Returning items to Zara

[Dancergirl]

Does anyone know what Zara are like returning items after 30 days? I bought a jacket that I dithered about for ages and now it's too late to return!

Don’t waste your time! I tried to return 2 tops to a store one day late and they refused. Absolutely not interested even when I asked to speak to the manager.

Unless you ordered on line then perhaps they will rather than have the hassle of returning to you?

No, bought it in store. Bugger. So I won't even get a credit note?

It's always worth a try but they are famously difficult and judgey

Zara are an absolute nightmare when it comes to returns. It has put me off purchasing from them more than once. The staff look at you as if you are dirt on their shoe when you try to return something. They must teach it on training days because they are all the same. It's a disgusting attitude to take. And this has been when the items are well within the 28 day period.

Great. Wonder if I should try without the receipt with the date on, and ask for a credit note?

I would probably go without the receipt and say it was a gift!

No credit note for me , no.

They treated me as others have said. I actually left the tops on the counter in front of the disinterested staff/manager and walked out as they were unwearable

Completely put me off buying from them again (not that they care!).

Try it OP and report back to us!

Online returns are fine by the way, I've never had an issue with that it's the staff in store that aren't, they're trained to treat us like complete wankers.

They seem to have gotten really strict! I bought online and tried to return in store outside of 30 days (exchange - for something twice the price so they would actually be making money) and they said I'd have to email head office

I also bought a shirt dress from one store I lost the receipt as my dp bought it for me tried to exchange and they refused

And this is after you have queued for 30 minutes to get to the tills.....

Or even 1 hour 25 minutes.

I've actually had no problems returning items in store. I absolutely agree with the general attitude of the staff, however. Fucking appalling.

I returned a couple of things on Saturday in Bluewater. There was a long queue as usual, about 4 tills were open I think, and then someone (who I took to be a supervisor) pulled one of the staff off the tills to deal with a customer standing to the side who had a query leaving the rest to deal with an increasingly irate queue. DH was waiting for me outside and thought I'd been abducted.

Not as bad at the Kings Road branch last week though, where they had one till open for returns and the queue was horrendous and snaking round the shop. I wouldn't have bothered....

Online returns after 28 days aren’t fine. I returned a pair of shoes a few days late, perfect condition, tags all still attached.. I missed a couple of calls from their Customer Service department (which I didn’t get round to returning) and next thing you know, they’d sent the shoes back to me!

Bearing in mind they were still selling them full price online and that I spent a LOT on ZARA online, I thought it was a tad harsh and did put me off buying from them again.

They are very difficult to deal with - I returned a faulty jumper 3 days after I had bought it as a thread had pulled. I had only worn it once and hadn’t caught it on anything. Not ‘fit-for-purpose’. Eventually they refunded me as is my legal right but it was hard work. They also initially tried to palm me off with a credit note when my legal right was for a refund. Puts me off buying from them again.

Tried today and the returns queue was so long I gave up! Going to try another day and get there as they open.

I tried to return shoes I bought for DD. I was one day past 28 days. They point-blanked refused and were very unhelpful. I tried a different branch a few days later and pretended I had lost the receipt. Another dead end!

It’s a shame really because I often like their products but they really need to nail their customer service better

The staff do have a terrible attitude, but to be honest it's hard to blame them because Zara are absolutely shit to work for. My sister worked there a couple of years ago. They're dreadfully understaffed but they won't hire any extra staff because they're too tight to pay them, so the staff that are there are under terrible pressure. That's why the shop floor is often in such a mess too (in my local store anyway) because the staff literally have to try and be in two places at once, which is obviously impossible.
I'm not saying that their attitude is right, but after the things my sister told me about her time there, I try and take their attitude into account a bit.

I haven’t shopped at Zara for years. I used to but they once refused to refund me when I was one day over the returns window. Zero grace. I had genuinely been unwell or I’d have returned sooner. It was bought in Oxford street store. Staff member was nice but said the till wouldn’t allow him and no Manager was in so I needed to phone up customer service for a code. Customer Service refused and after a few emails which got shot down, I kept my word: “you’ve lost a customer, I’ll never shop with you again”. Plenty of alternatives, Next etc.

I had a pair of linen trousers develop a big hole in them after 3 wears ( 2 of those wears were WFH) and I was able to return them although I no longer had the receipt. I ended up with a credit note though which I wasn’t majorly enthused by. The staff are without fail miserable and I only shop there now for DD11 as we don’t have many options for her. My sister had an encounter with stroppy staff after returning an item bought online that was sent with a store security tag on it. She had no amount of hassle to get into store to have it removed and there was not even an apology from them. That’s my main issue with them - they sell shoddy goods and they don’t give a shit.

Stores do not have to offer a refund at all unless the item is faulty. I recall a time when I was in Zara in Spain and they didn't even offer refunds, just exchanges. Due to the UK being more lenient, when they opened here, they changed their refund policy so it was in line with the UK's.

Zara have a very clear returns policy and time limit - the latest return date is even printed on the receipt. If you are not able to return within that period, then I am incredibly surprised that you expect them to make an exception for you. Why should they? They don't need to do so out of goodwill given they already offer a generous return policy. If you aren't able to return an item within 30 days of purchase/shipment date, that's on you.

Yeah I don't understand why people here seem to think they should return stuff for you when you're over the returns period? By one day- so you're past the returns period!

I just impressed at all the people who are patient enough to order Zara online.
I just can not deal with their website.