Tesco Stores - Boxing Day

[djgordyp]

I can't see they have refused a refund either.No but they refused to deal with the matter As the item was taken back as 'not working', they could have exercised their right to test it and told the customer to come back tomorrow excatly the point we are trying to make here after they had tested it and if found working would not have had to refund anyway.

 

I see nothing in soga that says you have to have an 'instant' refund.

Something like "I'm sorry sir but we have to test the item before we can issue a refund. If you come back tomorrow then we can issue the refund after the box has been checked. As you can see we are very busy today"

[uneverdid]

Hi, it is not only Tesco that operate this policy so do Next as i overheard someone yesterday trying to return a coat and exchange it. She was told no and even though she explained that she only wanted to swap it for another one in a different size they still said no. The customer argued that she was concerned that they wouldnt have the size she wanted the next day and that she really liked the coat, she was told to purchase the correct size and then just return the original one for a refund at a later date. The poor lady had to say that she couldn't afford to buy the other coat so left obviously upset and feeling probably humilated. (i was next in the queue hence my being able to hear all this) i felt upset to.

 

So it continues elsewhere too !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Conniff]

It's all academic anyway as boxing day is over and it's back to normal.

[djgordyp]

Very true, but there is still the issue of statutory rights. Not forgetting the behaviour of the staff/security personnel.

[MARTIN3030]

Yes I had a good search,and found this was quite a common policy-not just here but in other countries too,like the US Canada and NZ.

If you do a Google or Yahoo search - you will see quite a few.This thread actually now appears in the Google search.

Since Tesco did issue notices stating no refunds on Boxing day,then they can say they did what was required.If you did report it to Trading Standards,its likely that it would take a few weeks to sort out anyway,well after your refund.

One way they could maybe address any problems like yours,would be perhaps to have this printed on the bottom of your sales rec.They could easily do this.

I have stood at Tesco Customer services counter on a normal day and sometimes been there for 30 minutes.

Asda I have found takes even longer.

I guess sometimes we can be a little demanding-if they did put more staff on their CS return points and it left the beer and spirits shelves unreplenished as peeps restock for new year-I have no doubt they would have more complaints.

IMHO there are logistical reasons why Tesco have chosen the policy of no refunds on Boxing day-probably after struggling to do normal business in the past.

Also how are they to be sure that all the allocated staff WILL turn in after 48 hours eating and drinking ?

Some of those staff had to work right up to 4.30 on Christmas eve in the thick of the last minute rush.

Maybe they deserve a day off on Boxing day !!!

[hightail]

I think shops are using their own returns policies to mask statutory consumer rights. Those stores that will accept returns for any reason including a simple change of mind can set whatever terms they like at any time. They should not include the right for a refund for faulty goods in those store policies. It is a completely different kind of return and should be dealt with on demand however busy the store may be.

[MARTIN3030]

There COULD be redress under the Consumer Protection from unfair terms regs 2008.

 

Prohibition of the promotion of unfair commercial practices.;

 

(4) (2) (a)

 

The need for a service,part,replacement,or repair.

 

(4) (b)

 

After sale customer assistance concerning the product;

The handling of complaints for the product.

 

(4) (k)

 

Consumers rights under part 5A of the sale of goods act 1979 or part 1B of the supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.

 

Aggresive Commercial practices.

 

 

7 (2)

 

Any onerous disproportionate non contractual barrier imposed by the trader where a consumer wishes to exercise rights under the contract,including rights to terminate a contract or to switch to another product or another trader; ........

[revolting peasant]

I think shops are using their own returns policies to mask statutory consumer rights. Those stores that will accept returns for any reason including a simple change of mind can set whatever terms they like at any time. They should not include the right for a refund for faulty goods in those store policies. It is a completely different kind of return and should be dealt with on demand however busy the store may be.

 

OK - you come and stand in a queue for over an hour while I get run ragged trying to sort out every whinger in town. By the time you get to the front, you're stressed, I'm stressed and everyone within about a 3 mile radius is stressed. Not good for customer relations.

 

Tesco did advertise the policy, as did every other major retailer in the country. The idea is to stagger the influx of returns to a manageable level.

 

As has been pointed out, it's over now so move on!

[smorrissey]

Thanks guys...

 

went back yesterday and was allowed in - Manager gave me free fuel (as a goodwill) and will be responding to my latest letter shortly - have cc'd trading standards and emailed watchdog.

