Returning Item..

[thelewisgang]

On Thursday I bought a brand new (still in manufacturers packaging) 3 tiered shower rack which had obviously been donated. Last night before removing the packing I noticed probably in manufacture one section of the rack was missing. There was a picture of what it should have been like. I didn't have my receipt but had a copy of my card payment & it still had the charity shop price sticker intact. The manager refused to refund me as I didn't have the receipt which would have a barcode which she would have to scan to process the refund. She said I would have to have goods to the value of it (£8) but their policy is they don't offer credit notes & she made a note of it in a book. I told her it wasn't fit for its purpose & thought I was entitled to a refund but she was having none of that. *** law that my recycle bin was emptied yesterday & it would have been in there. Is she correct in this. Thanks for any advice.

[hc4361]

The law applies equally to charity shops as it does any other business. The item is not fit for purpose and you are entitled to a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act.
Your card payment receipt is good enough proof of purchase.

[jno]

I don't think she is. Harrods or charity shop, the stuff they sell still has to be fit for purpose (there may be an exception if there's a label saying "as is where is, buy at your own risk " or something).

[hc4361]

Sellers cannot override statutory rights but adding their own rules, do 'buy at your own risk' means nothing.

[thelewisgang]

There's no signage "sold as seen" or similar apart from 2nd hand craft sewing patterns which I do sometimes but from there. It is virtually impossible to check these in the shop & I have thrown some away in the past due to them having pieces missing. I'm going to pop down there again shortly about this shower rack...wish me luck!

[Tuvok]

Look for a summary of the Consumers right Act and take that with you.

[thelewisgang]

I've not long been back from the shop & she is not budging!! She's told me again it's impossible for her to give me a refund unless I have the receipt which has a barcode on. She can be quite a nasty woman as some of her past volunteers have found out. I will now ring their head office on Monday & hopefully they will be able to get her to override her decision. It's the principal of it now.

[albaqwerty]

With that sort of attitude, she's certainly driving customers away.

As has been mentioned, get a copy of Consumers Right Act and quote that to them when you phone head office on Monday.

Good luck

(ps, there's one charity shop I refuse to go to due to the manner of a staff member)

[Flonska]

As you say you paid by card you may also wish to contact your card issuer/bank to see whether or not it is possible to make use of the "chargeback" procedure?

This link explains mopre about this:-

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-use-chargeback

[Flonska]

sorry . . . s/be "more" not "mopre"

[jno]

you're right, hc4361; I wasn't sure whether second hand shops were in exactly the same position as regular shops or more like car boot sales, but it seems they are.

The credit card receipt is enough; scanning barcodes is their problem, not yours.

[thelewisgang]

Thanks for all your useful answers. Much appreciated

[tamborine]

Receipt bar code is fed into till to access rebate that staff cannot override. Managers can check till role for proof of purchase, pass you details for you to claim from head office.

Photo proof for claim.

[thelewisgang]

I have just rung the head office of this charity shop & explained my situation. It appears there is a manual refund button on the till which the shop manager should have used to refund my money. I told the lady that the manager is obviously not aware of this & her reply was "she is definitely aware"! Now wondering if I'm not the first to complain about this shop. I expect I will get a frosty greeting when I go there tomorrow!!

[hc4361]

Good luck!

[woofgang]

I too have had experience of a charity shop "little Hitler"....saw something I wanted in the window of a charity shop....window was open to the shop and the item was easily retrievable....was told "oh no, the manager doesn't let us sell from the window display"