matalan

[tony1941]

My wife had the misfortune to walk into a Matalan (Shop??) the other day and, having queued for ten minutes, was told that she couldn't buy the irem unless she had a "Matalan Card" which involved giving them all her personal contact details. She refused and walked out. How can they do this?? Isn't there something in the Data Protection Act? She doesn't want any more junk mail, she just wanted the item which was on offer. Since there is no sign or notice telling you at the entrance, could I just walk in, give the checkout girl the money and walk out again?? I bet the large "security guards" would stop me when the checkout operator refused to give her a receipt. I want to try this, is anyone else interested??

[dannydingbat]

Matalan is not a shop as such. It avoids many laws and requirements by making its goods available only to its members. If you join, you can buy but it will be unlawful for any non-member to buy. If you walked in, took an item and left the money, you would be stealing as there is no agrement to sell to you.

[brawburd]

But they do get by all that by using a till card. have been in Matalan and said I've forgotten my card. They process the sale without asking for any other information.

[dot.hawkes]

Don't mention Matalan to me! They sold me two underwater cameras last year and when they were developed they turned out to be less the fish in Cuba and more the matalan staff messin about on the shop flor! Still not heard from them.

[smudge]

Don't mention Matalan to me either! I paid �1 to become a customer - spend ages waiting in a very slow moving queue at the till, having to look at moronic looking sales people with no sense of alarm, got sick to death of waiting, dumped all the contents on the counter, told them what I though of their service, walked straight out of the door, cut up the membership card & would never ever go back there again!

[Breezy23]

I'm a M&S girl myself, and not that Matalan is my favourite store, but I do have to say that I always take a look in there when I go into town. You do have to be picky in what you buy, and yes the queue can be horrendous but I can honestly say the till staff at my local branch (Staines) are cheerful and efficient. The queue goes down in no time and at least you are joining one queue, not hedging your bets on which one will go down the fastest. You can't beat the men's plain white T-shirts at 2 for �5, they wash up great, keep their colour and shape.

In support of the membership card, at least you can get a refund if you don't have your receipt as they can verify you purchased the item. Suppose this also helps them prevent fraud, ie, theft of item then taking it back for a refund.

[chazza]

This happened to a friend of mine, he just refused to fill out the card and they served him anyway. Must depend on the cashier you get!

smudge why did you pay �1 to become a customer?

[smudge]

It was a couple of years ago now chazza. My daughter & I thought we'd give Matalan a try & was asked at the door to complete a form, pay �1 & were given a temporary store card until the plastic one came through.

[sunflower68]

I've never had a single problem with matalan. They do fabulous washable suits! The kids clothes are lovely, as are the adults. Maybe I've been lucky but the sales staff have always been friendly and I never get any junk mail I can think of . Not sure of the reason behind the card though tony1941, agree it is a bit odd.

[spudqueen]

Have been a member of Matalan for years, and it was �1 to join originally. Have had no problem with them and I am quite happy to be a member to shop there. I don't get junk mail, just the occasional leaflet showing the latest offers (probably 2 or 3 times a year). If you and your wife don't want to join, fine, there's no need to rant about it.

[Bearworld1]

I agree spudqueen, a great store for a bargain if you don't mind hunting thorugh the dross to find it. I have had some great buys from there, especially for holiday t shirts and shorts. I've never been bombarded with mail from them Tony, so don't worry and give them a try. I think the heir to the Matalan empire goes out with Tara PT, so they need all the custom they can get to keep her in mink and gin.

[chazza]

I think the heir did once go out with TPT, but they split some time ago (sorry irrelevant to the original question!)

[smudge]

Even though myself & our eldest daughter didn't think much of Matalan, our youngest daughter still shops there.

P'raps we could give another branch a try - I do like a bargain!

[cosyrosy]

it was me that tony1941 asked this question on behalf of - am i missing the point somewhere? the matalan i went into seemed like a shop looked like a shop and NOWHERE was there any indication that it was some kind of members club? is this legal? or ethical? because it doesn't look that way to me - but it doesn't really matter as no way would i ever cross their threshhold again

[smurfchops]

Got a new Matalan in New Malden, didn't have to pay to get a card, just filled out a form and use it whenever I go. Dont buy the clothes but kitchenware is great.

[tony1941]

The point I was making, Judiewudie (and others) is not about paying, or the value for money of the goods, but Matalan's presumed right to have my personal details on file so that they can send me junk mail (or even give the details to someone else - YES - read their website carefully). Would you be happy giving your address and phone number to a market trader at a car boot sale? - Well, would you??

[Oneeyedvic]

"presumed right to have my personal details on file so that they can send me junk mail (or even give the details to someone else - YES - read their website carefully)."

I assume if you are unhappy with this then you don't have a bank account, a store card, a credit card, a loyalty card etc.

All these companies have pretty much the same terms & conditions and all have to comply with the Data Protection Act (something which I suspet your average market trader does not).

Since Matalan plc have a turnover of �1.2 BILLION pounds, and pre tax profits of �56.2 Million, again I am not sure that this equates to a market trader.

If you are really bothered about junk mail, I suggest you go to www.mpsonline.org.uk and this will stop SOME junk mail.

I signed up to MPS a number of years ago and we don't get a lot of unsolicited mail (but we do still get some) from Matalan (who I am a memebr of) or anyone else.