Returning a Gift to the Shop

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Returning a Gift to the Shop

“My mother bought me a skirt for Christmas which turned out to be too small for me. I didn’t want to upset her by telling her so I took it back to the local branch (it was from a high street chain store) to get the right size, but they'd sold out.

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I asked if they would give me my money back so that I could find something more suitable, and they said that all they would do, as I don’t have a receipt, is give me a credit note. Not only that, but the credit note would only be for the price it’s now on sale at, which is 25% less than what mum bought it for (she left the label on, bless her.)

What can I do?”

Advice - Your Rights as a Consumer

Oh dear, this is a tricky one. Unfortunately, because you didn’t buy the skirt yourself, you don’t have any rights against the retailer, even if the skirt was faulty. It comes down to simple contract law, in that there is no legal contract between you and the shop, so they are fully entitled to say that they won’t do anything.

Most retailers are usually quite willing to offer over and above what the law says that they must, but they don’t have to. Another problem is the lack of a receipt or any proof of purchase (it doesn’t have to be a till receipt, it can also be a credit card statement or anything that shows how much you paid, and when.) You have no way of proving the price that your mother paid for the skirt, so as it’s currently on sale, the shop is quite likely to offer you a credit note for that amount and not the original amount.

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Your Rights when You’ve Bought the Wrong Size

If there’s nothing actually wrong with the skirt, it’s just the wrong size; again there is no legal obligation for the retailer to give you a refund. Bigger shops will often give you a 28 day window to return goods that you’re not happy with, which would cover something that doesn’t fit, but they don’t have to.

The Sale and Supply of Goods Act states that anything you buy must be satisfactory quality and must fit it’s description. The only time that you would possibly be able to claim a refund on an item which doesn’t fit is if it was wrongly labelled. This one could be hard to prove, as there is no standard sizing for women’s clothing. If you buy a size 16 skirt and it’s clearly more a size eight, you might just be able to swing it but it would be a difficult one to win.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

What Can I Do?

If you don’t want to upset your mother, I’d suggest that you accept the reduced amount of credit note and leave it at that. The shop is doing more than they actually have to. Other than that, you could ask your mother if she still has the receipt, and ask her to try and get her money back – she might have more luck!

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Frozen 29/06/2020 at 9:19 am
In short, I purchased a fridge/freezer which had faulty temperature control, between 0 degrees C and 10 C. Eventually, via PayPal, I secured a refund. The fridge was examined by a specified manufacturer's service company and found to have faulty control panel and suspected compressor fault, and there was no communication between these parts.
Now, following the refund, I suppose the fridge belongs to the seller (who failed to respond to my emails, my summary and PayPal requests for information during the dispute and claim period), but how long can they leave the fridge with me before I can dispose of it myself. I don't ever expect to recoup the cost of disposal, but after the kerfuffle with them I don't want to communicate with them, and will leave them to make the first move. Would appreciate your help.
Frozen
Japan 18/04/2018 at 9:24 am
I purchased Karndean flooring from a retailer on line in August 2017 raven oak loose lay.
The floor was fitted in Seprember and l reported complaint in September
The flooring was deemed as having a product fault by Karndeans technician in Oct
Kardean and the retailer refused to supply me with information.l requested a SAR.
I requested a full refund costs and compensation.
Karndean are supporting the retailer. I have endured 7 months of intimidation, deception and stonewalling.Their terms and conditions are questionable l have lost trust.
I brought into the Karndeans assurances and advertising they refuse to be accountable and say that l am to negotiate with the retailer. He is very abusive and l am open to his threatening behaviours.
I have disabilities that are made worse by stress.l can't face court action without being sure what our rights are .
I beleive l purchased into Karndeans name How can they allow this to happen ?
ConsumerRightsExpert Editor 26/10/2016 at 12:57 pm
How long have you owned the item?
confused 25/10/2016 at 10:12 am
please help. I am now on my second tefal actifryer, the latest one is showing same fault as last one, this one was taken back by tefal to be repaired as it was still under guarantee a few months ago, it has now having the same fault as before, I contacted tefal who told me the motor was filled with oil I pointed out that was the manufacturers fault as it should have been taken into account when made this could not happen but of course I got no where they mentioned the seller could be responsible but as I said it wasn't them who made it anything I can do. the web is full of complaints about this fryer some the same problem as mine along with countless others with different problems anything I can do
ConsumerRightsExpert Editor 17/11/2014 at 10:36 am
@tash. Unfortunately if you did not buy the goods from a retailer here in the UK or EU, there are not many laws protect you.
tash 16/11/2014 at 8:02 pm
i bought a Chinese made (thorn type) welding machine from a shop in malindi Kenya. i kept it safely without using it for three months in the house waiting to open a welding workshop. when i opened the workshop, i connected the machine . To my amazement,the machine started smoking from the inside and overheating input electric cables. i took the machine to a local repair man who informed me that the machine type is known to be faulty and those who have bought the same type of machine before have been having similar problems.he examined the machine and informed that my machine cannot work and i should think of buying an new machine of a different type. the new machine has not given me any service and is already scrap. i checked on the receipt and realized that the machine did not have a warranty. Now, where do i get redress? the machine did not even give me service for even one day .the machine is still new but it has not given me any service ??? To make matters worse,i had bought onother machine(spartan type) from china which failed after working for two months. how will i get compensated ???
tonk 07/04/2014 at 1:40 pm
Hi I bought a pair of shoes and asked if they were not right could they be returned, the shop assistant told me yes. I took them back today and was told I would have to have a credit note or exchange. I told the manager I was told I could return and was not told about credit note/ exchange he said that they are not obliged to tell me of this. hlp
Murphy 08/09/2012 at 8:12 am
I bought a Sony Vaio p.c in November 2010 from the Sony Centre for £510.00. i paid with a debit card. The p.c broke down in April 2012 (5 months after warranty expiry)and when I had it instpected by an engineer at P.C World was told that the repair would cost £390.00.
When I approached the shop I bought it from it had closed down. I did a search at Companies House and the Company who has now gone in to liquidation.
So I sent an email to Sony UK(the manufacturer). They have told me that as the p.c is out of warranty the best they could do was offer a 10% discount on their normal repair costs.
The machine was advertised as one of the best quality machines on the market at the time. i could have bough a similar machine made by another manufaturer for less than half the price i paid. But I believed that as Ihad paid more I would get a long lasting machine. I only used the machine for approximately 15 minutes a day and so it was not even as though it hadbeen incessanly used since purchase.
i am very disappointed.
Could you let me know if I have any rights against the manufacturer to ask for a free repair or replacement machine? Does it make any difference that I paid with a debit card?
Thank you for helping and I look forward to hearing rom you.
Regards,
Suzanne Daley
mckee 01/02/2012 at 7:50 pm
Hi bought a dryer, broke down 3 times within warenty, last time i asked for a new dryer as fault was not mine, they fixed it again with a new drum, i asked what would happen if it broke again as warenty was running out they said they would stand over it, (not in writting but over the phone) Has now broken again still same fault, they said it was up to the manufactorer and parts only free i would have to pay their engineer. Is this exceptable i have complained but no use yet.
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