Right to return?

[Tim1111]

I purchased a necklace as a Christmas present on weds night, although I wasn't entirely sure it was the perfect choice. As the shop was closing shortly and they were unable to hold it until Saturday when I was in town next, I purchased it. At the time of purchase I asked if I could return it and the sales assistant told me it could be returned to any of their 20 stores in the country.

On Saturday, I found a more suitable choice and purchased that instead from another store. When I went to obtain a refund for the original purchase, the store informed me they only have an exchange policy and could not refund the purchase. She pointed out a sign in the shop specifying this and the wording on the receipt. The sign was not visible from the cash register where I purchased the necklace, and I did not check the receipt as it had been verbally confirmed that I could return it.

I am now stuck with a necklace I don't want. What are my rights to refund in this case, and what can I do?

Thanks
Tim.

 

[ALewis]

Unfortunately you have no right of return unless a product is faulty. However you may possibly have an argument to what you were told. The wording of 'you can return to any of 20 stores' doesn't really say 'you can return it if you decide you don't want it' nor does it say 'you can return it if it's faulty to any 20' .

Obviously you can argue what you were told, argue to THE person who told you... But of course you have no legal backing and no evidence to prove otherwise. If truth be told, you're lucky to be offered an exchange.

Sorry it's not what you wanted to hear.

 

[Tim1111]

Thanks Alan. Whilst not what I wanted to hear, it's what I suspected to be the case.

Unfortunately it was the person who told us we could return it originally that refused to refund and wouldn't budge from company policy - I believe she was the manager. Guess I could contact head office and explain the misunderstanding in the wording - they may exercise a bit of discretion to company policy as it's Christmas (but I won't hold my breath).

I feel a bit cheated by the girl who served us, as she obviously knew what I meant and chose her wording carefully to get the sale when she knew I was still looking around. Basically, they can tell us anything to get the sale and then deny it and tell us we should have read the signs we couldn't see at the time to understand their company policy.

Looks like I've got a home to find for a £65 necklace that's no good to me - as if Christmas isn't expensive enough already! Suppose I could stick it on eBay to try to minimise my losses.

Thanks
Tim.