Marks and spencer

Good advice Elliebeth as a lot of people do have these debit cards, so something to be aware of, not much of a gift if you pay for it yourself!

Got caught in an M and S admin snarl - ordered 2 nighties for MIL on line. In the pic they were half way down model's calf (she wanted longish ones) I must have missed the relevant button and got short ones by mistake.
Traipsed to local (smallish) M and S. Assistant was very sweet but said she did not have the size I wanted, and even if she ordered them could not do a refund (or swap from their existing range) because their store were not allowed to do this on an internet order - store too small. Sigh.
Only options are to 1. drive half an hour to reach nearest large store or 2. post them back. harrumph.
They are still sitting here. I think delegating this toDH looms.

Another M&S "ordeal".

I bought a pair of boots just before Christmas. They were £65 and I took advantage of a 20% off everything promotion when I bought them meaning I got the boots for £52, yipeeee.

After wearing them only twice the side zip burst open with the zip up at the top. Neither I nor my DH could force it back down again. After much pulliing and tugging I got my foot out of the boot and took the pair back to M & S with the receipt in hand. I thought I would save a lot of hassle if I found another pair (exactly the same) and took them with me to the returns desk only to be met by a very stroppy cow assistant who insisted that I return the faulty ones for a £52 refund and re-purchase the new ones at £65! What??????? I don't think so. After a long winded, heated debate I asked to speak to a manager who eventually agreed that I should have an exchange at no extra cost to me.

I had that problem at BHS - they insisted I pay full price for the exchanged item...

That is so-not-getting customer service. I think I can see how their minds are working:
someone buys something on offer
then it breaks and they swap it for a full price same item
then they take it back and get a refund and make £20 on the deal.

But as they say - it's far easier and cheaper to retain a customer than to find a new one.
This is customer service driven by the assumption that the public are out to commit minor fraud.

The receipt would show the reduced price though, wouldn't it?

Oh! I had a totally different experience! Bought a handbag with an outer purse pocket. The zip went on that after a couple of weeks' use. Took it back without a receipt and they replaced it no bother at all!

Does it all depend upon the personality of the assistant you happen to fetch up with?!

Would have thought the boots would have been exchanged without a quibble. The price you paid should have had no bearing.

My thinking exactly jingle and the line I took when I eventually spoke to a manager was, what if I did not have the receipt at all? The boots were new season stock so they could not say they were old. I agree it does depend on the personaliy of the assistant.

Well I was stupid to say the least I bought a pair of boots just before Christmas from M&S for £75 and two days later they had 20% reduction on all boots so that will teach me.

Yeah, we've all been there glamma.

I couldn't even take them back for a refund and buy at the reduced price because the size was very popular but I don't mind I got what I wanted

2 observations
1) If you see something identical to what you bought e.g. last week and now there is 20% off, it's easy. Buy another at the reduced price, take one of them back with the original receipt and get the "full" refund. I don't see any ehtical problem with that. (Provided you return an unworn new item.) OK Gamma in your case not available. which was unlucky. One trouble is that popuklar items sell out very quickly as stores do not carry as much stock as they used to.
2)I bought the jumper shown in their Christmas commercial on the 20% discount (online) , decided I wanted the next size up by which time it was full price, but got a straight swap without paying the extra as I explained I had bought online and it was the wrong size.

But on the subject of taking things back some people really do take the proverbial. I was in a favourite little shop pf mine in Hampstead today and in front of me were 2 women who were trying to return a coat bought 2 years ago because the purchaser decided the metallic thread in the weave irritated her neck and "she hadn't worn the coat for a year after buying it". The saleswoman was incredibly patient and explained again and again that the item was not faulty, 2 years was way too long to expect a refund, she had sold at least 2 or 3 coats like that and nobody else had had a problem etc etc eventually politely suggesting the woman took the matter up with Trading Standards.
After they had arguing that she was entitled to a refund under the coat's "warranty" (?) - only this time she had brought a buddy, and she just would not take No for an answer!!

Seem to have lost a line - that should have read
" after they had left I sympathised and it turned out this was the 4th time she had been in, arguing....etc"

You don't even need a receipt to return faulty goods.

When I was a student I worked in Dorothy Perkins one summer. We had several customers who returned bikinis and swimming costumes. Oddly enough it was usually just over two weeks after they bought them! We knew jolly well that they had taken them on holiday but we had no way of proving it.

Years ago when DD was training with Marks one of the things they were shown when working on the returns desk was, when garments were being returned 'unworn', to look at the linings of skirts or dresses as they crease easily and people never thought to try and iron them out!

Soutra - love your plan for ensuring we benefit from reductions.

soutra I have done the buying cheaper and taking back the higher price one. Unworn of course. I would never have the cheek to take back anything worn unless it was faulty.