Is my maths wrong? (Shop refund)

[GertysBestShoes]

Big supermarket near me, closed off its changing rooms during COVID. Went in to buy something important that needs to fit correctly (swimming costume for a pool party booked the next day).

I asked a staff member near the clothing if the changing room was open any more, she confirmed no (I think they're now used as stock storage, you basically can't get beyond any barrier at the entrance). She advised of a 100 day refund policy and confirmed if was okay to buy a few, try them on that day, then refund (with all labels and hangers) the same day.

Bought a few costumes in different sizes (size 12, 14 and 2 different style 16s) along with my £20 ISH food shopping. Paid on a credit card and some vouchers I'd got (think something like clubcard voucher or Asda rewards, a specific £value). Total was £69.

Went back within thr hour (hurrah, 1 costume fitted) and attempted the return at customer service desk. 3 returns to process.

They were:
£9 costume on sale
£10
£20

I expect a £39 refund.

The customer service rep says it is a £39.43 refund that I'm entitled to, because I used a £1 voucher it influenced the refund value as it applies to the costume too.

I asked if the 57p will go back onto my loyalty voucher value, she said no.

What would you have done in that situation? What's a reasonable refund value?

A - be happy with £38.43
B - er, you returned £39 of goods so they need to make it right to £39 value even if it's on a gift card
C - £39.43 refund due back.

I won't drip feed, I'll share here that the customer service desk lady insisted on A. I insisted on B and asked to speak to a manager. Management was called who tried to give me a £38.43 credit card refund then give me a £1 gift card (which I explained was too much).

Aibu?

I insisted on B and asked to speak to a manager.

Is anyone else picturing OP as Margo from the Good Life?

You must be desperate for money if you are willing to quibble over such a small amount, I thought you were going to say they don’t accept returns on swimwear and your left with a load of bathing suits.

You just can't "pay" for something with coupons and then expect them to be refunded in cash!
Ridiculous. Feel sorry for Customer Service workers having to deal with this shit day in and day out

I live for threads like this on MN😂.

Wow this has clearly hit a nerve with some people. To be clear, I paid for the swimsuits along with my food shopping. The transaction was on a bank card and I used a £1 voucher.

The swimwear had hygiene labels on the crotch and I tried them on over my underwear. The payment and refund were processed within the same hour.

The store manager saying I was due the £1 voucher back was rejected by me because I didn't want her to get into trouble for giving me too much back (I think she thought I was entitled to the whole value back, and I thought she might have trouble with the numbers not tallying later if she needed it to).

If there were a swimsuit exclusion policy when I spoke to the member of staff about if the changing rooms were open, I didn't know about it and the clothing department staff member didn't mention it when I asked about trying on the swimsuits on my arms.

To those of you saying you'd have let Asda off with the 57p, can I DM you my bank details? I would love 57p from all of you please.

Just for next time if I'm bulk buying clothes to try on and will definitely be returning some of them because I only want one I put them through completely separately to my shopping so I've got a separate receipt then you always get the full refund.

The store manager saying I was due the £1 voucher back was rejected by me because I didn't want her to get into trouble for giving me too much back (I think she thought I was entitled to the whole value back, and I thought she might have trouble with the numbers not tallying later if she needed it to).

No, she was almost certainly giving you the 57p extra as a good will gesture to get you out of the stop and stop complaining.

@ShowOfHands 10/10. Very good.

Margo would not be seen dead in Asda.

I usually find the opposite to this. The wealthy people scrutinise and obsess over every single penny, IME.

The store manager saying I was due the £1 voucher back was rejected by me because I didn't want her to get into trouble for giving me too much back (I think she thought I was entitled to the whole value back, and I thought she might have trouble with the numbers not tallying later if she needed it to)

You thought a Store Manager was going to get into trouble with Head Office because the stores takings didn't balance by 43p? Awww, bless your heart . . .

@GertysBestShoes This is mumsnet, OP. Most people on here wouldn't bother to pick up 57p because they probably earn more than that for doing 1 minute of work.

It will be to do with the voucher. If you trawl through the t & c of the money off voucher it will say something like non-refundable. This is to comply with money laundering legislation that they retailer has to follow. If you use a voucher or coupon or gift card etc then the refund has to go back into that & not as cash/card refund.