[flyingdoc]

I see - its over - they have got away with it - move on???

NO!!!

IF and I stress IF there has been an abuse of consumer rights then it is most definately not over and we should not move on.

Once retailers get away with denying rights once on the basis of "its done now so lets forget it" then where is that policy going to leave the consumer?

even small breaches of consumer rights needs to be brought to task and rectified - otherwise when you finally get around to looking at a larger breach it may be too late.

also

Travelling an hour and half is not the problem of Tesco - the O.P should have telephoned first before travelling such a long distance.

1 you think that there would have been someone answering the phone in such a busy time?

2 it is not the op's fault that the store is very busy or understaffed for the season.

 

It amuses me to see that some have posted "its not just tesco doing this" as this is some kind of vindication...

 

Yeah it isnt - but all that proves it that more than one retailer is happy to ignore consumer rights when it suits them.

 

Retailers are quite happy to group together to screw the consumer - this has been proved time and time again, and they are also prepared to erode consumer rights a little at a time - as tesco says themselves..

 

every little helps!!

[flyingdoc]

nice one - a little progress at least. (I was in middle of last post when OP posted his resolution)

[raydetinu]

They did not have to open on boxing day did they!

Got some sort of result for your persiverence and gave you something to do over the holiday break! And we all had a good whinge while eating our mince pies from tescos.

[assisted blonde]

I dont think Tescos were being unreasonable, Boxing Day is very busy and they would not be as fully staffed as normal, having rights is fine but common sense and being sensible seem to go out of the window at times. You will get your refund just be grateful that stores are open for more important things on Boxing Day, there are more important things to get het up about. I do sometimes get the feeling that there are a lot of people who want to complain and "excert their rights" just for the sake of it.

[Bookworm]

I do sometimes get the feeling that there are a lot of people who want to complain and "excert their rights" just for the sake of it.

You should be grateful to these people, without them to uphold them, you probably wouldn't have any left by now.

[assisted blonde]

Yes it is good that people stand up for their rights but my point is that while Manpower and resources of organisations such as Trading Standards are tied up listening to people complaining about what is a realatively minor matter then somthing far more serious is not being dealt with. I am just suggesting that there are some things that can be sorted without using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and that somtimes people should just stand back and view situations a little more objectivley, rather than automatically assume that they are being treated unfairly and that the big bad world is trying to errode their "rights". in my opinion Tesco have done nothing really wrong and were just trying to run their business in a way that suited them for one day of the year, is that really so terrible

[flyingdoc]

Tesco have done nothing really wrong and were just trying to run their business in a way that suited them for one day of the year,

Tesco do that 365 days of the year - dont kid yourself that its anything other than that.

I can assure you that if the boot were on the other foot and OP had in some way contravened Tesco's rights then it wouldnt matter what day of the year it was - he would have been pulled up very short.

 

Sorry AB but your rights are your rights and they should be upheld whatever day of the year it is.

 

Yes the sledgehammer nut scenario may be true but erosion is a slow and insidious process, a tiny bit at a time. and if they get away with it they will take a tiny bit more and then a bit more until there is nothing left.

It has to be stopped, and any infringement of consumer rights challenged, or one day we may wake up to find we have no rights.

Its happening more and more anyway.

[Bookworm]

Well, that depends... If it was a polite request saying: "look, sorry for the inconvenience, but we can't handle this today for x reasons, and ask for our customer's understanding", then no it wouldn't be so bad.

 

On the other hand, if they are purposefully curtailing the right to access to one's statutory rights at a time and date which suits them, then you are potentially opening the door to a much larger problem, and that is the retailer deciding when they will uphold your statutory rights, so at the other end of that spectrum you end up with a: "we can only deal with refunds/replacements on alternate Tuesdays between 8.30 and 8.45" kind of policy.

 

Consumers' rights are already being eroded on a daily basis, from "we can't do anything if it's over 1 year old" to "sold as seen" and the retailers rely on our apathy to do this. If there were more pain in the backside and less sheep in the stores, they soon would find it counter-productive to carry on in this manner and would then follow the law the way they're supposed to.

 

Edit: Ah, FD types faster than me.

[flyingdoc]

but not nearly so elequently

[MARTIN3030]

I cant really complain-Just been in there and bought a full cooked Chicken from the deli cabinet 86p

Packet of Finest Mash with carrots and Suede 35p.

