Unhappy with Harrods London

[Lilian Goh]

Hi, I do not know who should I complain to.

 

I visited London from 23rd March to 29th March 2013 and I am from Malaysia. On 25th or 26th March I went to Harrods and I bought a box of chocolate. I brought the box back to Malaysia and it was when I opened the box to pass around in office that I noticed the expiry date on the box was 17th March 2013.

 

I posted in TheTripadvisor on this issue and what I posted was just a warning to visitors to be more careful in checking the expiry date. I got a reply from Harrods and I asked my daughter who is studying in Cardiff to liase with the lady who replied to my review in Tripadvisor.

 

What I understand from my daughter subsequently was that they needed the proof of purchase ie the receipt. I am not able to give them the receipt as I have thrown it away. They told my daughter that they are willing to listen but noit to put in a report as I do not have the proof of purchase. They implied that legally I cannot do anything as there is no proof that I purchase the item. This is not right. I can only proof that i was in UK from 23rd to 29th March and the chocolate expry date was 17th March.

 

I was not expecting Harrods to pay me back or replace the item. To me it is the principal that is important in that if I didn't bring it up, then Harrods would still be happily selling the expired products. To me, they do not even have the decency to say "SORRY"

[citizenB]

Did you pay for the item with cash or a credit/debit card ?

 

Is there anything on the box itself to say that it came from Harrods? Is it a brand of chocolate that is specific to them.. (can only be purchased in Harrods)

[Lilian Goh]

Yes I pay with cash and it is a Harrods box of chocolate with name on it and it is a tin box, Still kept the whole thing intact!

But I have thrown away the receipt upon leaving the hotel.

[citizenB]

It is irrelevant whether you purchased the item or whether it was a gift. If the item was obviously purchased in Harrods, then you should be able to make a complaint.

 

I will try and find someone who might have some ideas.

[raydetinu]

just because it was past its best by date! by a few days I expect there was nothing wrong with them, so stop maoning and eat them.

it does not mean that on the 18th march they suddenly bacame inedible!

Surely you more imposrtant things to worry about.

However if they were year out of date, the most that would happen is the chocolate may have oxidised, but still edible.

[Lilian Goh]

Dear CitizenB,

Thank you very much. It would be great if there is an official reply to my predicament. I think when we consumers purchase an item we would expect it to be good condition.And the embarresment that I had to go through when my staff pointed out to me that it is an expired chocolate.

[Lilian Goh]

Yeah but it was a few weeks later when I finally reach home. I dunno I feel yucky eating something which said expired 17th March 2013.

[citizenB]

just because it was past its best by date! by a few days I expect there was nothing wrong with them, so stop maoning and eat them.

it does not mean that on the 18th march they suddenly bacame inedible!

Surely you more imposrtant things to worry about.

However if they were year out of date, the most that would happen is the chocolate may have oxidised, but still edible.

 

Probably not, but surely if they were already past their sell by date when the OP purchased them, Harrods should not have had them on sale in the first place ! If they were on "Sale" at a hugely discounted price then that would be a different matter - it would have been brought to the OPs attention and she would have had the choice of to purchase an out of date product or not.

 

One doesn't actually expect a Store with Harrod's reputation to be selling out of date stock !!

[Lilian Goh]

I agree and I would have thought so too. I mean Harrods is like a class above all stores and hence I would assumed that such a store would be very very concern about their reputation.

[BankFodder]

just because it was past its best by date! by a few days I expect there was nothing wrong with them, so stop maoning and eat them.

it does not mean that on the 18th march they suddenly bacame inedible!

Surely you more imposrtant things to worry about.

However if they were year out of date, the most that would happen is the chocolate may have oxidised, but still edible.

 

This is an unhelpful reply. Please be assured that it does not reflect the general attitude of this forum. It also doesn't do anything to clarify what your rights are.

 

 

Harrods are quite wrong. The receipt is helpful evidence but if you have other ways of showing the date that you bought the item then the receipt would be unnecessary.

However, if Harrods are sticking their heels in then I'm afraid that the only way you can complain is with a simple county court action but you would need to be in this country to bring it.

 

Other than that, write a letter of complaint to Trading Standards but don't hold your breath. They won't do anything - especially not against Harrods.

 

I doubt that there is much you can do - but next time buy your souvenirs from John Lewis who have a fantastic customer-service culture.

I'm surprised at Harrods. You would have expected them to be more mature, wouldn't you.

[Lilian Goh]

Thank you CitizenB and Bank Fodder for your repiles and I agree that Harrods wont be doing anything about this.

