifetime guarantee. No invoice as it was a gift, but we had the Argos wedding present list as proof of purchase. Stroppy mare (manager) in Argos refused to replace nor refund, first citing lack of invoice and refusing to accept their own wedding present list printout. After we wrote to Head office, got a letter back instructing us to take it back to the store with their letter for a replacement. Then the same stroppy mare, obviously put out at being proved wrong, tried to say they couldn't replace because it was no longer in stock! Cue another letter to head office and same result in being told to go back to store. Then same stroppy mare would only replace one pan, not the full set which would have left us with an odd set. Obviously another letter to HO and another reply saying the same telling us to return to store and the manager WILL give us a new full set of pans. She refused to talk to us when we went back with it and hid in the back whilst another assistant handed us the new pan set! With some of them, they seem to take it so personally it's as if you expect them to hand over their first born son for sacrifice!

Stellar pans tried to wiggle out of their lifetime guarantee by telling me I must have used the pan on too high a heat. A pan. Designed for an induction hob. A pan I had lovingly handwashed and stored with a special felt liner and only ever used wooden implements in. They eventually gave me a 'goodwill' exchange, although I think they were totally unreasonable.