It's too complex for the sake of a £1 money off coupon so retailers will just say non-refundable. If you take back the item you lose the value of the coupon/voucher.

You've been refunded for the actual cash you paid which is correct.

Here are 37 pages of things you could have bought from Asda with your £1 gift card:

https://www.asda.com/groceries/events-inspiration/small-spend-big-value/1-less

Could any of those have taken the edge off today? Custard cream whirls sound rather pleasing. Personally, I'd get a gingerbread man and donate the final 12p to a donkey sanctuary.

This happened to me in H&M. I used one of their vouchers to buy something. I then wanted to return the item and I got what I paid but not for the voucher meaning it was lost. Lesson learnt-only use a voucher when sure that the item will be kept.

Technically you were offered back the amount of money you paid but lost the proportional value of the coupon. If you check the small print on the coupon it probably says it’s non-refundable. It’s to stop people effectively laundering coupons by buying stuff with them and then returning it for a cash refund.

The solution is not use coupons for purchases you are likely to return.

So you complained. They agreed to give you not only the 57p but an extra 43p back on a gift card but you didn’t take it and then started a mumsnet thread over a complete non-issue. The worker isn’t going to get in trouble for 43p to get rid of an awkward customer who has taken up way more staff time than 43p worth.

So what do you think should have happened?

The clubcard voucher/asda rewards/nectar points whatever you used as part payment made you entitled to a £38.43 refund.

You wanted the 57p back in clubcard vouchers/asda rewards/nectar points even though they don't do that?

What do you think the right outcome would have been?

A customer has a right to try on clothes to see if they fit. Even things that touch intimate areas, hence why they use those sticky strips. But even underwear needs to be returnable if it doesn't fit and they tend not to have the sticky strips.

Pretty sure if you read the terms and conditions of ASDA rewards it is stated you do not get a refund if they are spent - that's putting it simply and clearly it will be much more wordy when you read the terms and conditions.

100 days is far more generous than some retailers, M&S is 30 ? days and are very very strict about swimwear and underwear returns i.e. the plastic strip must still be on it the way it was put on in the factory etc.

The store manager will not ' get into trouble ' for giving you £1 on a gift card, don't be ridiculous !

Tho I would be surprised if it was the store manager and not the ' Front end ' manager or the ' George ' manager.
( Front end = kiosk / customer services / porters / check outs / scan & go, trolly shop and basket shop i.e. self service )

I understand why OP might be mildly upset, but this is how gift cards and other "discount on your whole spend" vouchers work. In other words, the staff in the shop did not make a mistake. They (or, more likely, the till software) correctly implemented the company's policy, and that is almost every company's policy. OP's maths is not wrong either; it's not a maths issue, it's a policy issue with regard to discounts in general.

A couple of weeks ago I had a £5 discount code from Lidl. The till receipt was twice its usual length because that £5 had been applied pro rata to every purchase. I'd bought about 50 items, of varying prices, so some were discounted 5p, some 10p, a bottle of gin by about 50p, etc.

I will bet that if you look at the terms and conditions of whatever coupon you had, you will find a clause that states that refunds will be done pro-rata for the overall purchase that the refunded item was part of. Coupons, vouchers, etc are not cash and the shop is under no obligation to make them as good as cash, or to refund/re-issue them on the same basis as cash. When you have a voucher it can feel like "I have £1 to spend at shop X" but it's not as good as a real £1.

I suppose the lesson is to avoid using the voucher when you knew you will be returning some of the items. Keep it for next time you buy milk or whatever.

Indeed, I always try to make two separate purchases if I'm using some kind of discount/loyalty card etc that can be used for something I don't expect to return.

The store manager saying I was due the £1 voucher back was rejected by me because I didn't want her to get into trouble for giving me too much back

I doubt very much you don't know a store manager can exercise their discretion to get rid of problems! You wanted to be right rather than appeased which seems quite unfair, given you've left the shop pissed off because you think you've been diddled out of 47p or whatever it is.

No returns on any sort of “intimate wear” from the company I work for unless it’s faulty.

Who has this much time on their hands?! I can’t believe you made a thread about it