Pack 5 custard Donuts 25p and bottle of Hardys Sparkling white 2.99. loaf 15p

So theres my Dinner and sandwiches for later for less than a fiver....which should have cost me £20.00

[ScarletPimpernel]

Whilst in town (Belfast) this afternoon, I noted that Debenhams had signs at the entrance stating that they would not be issuing refunds today, but would process exchanges on returned goods.

[ErikaPNP]

Not the same thing, but I had a to-do with a supervisor in a shop shortly before Christmas. They had these cheap watch and bracelet sets on offer for a fiver and I thought it would make a lovely gift for one of the older children in my extended family, so picked it up and purchased it. A few days later I returned to purchase another set for another relative. Thisd time around, they tried to chrage me £10, double the advertised price. I pointed out that all items on the stand were £5, so the woman got her supervisor over who was full of mouth. Now, I am aware that they do not HAVE to sell at the advertised price (Invitation to Treat) BUT the general consensus is if something is advertised on a stand at a price, and you just 3 days prior had purchased it at that price then that's the price you'd expect to pay, unless the price had risen and was clearly marked as such.

 

The supervisor's argument was that the SHELF on the stand had the price on that shelf covered. Every other shelf on the stand still read £5, only that one shelf had been covered up by a white sticker, but not remarked at another price. Her face was a picture when I told her I had purchased an identical set from the exact same shelf three days prior and went to the shelf with her (next to the sales desk) and pointed out that although she HAD covered it, you could clearly see through it and it stated £5. I asked her to explain why it was covered, and how the price on an identical set had risen in such a short period and I was now expected to pay double for the item. She stood there and accused me of lying about my previous purchase, her face turning an even deeper shade of claret when I produced the reciept from my handbag. She then tried to mumble something about there being a mistake with the initial pricing but it was too late, she'd already dug her hole. Several customers left the store, and I followed them, without parting with my £10.

 

Obviously a cheeky ploy to hit their christmas sales targets, hoping customers with lots of purchases arriving at the sales desk wouldn't notice the increase in price.

[smorrissey]

To all those "I think their being reasonable..." etc etc

 

If you drive 1 and half hour round trip to a store to be told "were to busy to exchange items today" and then spend over an hour arguing with a manager (which says there not that busy) then you would stand up for your rights. Like previously said we cant decide what day the law applies so why should they. If you want to sit back and be trampled on the go ahead. If you have nothing sensible to say then dont. I would not post a reply to your "claim my bank charges" or "british gas high bill" etc saying "well just deal with it its not that important" etc etc.

[revolting peasant]

You should be grateful to these people, without them to uphold them, you probably wouldn't have any left by now.

 

I wouldn't often say this but thats b****cks BW

 

The traders that chose to open on Boxing Day did so within the law as defined in the Sunday Trading Act 1994, which also applies to Statutory Public Holidays.

 

If the stores had chosen to put staff before profit we wouldn't have opened in the first place but the fact that we did tells a story.

 

Bottom line is, we don't have to do anything unless it is required by law, no matter how many people whinge

[Bookworm]

The traders that chose to open on Boxing Day did so within the law as defined in the Sunday Trading Act 1994, which also applies to Statutory Public Holidays.

 

If the stores had chosen to put staff before profit we wouldn't have opened in the first place but the fact that we did tells a story.

 

And why did they choose to open? For their customer's welfare? Somehow, I think not.

 

Regardless of the reasons why they chose to open, if they do so, then they have to obey the law. By your argument, because they do us the favour (!) of opening on boxing Day, maybe they don't need to worry about safety? Or that they don't sell products which are out of date? Or the other thousands rules a trader has to follow if he wants to open his shop? Of course not, that would be ridiculous! So then why should it be any different when it comes to consumers' rights?

 

Bottom line is, we don't have to do anything unless it is required by law, no matter how many people whinge

Precisely. And handling a consumer's faulty product by the retailer is a requirement in law. Attempting to reduce a consumer's statutory rights is a breach of those laws. I'd argue that such a reduction is not just limited to the scope of those rights, but to the access to them.

[djgordyp]

Bottom line is, we don't have to do anything unless it is required by law, no matter how many people whinge

Does the law not apply on bank holidays Is there anything in te law that says our rights don't apply on certain days?

As I tried to point out in my earlier post, they didn't ask for customers understanding and patient. They were laying down the law.

 

EDIT

Looks like BW types faster than me. AND is thinking along the same lines