Grrr Primark

[WinterKitchen]

A friend gave me a birthday bag with lots of stuff in which included some slippers and flip flops from Primark both of which were too small. I took them back today obviously unworn and they refused to change because I didn't have receipt.

After explaining several times that no I don't have a receipt because someone else bought them for me they asked did I have a gift receipt or a photograph of one. Of course not. I wouldn't ask for that and I didn't tell my friend I was returning the items as I didn't want to upset her or ask for a receipt.

I know the assistant can't do anything, and she offered to fetch a manager but I didn't see the point as they clearly wouldn't change the items. I told them to keep them as they're no good to me and that I would not be returning.

Just frustrating really. Only talking about £10 maybe, and I've already got far too many flip flops and slippers anyway. But I'm just annoyed.

Of course they can’t, you could have just stolen them and were trying to do a dodgy refund.. Or brought them from Vinted and were trying to get money back. I can’t think of one single shop that would do an exchange or return without proof of purchase. You should have just said to your friend that although you are grateful you need to exchange the size and got the receipt from her.

Because op could have just picked the items up from the shelf, and gone to the till to give the whole story of them being a gift and not fitting, but never paid for the item in the first place. Less risky than trying to walk past security gaurd on the door without paying and a tactic that was sadly used when I worked in a shop a few years ago until places started asking for a receipt. Without the receipt, there is no proof they were actually purchased in the first place

They won’t swap to the correct size after 30 days, even with a receipt.

Shocking not to have taken the goods to a charity shop. Somebody would have been trilled with ‘tags on’ flip flops.

Primark used to swap things if tags were still on but no receipt. They stopped a few years ago though.

This thread just reminds me what a fecking thankless task it must be to stand on a till all day having to deal with the insanity of the general public and (probably) getting shit wages to boot.

OP, have you ever returned an item without a receipt and been given another in a bigger/smaller size? Where? Because I shop a lot, and the days of being able to do this are long long gone.

But there is a thing on here where Primark gets bashed every few months. Their policies are no different to eg H&M, but it's only ever Primark that gets the hate. Funny that.

It’s strange that this very obvious fact has to be explained. Surely only the hard of thinking don’t get this basic retail scenario. (Good explanation though)

Its hell on earth, dealing with the public all day is awful let alone the relentlessness of doing the same thing all day.

You can't return things to a shop or exchange them without a receipt, that is standard. Could you not have told your friend that you need a different size and asked for a receipt?
Sorry you're feeling unwell and grumpy.

Faulty goods still sometimes need a receipt if it's a branded item
Eg if you buy a vacuum cleaner from Argos that turns out to be faulty.
If it's an argos only brand then fine but if you try to return a Henry hoover you could have bought that in any number of places and Argos needs actual proof you purchased it from them.
Some customers can't seem to understand this and we cannot just take your word for it.
One other thing, a bank statement is not proof of purchase either unless it can be matched up with a receipt (which is a time consuming ball ache to find usually!).
A bank statement only shows you spent X amount at a store not what you bought.

Not after 30 days, they don’t swap without a receipt.

Deterring shoplifting is part of it, but inventory is a big factor. Some people don’t seem to understand that every single specific item that a company owns, down to each size and colourway and each store location, is tracked by their systems. So if you want to just swap a small navy top for a medium one without using the till, that store’s inventory is now thrown off and the medium will be counted as loss (theft) during their next check. This bumps up the loss statistics which reflects poorly on the store, the management, and the profitability of that location.

Their system will continue to say that they have a medium navy shirt even though they don’t, and any customer wanting that shirt is going to have employees running around the store checking the stock room and the displays looking for it. It is absolutely not worth the hassle for a customer that wasn’t responsible or reasonable enough to have a bloody receipt.

I’ve never worked retail but I do partake regularly (read: prolific shopper) and I’m always baffled when someone is holding up the line because they still somehow don’t understand this.

An entire month is ample time to check the fit, realize it’s wrong, and make your way back to the store to swap it. If you don’t bother to do that in a month then it clearly wasn’t that important anyway.

Was it?

They can resell them.

I thought it was an efficient manner of disposal.

This happened to me in Zara this week - I tried to exchange a top (a gift) for a different size. It was obviously brand new with the tags on, and identical to the one I wanted to swap it for.

I was genuinely surprised they wouldn’t exchange it; I’ve done this in the past with no problem (though possibly in different shops). So I kept the original one and will have to donate it. I don’t blame you OP for being pissed off; I thought it was poor customer service but if that’s the policy there’s nothing you can do.

They can’t resell them. They will likely end up in ‘lost and found’ and after a period of time either sent back to warehouse for disposal / given to charity depending on their specific policy.

I was chuffed today when I returned a dress to Tu at Sainsbury's. Had the wrong receipt (other things I'd bought another day), no idea where the correct one was. Staff member was going to put the amount on a gift card (minus 20% as they now have a sale on) until she suggested we look on my Nectar card. There it was, proof of full price & the date, so I got full refund to my card.

I wouldn't have thought of that, so it's worth having the card just for that!

But surely if it has the tags on they can scan the tags and the “system “ must be sophisticated enough to figure out if told “ returning this item.”

I think it’s just about profit. If they had their way noone would return anything. Limiting the window (when stock is still in season) and requiring receipts is simply about reducing the number of returns by counting on the fact people might be unwell/ on holiday/ not like to ask for recipe from donor of gift etc.

But what if I walk into a shop pick up an item take it straight to checkouts for a refund or exchange on an item I haven’t actually paid for? It’s a trick some people do hence the need for a receipt

That's horrible. Imagine being so selfish and lazy.

I don't get how somebody can pick up an item and make out they were returning it, without security beep going off at exit.

Aren't you the little Princess.

It's not! Give the item to charity.

That’s what the security tags are for surely?