 

Like what I have posted in Tripadvisor, it was to make people aware that it is important to check the expiry datesand do not make the same mistakes that I did. 1) Assumed that stores like Harrods would do their quality control checks to maintain their reputation and 2) once a mistake has been pointed out to them, should immediately rectify the problems and also to sent a note of "Apology" to the aggrieved person.

 

I have been to John Lewis in Cardiff and I agree that their services are exemplary.

[citizenB]

Fortnum & Masons also have an excellent reputation and chocolates to die for.. Always in date and their Customer Service, second to none, which is what you should be able to expect from all stores

[raydetinu]

I apologise, had a few other important things on my mind and at the time this did seem a little trivial, and agree you would expect a store like Harrods to keep an eye on the stock, but human error does creep in.

I am sure if you were able to take them back, you would have received gross apologies and possibly compensation.

Had to do this a few times at Tesco, but that is only up the round, so not a problem.

I often buy food that is on their limit of best by date and still keep them a week or so beyond that, and they are still fine, but of course they are at a reduced price.

[ashmk]

Best before = safe to eat after but for the best experience eat before the date, hence best before. But it won't harm you if a week or even a month after (biscuits, crisps etc)

 

Use by = Never eat food past it's use by date, Use by is used for things like dairy, meat, eggs etc and the date is there for very good reason.

[Old Cogger]

Write to the main stream papers = the case, bet Harrods buck up their ideas then!

[jpegnall]

I know stores get huge fines if they are found to have items past their sell by date, at Marks and Spencers staff are given warnings if items out of date are found in the sections they checked.

 

I am suprised with the response from Harrods. That being said I would do the following;

 

1) Take a copy of your entry and exit dates from the UK (passport stamps or plane tickets)

2) Take a photo of the Harrods box of chocolates and the expiry date

3) Submit the above evidence with a letter to Harrods setting out the date and time you bought the items, the fact it caused embarrasment and it is unacceptable for any store to sell out of date produce and whilst you no longer have the receipt, Harrods branded goods could only have been purchased from Harrods during my visit to the UK between [insert dates]. Whilst I had no intention of requesting a replacement to be sent to Malaysia, I did expect a more appropriate response and as such, unless the matter is dealt with more seriously on the second time of asking, I will use best efforts to publicise the events online and in papers - because one does not expect a) to purchase products which are past their sell by dates in a store like Harrods and b) to receive a response which is so dismissive of my claim.

 

If they do not respond or do not reply to your satisfaction I am certain a few papers like the Metro and some tabloid papers would run little stories.

[steampowered]

Personally I cannot see a newspaper running the headline "Box of chocolates 8 days past expiry date".

 

Admittedly you should expect better from Harrods, but this kind of thing is part of life. At worst it is a minor mistake made by a shop assistant. I am sure the chocolates were still perfectly edible - there is currently a political campaign in the UK to get rid of food expiry dates as they are unnecessary, and when living in Malaysia I noticed in the supermarket that most food products do not have any expiry date at all (quite a shock to the system after getting used to the UK approach of putting an expiry date on most everything). I think it is best to let this one go.

[jpegnall]

Nothing has been said about it making headlines, but i've seen plently of little stories in the middle pages of the Metro on my way to work where people have found spoiled food - or where supermarkets responses have been significantly below par. It is far from a minor mistake it undermines the entire concept of Harrods, a very premium store charging huge premiums offering what should be the very best in quality. I go to Harrods monthly to shop - and they have two faces - how they treat big spenders and how they treat tourists and this is reflected in the quality of goods too and value for money/experience. I don't think that is acceptable and I don't think the response is acceptable either, and before I went to law school I worked at M&S, "minor mistakes" were not tolerated and if people brought back expired items it was treated very seriously. When you make a purchase at Harrods you pay for the experience, the quality and the after sales service if ever needed - here all three have been below par and whilst you could say it is part of life at a Spa it should not be at Harrods - and why let them get away with it?

[raydetinu]

Has the world gone mad!

there are people with serious issues on this site that need constructive advice.

IMO it just not worth the time or hassle to take this any further!

If you can afford to shop at Harrods, just buy another box!

I am no t excusing the error, but is it worth the hassle to keep on ( complain to MP. trading standards etc.)

Ce le vie!

[Annie71]

Just want to say, if it is a best before date no offence has been committed. If it is a sell by or use by then yes one has. The maximum fine was 100k per item

[kabukiman]

Just send it back with a covering letter on company headed paper and ask for them to reimburse you for postage and a new box sent back. Harrods are renowned for bending over backwards but all depends who you are or they think you are.